I have a very appropriately titled FO (finished object) to show you tonight. This is Nordic Wind, I bought the pattern for this lovely simple shawl a while ago and even had 3 out of the 4 colours of Lopi in my (ever growing) stash. What pushed me to cast on was The Woolful KAL which I saw on Ravelry. (as an aside, I have majorly gotten into knitting podcasts, my favourites being woolful and knit.fm… I was also OBSESSED with serial, if you like true crime.. Download it!!)
I casted this on New Years day because I needed something quick and quite easy. The aran weight lopi is so lovely to knit with and it all comes together as you increase four stitches on every row. The subtle shading makes it addictive as you want to see how the next colour looks..
Some people on ravelry added more colours for a bigger shawl but i wanted to keep it to the same size as the original because I love how it looks so I stuck to the design dimensions. So over the weekend I knitted furiously while watching ALOT of Brothers and Sisters (Me and Peters Christmas TV binge) and I casted off on Sunday night. I often struggle with a very tight cast off edge so I watched one of my craftsy classes.. ’40 ways to cast on and off’.. or something like that (a guilty pleasure..no matter how many books I read, I am a visual learner!) and I went with a sewn bind off which although took an age definitely did the job and gave me a lovely loose cast off edge. Since I finished about 11pm on Sunday night and work was looming on Monday morning I had to wait to wash and block it until I got home on Monday night.
I washed the shawl using a copious amount of conditioner to soften it up as it would be around my face. I dont find lopi nearly as itchy as some people seem to (Shetland Wool has obviously made me a hardy creature) but I wanted it as soft as possible. I wasn’t sure how to block it but overnight and through the day on Monday I had an idea to try and block it on my jumper board..
So I tied the top of the of the shawl to the underarms of the board and sewed the bottom point to the middle bottom of the board. It worked really well and gave me a much better stretch than if I had pinned it out.. which I never seen to be able to do very well.
What makes this so aptly titled is that this weekend we are preparing for a storm. It has been so very dark in Shetland this week and I don’t know about other people but I have found it very hard to get up and get going. So believe me, I am feeling that Nordic Wind!
I am very pleased with my Nordic Wind shawl.. another piece to add to my Icelandic Wardrobe.
Ella x
ella gordon 
Brilliant way to block a triangular scarf or shawl – thanks for showing us that. Great result!
Its beautiful!
Lovely ! You will be able to wear it when you go to Iceland ? X
Oh, so beautiful! It looks warm and cosy too!
gorgeous & very classy!
Just the perfect neck warmer for a pending storm!! Simply lovely and the blocking is genius at work!!
Ella, I continue to be surprised of our like-knitting!
I just knit Nordic Wind and gifted it to my Mom for Christmas. She uses it as a lap warmer and loves how soft, light-weight and warm it is!
Yours in Yarn Camaraderie!
Susan (sokkgirl)
Sent from my iPod
I am not usually a fan of triangle shawls, but your FO may change my mind just this once.
YIPES, winds of 100 MPH……Hope you survived unscathed!!! that was very clever using your wooly board for blocking. I use wires but have to ‘throw’ the cat off a spare bed to block ;0 Nice colours and I too have used hair conditioner to soften wool…mostly a pair of Icelandic wool socks where I carded the tog and thel together and over time the thel is sneaking out and annoying me :) Enjoy your scarf/shawl!
Love the colour gradient. It makes me want to make one
It is really a lovely shawl. And it will serve you well! And what a grand idea to use the jumper board!
It has been dark down here in Germany, too, haven’t seen the sun for over two months, except on three or four days. So I got a super daylight lamp the size of an IPad. It works wonders in the morning!
Won’t be at woolweek this year as our wee one is starting school. My Dad will get to meet you all instead!
All the best,
Joanne
Simplicity of colour and design, perfection indeed! Thanks for the tip about hair conditioner, I have lopi to block for toddlers, this is an excellent way to soften.
It’s been so dark in Glasgow I can only imagine what it would be like up in Shetland. We’re getting some nice sun just now but bracing for the weekend. Stay warm in your lovely shawl.
A lovely warm Nordic wind to wear. I am a big fan of Lopi also. The natural colors you used are beautiful.
We don’t have winds as strong, but we had a wind chill of -34.4 C yesterday and sunshine. Wow, 100 mph winds…be careful out there!
Thanks for all the detailed pictures… I’m thinking of making my own version of a Shetland jumper board, as it looks so effective, and better than my current ‘pin it to the carpet through a towel’ aproach. I made a triangular shawl myself from leaf-green Iceland Einband lace weight, I am immune to scratchiness luckily, it’s a wool that needs a lot of washing to get ‘loft’. Light too, the matching hat is only 27g!
That is a beautiful shawl, Ella, and what a great way to block it. I am going to add that to my list of reasons to buy a jumper board next time I’m in Shetland.
Beautiful! I’ve been so inspired by gradient projects lately, and yours is stunning.
Ooh this is lovely, I love the colour mix. I have a very similar pattern that I’ve been wanting to make for ages, I need to get around to it! :)
I love this!
Do you meaN hair conditioner? Or a special wool conditioner? I’m so bad at blocking but trying to improve recently :)
My friend brought me some Lopi last summer from Iceland and this was what I chose to knit (I reversed the colour order)! I’m so chuffed to see it around the net, now… :) One of my favourite shawls. I also washed it in (hair) conditioner and find it hairy but not scratchy and very very warm in this mild winter.
(I found you through the Radio Scotland piece and yes, was able to listen in Switzerland – radio iplayers work abroad, tv ones don’t…)