Milena shawl, finished

It's finished, and photographed, and it makes for snuggliest, softest, warm hug of a shawl.

This project was lovely for so many reasons. I cast it on right before we left for Maine and I finished the setup rows on the plane and at airports so that I could knit the shawl body once we arrived (in a more relaxed/distracted vacation knitting mode). It will always remind me of that trip.

The yarn is dreamy, which I'll say each and every time I knit with it. I have another skein of this yarn in a beautiful rust color that's bound to become a hat and I already can't wait to knit with it. And whereas previously, I've knit with this yarn on US 5 needles for a rather dense fabric, I knit this shawl on US 7 needles, which made for lovely drape.

Apart from the yarn, the shawl construction was very enjoyable, methodical, rhythmic.  I loved all the slipped stitches, garter stitch, side-to-side construction, and cables on the edges. And I love when patterns specific that you begin decreasing, etc. when you've used 50% of your yarn. When all was said and done, I only had one gram of yarn left, which is preferable to having an odd amount of leftovers.

I like wearing it best with the top cabled edge folded in. And you can bet I'll wear this one so much whenever the weather permits.

Details

For even more details, you can see my ravelry project page

Yarn: Quince and Co Phoebe in Andromeda, received as a Christmas gift from my SIL, Katelyn <3

Pattern: Milena

Needles: US size 7. I sized down, as is my usual for my loose tension. Even with the US 7s, I made a rather drapey shawl (which was perfect). But for other accessories, like hats, I prefer to use US 5 or so for this yarn.

Specifics/modifications: I alternated skeins for the first time, since this yarn has a hand-dyed look. Even though this was a hassle, especially as a travel project, I'm so glad I did! The skeins were quite different, and so alternating them produced a lovely "blended" effect.