Five on Friday - Couthie Shawl

 Friday seems to come round quicker every week but it is great to be joining up with Amy again at Love Made my Home for Five on Friday. It has been a busy week with lots going on and I was undecided what to share this week but have decided to keep it simple. So simple it is really one thing not five! 

This is cheating a bit but here are five photos of my Couthie Shawl.

This has been my summer pick up and put down project whenever I had a moment or when too tired to work on other things. The pattern is from Christine Perry (Winwick Mum) and can be found here. Christine wrote the wonderful book Super Socks and is responsible for me (and lots of others) learning to knit socks. Couthie is a Scottish word and I believe it means cosy and comfortable, which this shawl really is.

The yarn came from Truly Hooked and is hand dyed merino wool with nylon and ohhh sooo soft. It has been a delight to work with and I'm sure will be very cosy to wear. The splodges of delicate colour are repeated throughout the shawl.

The shawl is worked in bands of stocking stitch broken up with rows of drop stitch, which fall into lovely soft pleats as it gets longer. Along with the pattern Christine provides a handy chart of all the rows which you can mark off. A little daunting at the beginning when you see how far there is to go but exciting when you get near the end and most of the page has lines through it. 

The pattern advises blocking so that it will drape well. So being a bit of a rule follower (I would love to be a rebel, but do not think it is in my nature), I blocked the shawl carefully and here is is above. It is beautiful and the blocking does show off the pattern and the pretty yarn, but I couldn't help feeling a teeny tiny bit of disappointment that the pleats had gone.  

So I blocked it again, more loosely this time.

There are a few fold and pleats in the shawl now, making me happy. I was probably too vigorous with the first blocking. Christine's pattern is excellent and I will certainly make the Couthie shawl again. Maybe next time I will not block it at all, especially if I make it for myself. This one is a Birthday gift for a family member later in the year.

This extra photo has been sneaked in so you can see what it looks like on.

The shawl can be worn with the two long points down the front but I like it with the long points down the back as the centre point drapes so well across the front. 

(Particularly when you do not have much frontage like me!)