More stuff I made.

So, this is a shawl that I made my mother-in-law for Christmas. She's a shawl person. She also likes pretty much every variation of the color brown. So, this seemed like a natural. My objective when I planned it was to use a luxurious yarn, but a practical shape. This type of shawl is called a Faroese Shawl. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Faroese Shawls:

The most distinguishing characteristic of Faroese lace shawls is the center back gusset shaping. Each shawl consists of two triangular side panels, a trapezoid-shaped back gusset, an edge treatment, and usually shoulder shaping. The shoulder shaping allows these shawls to drape over the shoulders and remain in place as the wearer moves, even if the shawl is not pinned in place.

Instead of a more familiar triangular, rectangular or circular shape, Faroese shawls are shaped like butterfly wings. Some have very long ends so they can be tied around the wearer's waist for extra warmth.

So, you see how practical it is. It'll stay put while moving, working, etc. Now, for the luxurious yarn part. I chose Malabrigo Silky Merino in the colorway Acorn. It's pretty much the best yarn ever. The Malabrigo Yarn Company is legendary among knitters. They're a small family owned company in Uruguay that works with a cooperative of local women to produce some of the most gorgeous yarn you've ever seen or felt. Regular 100% wool Malabrigo feels like a cloud. But the Silky Merino is unbelievable. It's 50% silk and 50% baby merino. It feels kind of like a cloud wrapped in a cocoon slathered in butter. Or something. Anyway, here's a close up of the yarn I used:



Beautiful, right? It's got a really nice sheen and it drapes like nobody's business. Here's the finished product from the back:




and from the front:


I assure you that she was delighted! I didn't put her face in the pictures because I don't like being all on the internet and I assume other grown folks don't either so I usually don't post face shots unless I have express permission. This is by far the biggest and most complicated thing I've knitted. I love how it turned out and I already bought some more of that yarn in a different shade to make myself a hat. Anyway, Dorian's not feeling so hot today so I'm gonna wrap this up now and cuddle him. Till next time:)