Wrapping Up a Weekend of Shawls with Melanie Berg
April 21 2017 – thisisknit
We had a truly wonderful weekend earlier this month with Melanie Berg's fabulous trio of shawl workshops. Knitters from far and wide came to learn more about Shawl Construction, Colourwork Shawls and Mosaic Knitting. Over the course of both days the students around Melanie's table were simply blown away by the many beautiful samples she brought with her as project inspiration. Her projects are a treasure trove of subtle texture, exciting colour pops and clever construction.
If you missed out on a place at the workshops then we have some good news for you: Melanie's Trunk Show of shawls will be in our shop until the end of the month. We hope you can pop in to see, feel, and try them on yourself. If not, then let us share with you just a few of our favourites here before they make the trip back home...
A firm favourite of the weekend, this generous wrap is knit in Woolfolk Sno and it is indescribably soft. A project of this size and yarn provenance is a pure, unadulterated luxury, but several if not all the students uttered the words "so worth it..." We are not currently stocking Sno, but we are happy to take special orders for the yarn if you love this shawl as much as we do!
An intriguing geometric stitch pattern, achieved through slipped stitches alone, so that you are only ever working with one colour per row. Care to see how it's done? Then download "The Girl in Me", chose two strongly contrasting shades and cast on. The original was knit in a sport weight yarn, and is a sizeable project. We think you could easily change down the needle size a bit and go for a 4ply instead. The result would be a lighter weight, but still generously sized, shawl.
Melanie's eye for colour is impeccable, and this design shows off that talent perfectly. The base is a subtle two-tone canvas, interspersed with a warm burnt orange highlight. And that final pop of bright yellow? Genius!
Play around with your own "blank canvas" of light and medium grey, and be inspired by some of the beautiful versions on Ravelry. Moonraker is the perfect shawl to use up some leftover yarn from previous projects too.
That little yellow pop? It could be the leftovers from a wild pair of socks, a colourful kids sweater or a statement scarf... Take a little stash dive and see what inspiration you might find. When you're ready to cast on we'll be happy to fill in the gaps with a base yarn to match.
We hope you have enjoyed this short preview. Remember that these shawls, and many more from Melanie's collection, will only be with us until the end of the month so be sure to stop in to view the full range if you can!
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