I bought a skein of Babylonglegs semi-precious 4 ply yarn from Knit Nation – I blame Crafty Cripple for laying temptation in my way by blogging about this gorgeous yarn. I was drawn to the shade ‘Stingray’, a vibrant teal (my favourite colour). I cannot overstate how delicious this yarn is. It is soft as a cloud and the colour glows.

Crafty Cripple used this yarn to make a Travelling Woman shawl, and hers is so beautiful I was inspired to make my own (in other words, I copied her!). The pattern is designed by Liz Abinante (Feministy) and is a free download from Ravelry.

It’s a straightforward knit, with a garter stitch section followed by two repeats of lace chart A and one repeat of lace chart B for the edging. I had enough yarn to do four repeats of chart A, finishing off with one repeat of chart B.

Here’s the full shawl (above) but the colour is truer in the photo below which shows the lace edging in more detail. I wet blocked the finished shawl to open up the lace. I’m slightly disappointed the points aren’t pointier, but overall I like the shawl. It’s soft and warm, plus the colour is amazing.

I was a travelling woman myself last week, as I had to go to Guernsey on Friday. I wore my shawl – it seemed appropriate! I was only there for the day and I was working most of the time. However, I did get an hour to walk down to the harbour and take some photographs.

Guernsey is hilly – I was horrified when I turned a corner and I saw my way back involved these steps! I did get to the top (but with much puffing).

It’s a beautiful island, I wish I’d had more time to explore.