Noro Multnomah

After my success with the Ishbel I think I was light headed with shawl loving glee. I decided to cast on almost immediately for another shawl. I love my comfort shawl and have worn it a great deal during the cold snap we have had this winter. It is snuggly and of course comforting. However, it is very heavy and hot. This is great for Winter, not so great when it becomes milder. This realisation of mine has lead to a plan, a plan for a lighter weight shawl.

I looked at lots of shawl patterns and chose one that was pretty straight forward. I didn't want a repeat of the Ishbel debacle so I wanted a shawl that didn't confuse my poor head. I settled on the Multnomah by Kate Flagg. The yarn I used is Noro Kureyon Sock yarn and I decided to use 2 skeins of it.

I love Noro yarn. I may have stated that just a few times before. I love the colours and the natural feel to the yarn. It feel "authentic" somehow and I just wish it didn't cost so darn much so I would use it all the time. Using Noro sock yarn is my way of circumnavigating the hideous cost of the yarn. At around £10 each skein the shawl becomes an affordable luxury, unlike making a full size garment.

Like the comfort shawl this pattern is based around the feather and fan stitch pattern, but starts with a garter stitch portion until the required stitch count is reached. I decided to make a large shawl, rather than a shawlette so I started with enough stitches for 10 pattern repeats on each side of the shawl.

I like the way the ends of the shawl curl around, so it sits on the shoulders more easily. One thing I don't like about the comfort shawl, if I want it wrapped tightly around my shoulders, I end up with a collar on my shawl.

I love the colours in this yarn. They are bright and zingy and are destined to cheer me up on a damp Spring or Autumn morning. They look like sherbet sweets to me and particularly remind me of "Striper" bars that I used to eat after swimming as a child.

I have managed 44 rows of the feather and fan pattern which means I have 13 pattern repeats on either side of the shawl. The pattern is getting a little bit more tricky and a couple of times I have almost resorted to a glass of wine to calm my tattered nerves. However despite a couple of wobbly moments it is progressing well.

Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will have more to show you.