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Made my first triangular shawl - using the Swallowtail pattern by Evelyn Clark; the pattern can be found here . I bought a skein of Noro Kureyon Sock from Tricot in Scunthorpe. Originally I was going to make a pair of socks; then realised it was hand wash only, which would have meant the socks would not have been worn very much. So I thought I'd make something that would show off the colours better, it was a choice between the Swiss Cheese scarf and Swallowtail shawl. The Swallowtail seemed to be more interesting to make. Was really quick and didn't realise until I started to knit how a triangular shawl is made; for some reason I had assumed you start at the pointy end! Anyway about a week later; voila my very own Swallowtail.

My husband bought me Scarf Style by Pam Allen for my birthday. Really loved the Lady Eleanor Entrelac Stole but the yarn suggested would end up costing me and absolute fortune. For it to work well it really needed to change colour throughout; Noro was an obvious choice but again it would end up being very expensive. I noticed a few people on Ravelry used James C. Brett Marble and they looked really pretty. I found the Marble in my local haberdashery store and for 6 100g balls it was only £9 which is approximately $13. My first attempt at entrelac has turned out to be very enjoyable. It is really easy to do; all you need to know is h ow to knit, purl, pick up stitches and in the odd triangles at the edges know simple increases and decreases. It is really satisfying to see the woven effect grow. Quite a few people on Ravelry seem to have missed the knotted fringe off but to me it looks a lot more elegant with it. The photo is of my progress so far.

Finished the shawl and I am so pleased with it. The Heirloom Merino Lace blocked beautifully and the shawl actually feels like air; and it's so soft. I have plenty of time to spare before my sister-in-law's birthday too. It was quite and easy knit too though slightly problematic when I dropped a stitch as the lace pattern is on both the right side and the wrong side of the knitting which made it tricky to pick up lost stitches. The border was a lot easier to do than I thought it would be. Loved the wool so much I think I'll make something else. Heirloom Knitting seem to have introduced a few more colours this week in their range. I was thinking of buying the violet and making the South Seas Stole by Laura Patterson. The pattern seems to change throughout so thought it could be a quite interesting make.