Shawl in the Sun

Short post today -- picking up Sid (grandson) at noon and then to favorite Vietnam restaurant, Wendy's II, in Tacoma.  Sid orders Black Bean Tofu; I will have Tofu Salad.

Shawl in the Sun - can you see the holes that make the design?
That's Lace Knitting

This is a shawlette in one of the Noro Yarns, from Yorkshire Yarns in Lakewood.  The pattern is from KnitPicks, one of their independent designers.  Have made the shawlette several times for gifts.  Easy pattern to begin lace-type knitting, which means holes from yarn-overs and knitting two stitches together.  Both of these actions feel like mistakes the first time but they are required for the lacy look, even if the yarn is chunky like this Noro.

And here it is in a lump.  Most knitting includes LUMPS (which I'm gonna use in my tags/labels!)  You begin with a lump of skeins, a lump of in-progress knitting on the needles, and a lump of knitted work before you spread it out and block it into shape.  Most knitters also encounter the awful 

Lump of Tangles, 

which is not a character in any book, but a pile of knotted yarn that appears when you drop the loosely wound ball of yarn or pull out too many yards to knit and then walk away.  The Lump of Tangles works best when left alone quietly in the dark of overnight.

But this lump is the shawl, so you can see all the colors.  They happen 'automatically' because the Noro Yarn, like a lot of yarns these days, includes all these colors in one ball of  yarn.  As you knit the colors change and depending on the needle size (big or small) and the decision of the yarn colorer (is that a word?), you get strips that are wide or narrow.  Very Kewel.