The Jungle Book Shawlette - Finished!

The pattern had a slight asymmetry deliberately introduced to give the pattern a more organic feel.  An effect that I really like on the gradiance sets and the semi-solid colors, but with the dramatic color changes of my yarn it just wasn't working, so I adjusted the pattern to make it symmetrical.  I also went down to a size 5 needle, which gave me a slightly tighter gauge than called for and a slightly smaller shawlette, although it is still 54" across.  The colorway is Fall Goddess on Luxe by the Unique Sheep and I used a little less than 1 skein (400 yards).

I think that this colorway really demonstrates the necessity of matching yarn types and colors with patterns.  I had originally bought this yarn for the Phoenix and the Carpet shawl, but once I started knitting with it I just wasn't happy with the way it was turning out, because it just wasn't coming together the way it should.  So I put the shawl aside for a while until a different colorway spoke to me - the Golden Mustard.  Meanwhile, Fall Goddess sat in my basket feeling a little abandoned, knowing that it could become a beautiful shawl, if only the right pattern came along.  Fortunately one did and I am extremely happy with the way the shawl turned out.  I loved knitting it and watching the colors change and pool and play off of each other.

Of course, the yarn itself is important as well.  If you don't enjoy handling the yarn, it just isn't going to be that much fun to knit with. I love knitting with Luxe.  It has a nice twist to it, so it has great stitch definition and once it is blocked it develops a wonderful hand, soft and drapey, but not limp.  It is one of my favorite fingering weight yarns.  Personally, I feel that if you aren't enjoying the knitting, you shouldn't do it.  Life is too short and there are too many beautiful yarns and wonderful patterns out there to spend time working on something that you don't love.