Howdy, friends! I’m back with an exciting adventure. First, I want to tell you about a brand new pattern: Choose Greg’s Adventure 2022 Mystery Shawl! I hope you’ll join me on the adventure, but I want to let you know what’s happening before you sign up. Read on to find out how to get a discount on the yarn that I’m using and get a copy of the pattern at no charge with a yarn purchase.

Throughout the summer of 2022, I will be designing this shawl “in public.” What does that mean? It means that I will be sharing details about my design process as I go. Additionally, when I get to points where it’s time to make design choices, I will put some of those choices up for an internet vote. So you can have input on how the final shawl comes out.

I do have some basic parameters I will be working with: this is an asymmetrical triangle shawl knit with 2 hanks of light fingering yarn. I am using Beach Bunny Yarns World Traveler—one hank is variegated and the other is tonal. The variegated yarn will largely be seed stitch for texture, and the tonal yarn will be lace. Choosing the lace patterns is where the internet voting will come in! I think there will be 2-3 lace panels inside the shawl and a final one at the end. This is represented in the diagram at the top of the page with the light green sections labeled A-D.

I’ll be writing more detail about the process as we go here on my blog, and will be talking about it on Unraveling…a knitting podcast.

To be prepared, get 2 hanks of light fingering yarn (100g each). I recommend a variegated yarn for the textured sections of the shawl and a complementary solid/tonal for the lace sections. The Beach Bunny Yarns World Traveller that I’m using is light fingering, 80/20 merino/nylon, approx. 488 yards/100g.

Recommended needles are US6 (4.0mm).

We will be starting at the left point of the shawl and moving towards the wide base on the right. I will release the first clue once Design Decision A has been made (probably around May 21, 2022).

NOTE: Due to the nature of the design process, the individual clues will not be tech edited or test knit by anyone other than me. Once the shawl is complete, I will convert all the clues to a single, cohesive pattern and have it tech edited. Because the design won’t be polished until the end, it is currently priced at $3. Once the completed design is published, the price will increase to $6. Of course, patrons of Unraveling…a knitting podcast always receive a 50% discount for all of my patterns. See the Patreon page for additional details. If you want to use Beach Bunny Yarns World Traveller, too, be sure to tune in to Episode 144 of Unraveling…a knitting podcast to find out how to get a discount on the purchase of 2 hanks. When you purchase yarn from Beach Bunny Yarns using the coupon code, you will also get a code for a free download of the pattern from Ravelry.

Choosing My Yarn

I met Ron Roberts from Beach Bunny Yarns at the Carolina Fiber Fest a few months ago. We chatted for a bit and bantered about the idea of me working with his yarn for a design. I thought it sounded fun and picked up two hanks of the yarn he had in the booth. It’s the World Traveler line, and I picked up the Liffey Falls and Lichen colorways.

The Liffey falls is the variegated and the Lichen is the tonal. I love them both! Ron works to have tonal yarn that matches the variegated yarn he carries. You can see bits of the Lichen in the Liffey Falls, and I’m looking forward to seeing how well they complement each other when they’re knit together in this shawl. I’ve started knitting the yarn in the Liffey Falls collorway and am totally enjoying how it’s working out in the seed stitch. I might knit it a little father before I switch to the decision that gets made here. Check out how the beginning of the shawl looks so far.

Decision Time!

Refer back to the general schematic at the top of this post. That’s basically how I think the shawl is going to work out, but the widths of the sections aren’t representative of how wide they will actually be once I’m designing it. We started on the left side and are at Decision Point A now. This section won’t be terribly wide, but it will be wide enough to highlight an eyelet lace pattern. I have knitted up 2 different eyelet swatches. The first has the eyelets lined up in a row, the second has the eyelets appearing to be all over the place. Which do prefer we use to kick off our shawl design? Check out the photos and vote below! Voting will conclude sometime around Friday, May 20, 2022. (Note: some users have reported issues voting using the Firefox browser. If you have an issue voting, try using Chrome.)

Once the votes are in, I’ll update the pattern with the newest instructions and get to knitting my sample to the next decision point. I’ll be back here with the next decision point then. But until then, pick up your copy of the pattern on Ravelry and be sure to tune in to Unraveling…a knitting podcast to hear more about the design process and how to get a $10 discount on yarn from Beach Bunny Yarns.

Until next time, keep on knitting for the ones you love!

-greg

Email: greg@KnittingDaddy.com
Website: KnittingDaddy.com
Instagram: @KnittingDaddy
Knitting Daddy designs on Ravelry
Unraveling…a knitting podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.