In 2021 I made this Favorite shawl variation (see the original Favorite shawl here) with some Softyak DK and one ball of Mountain Color Twizzle in the Mardi Gras colorway, a colorway exclusive to The Quarter Stitch, the New Orleans yarn shop that’s near Jackson Square. Some knitting friends suggested that I write a pattern for it, but I procrastinated, and here we are almost two years later.
Using yarn from one of our favorite vacation cities, it occurred to me that lots of knitters buy “souvenir yarn” from shops they visit when they’re out of town. This inspired the name for the new pattern, Vacation Favorite, a design that makes that special variegated souvenir skein the star of the show.
In the photo, you can see all of the stitch patterns used in the shawl. There’s plain garter, striped garter, eyelet lace, little boxes (upper left corner), and fairy lights (lower right corner). The pattern has instructions for each of these stitches and exact directions for how I used them to make the shawl, but knitters can also choose to take these stitch patterns and use them in any combination and amount at their whim to make their own versions.
It’s been long enough since I knitted the sample above that I had to do little swatches to remember exactly how some of it came together. That’s OK, it kind of made me my own test knitter. As I knitted my swatches and wrote the pattern out, I realized how much I enjoy having a go-to shawl shape. This shape, the boomerang or asymmetrical triangle, is a true favorite. I’ve made so many of them, the formula is knitted into my brain, and at this point, I can start them anywhere, anytime, and design as I knit. What could be more compelling to an improvisational knitter and crocheter?
Freeform Yarny Things 