And On This Cloudy Day

The beginning of the semester is always so very exhausting.  The first 4-5 weeks requires so much work. Every night I'd come home around 9 pm feeling completely drained.  With the few hours before bedtime all I could do was veg out in front of TV until I couldn't stay up any longer. Although I had one pattern that is waiting to be edited but I simply couldn't do it. And I also hoped to write a pattern for the Midsomer Sunshine, but I'd realized while it was easy to knit one for myself, writing a top-down one piece raglan style that continues to incorporate new and different cables for multiple sizes is more than a huge task.  I tried one day, and I just could not find a way to write it clearly of the sequence of cables to add in with the increased stitchses. I don't have the mental stamina to do patterns now.  On my days off, I'd rather do my own things than wringing my head through such a rigid manner as writing a pattern. So those tasks would have to be put on hold, for now.

I decided to treat myself to a simple shawl. I looked through the my favorites section on Ravelry and decided on Cloud Illusion by Boo Knits. I picked it for its beauty, little yardage, and, very importantly, many knitters commented on the lace section was easy to memorize..  I needed something that required very little mental effort, something I could relax with after dinner and before bedtime while watching TV to unwind the day. The pattern turned out to be exactly that.

The lace was so very simple with the easy to read chart.  It even had beads! I love beads! The best part - beading was only on the border section over 12 rows, so I simply saved that part for a day I didn't have to work. The picot bind off took 3 hours, though not the most enjoyable part for me,  it was totally worth it.

When I picked up the shawl after it dried from blocking, I had a big grin on my face.  What a beauty!  I am in love with the shawl. This is the kind of design I aspire to make - so very easy, yet with stunning result.  It only took about 415 yards of the fingering weight yarn (Angel's Delight from Wool2Dye4) that I mordant with alum and dyed with logwood grey.