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Twists and Turns MKAL - finished and happy

I finished Twists and Turns on Thursday - exactly a month after I started it. Although there were some dramas I enjoyed (most of) the process, and I loved the finished object. Looking back, there was one drama for each clue 


Clue 1 my stitch count was radically out, clue 2 involved a lot of purling and when I first read about it I was furious (I used a modification so I could knit instead). Clue 3 I knit one repeat too short and had to fix it later and clue 4, when knit according to the pattern looked weird to me, so I did the early finish and love it.

In between all the drama was a lot of fun knitting. There were interesting techniques,  like that braid. The yarn (another drama) was beautiful and I love the colours. The shape is my absolute favourite - a very long crescent that is not too deep.

Mainly though I love the process, knitting along with thousands of other people, seeing the different colours, the changes people make even before they know what the final shawl is going to look like, the chatting in the forums, the energy all this brings to the process of knitting a shawl. 

This was my third Westknits MKAL, and probably my favourite. I'm sure I'll be back next year to see what wild surprises Mr West has in store for all of us.

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