I finished my Simple Yet Effective Shawl! All right, I didn’t leave it as simple as Laura Chau originally planned. 

First, I didn’t like the basic garter stitch pattern once I started. It took several tries but I finally ended up with a seed stitch segment alternating with a garter stitch segment with a two-row stockinette as the buffer between each segment. 

After that, I knit the segments in varying widths according to my whim.

I didn’t want to just bind-off. It seemed a bit too abrupt for me. So, I knit a sideways, garter stitch bind-off and I love it!! You can’t tell from my badly corrected photos, but the Doe color in Gloss HW is just what I wanted – neutral leaning towards the warm end.

 

I wanted to have a large, comforting, soft shawl to be able to throw over my shoulders. I always seem to have enough layers over the bottom half of my body but I get chilly on the top. Particularly when I’m reading on the sofa or in bed. 

I’ve been so happy dragging my “blanky” around between our living room and bedroom that I haven’t taken the time to wash or block it. Well, maybe when the spring rains finally stop. It drapes pretty nicely now so I can’t imagine how wonderful it will be all relaxed after I give it a nice warm bath.