Knitting fail

I've been sewing for long enough to know that not everything I make is going to be a roaring success. Thankfully, projects as disastrous as the Dress of Frump are rare, but there are things which don't quite hit the mark. The fit may be slightly off, the fabric may not be ideal for the pattern, or the end result might just not suit me. On the knitting front, I've been happy with the way my projects have turned out so far, but there's a first time for everything.

I bought this skein of 4-ply as an add-on to Yarn Unique's 'gemstone' advent calendar last year. The shade is Opal Fire, and it's a lovely mix of the colours found in opals, on a dusty pink base.

The skein

There are lots of shawl patterns for that single skein that you just couldn't resist at the wool show, but eventually I settled on Close To You by Justyna Lorkowska of Lete's Knits, who also designed the Lothian shawl. It's a great pattern - simple enough for me to knit while chatting to my mum, but with a border detail to keep it interesting. A bonus for me was that the way it's knitted meant that I was able to do the whole thing on straight needles; at its widest it was only 154 stitches.

The cast-on edge is at the bottom of the picture

The design can be adapted by adding extra pattern repeats if desired. I had enough wool for one more, and was left with just 5g of yarn.

Leftovers

The shawl is finished with a picot edging, which I had never tried before, but was easy to do and effective.

Something new learned

I really like the pattern, and will definitely knit it again. The issue I have with the end result comes from the yarn. Close up, the colours shine.

Yellows, blues and purples in the mix

Lots of variety

But from a distance, to me they seem to fade into a mostly sludgy grey.

Ugh

I think that the problem would occur whatever pattern I used, so there is no point in frogging it and trying again. However, hopefully I have found a solution. I was explaining the situation to a friend, and showed her a photo of the completed shawl on my phone. Her taste in colours runs to a more muted palette than mine, and she loved it. So, if she likes it as much in real life, I will gift it to her to be enjoyed rather than lurking in a drawer in my home. And no doubt at some point I will have another go with different yarn.

Meanwhile, I have a new project to begin - more on that soon.