Danish tie shawl update
By Ina
Filed under Knitting Blog, Miscellaneous, Projects
My Danish tie shawl is taking shape:
As you can see, it’s a crescent shape now.
The first time I used this yarn, I made a “Coming Home” Poncho which I described on this post. When I knit the poncho, I thought the Homespun® yarn hard to use. It kept splitting as I knit, and seemed to cling to the needles. I found forming new stitches difficult. The needles were some I’ve had for years. Jumper needles, which are often difficult to find. I like them for knitting large projects, like an afghan.
Or I did until I discovered Denise Knitting Needles
. These interchangeable needles will work as straight needles, jumper needles, circular needles, and even stitch holders. They work great with this yarn. Now there’s no noticeable “stickiness” of the yarn, and no splitting. I have ripped out (a.k.a. frogged) and re-knit a couple of rows, and — Ta-da! —no knotting or splitting! So it must have been the needles, not the yarn. 
Homespun® yarn is 98% acrylic, 2% polyester and has a thread holding the fibers together. Its rippled texture knits up thick and soft. And the subtle — and sometimes not so subtle — striping is, well, cool. 
This picture shows the subtle striping. Hopefully the next one will show more definite stripes…
We’re having a few days of unusually warm weaher. Tomorrow’s afternoon high may even be close to a record high, according to the weather report.
My Bradford pear’s blooms are coming out. Since we’ve had a colder than usual winter, it’s about a month late. That’s okay, it’s always welcome!
Earlier this week, I heard the treefrogs. For those of you not from the South, it’s the first sign of spring! 
The original Danish shawl pattern appeared in Spin-Off magazine. Click here to buy now!
The links to Spin-Off Magazine and Alpaca Direct in this article are affiliate links. Neither provided me with products or samples.
Subscribe with Feedburner
