Time traveling

I forget how much I love to read until I pick up a book again.  I love reading so much.  There is little that can surpass the beauty of a good book.  It can be read and re-read and dreamt of.

Mind you, though:  the book has to be good.

To read my good books, favorite old friends of mine, I now have my shawl.  Way back when, in the beginning, I knit a "wrap" for this purpose.  But it is time that it is replaced.  That wrap is 100% acrylic; this shawl is 100% wool.

The reason I made the shawl is that I had three good-sized balls of Cascade wool, which was not enough for a sweater unless I made a vest.  However, vests are not really my style, so I did not venture down that route.  Having recently read Kate's blog about her hap design, though, I decided there might be enough for a hap of my own.

So I made a hap/shawl/wrap/what-have-you for the days that, while reading my favorite book, my shoulders feel a mite chilly.  Because of the yarn's worsted weight, it is nice and thick and cozy, yet it is not bulky.  And because it is beautiful Cascade wool (that I got at that awesome yarn swap), it is soft, lofty, and has a nice drape.  The yarn blocked wonderfully, too.

I love good-quality free yarn.

Really, the shawl was a great project.  Shawl-making is one of those quirky things that knitters love to do, since it is a great way to showcase shaping and stitches.  I did not go over-the-top in designing the shawl, making it very plain, but the edging was a lot of fun.

Shawls are so old-fashioned.  They are lovely, though.  Even if I never wear the shawl in public (which is highly likely), I can't help but love it.

Happy Wednesday, all!