I found it worth the effort to devise a method to keep track effectively. Many knitters have shared their hacks online, but I particularly enjoyed the guidance from The Yarn Queen NZ’s YouTube video—it was a real game-changer for me.

To help manage the colorful sections, I turned to the Knitting Genius app on both my tablet and phone. It’s packed with helpful tools and well worth the annual subscription.

As someone with a neuro-divergent mind, I can hyper-focus on a project but often struggle to remember where I left off if I step away for a while. This was one reason I hesitated to start this project, especially since working with short rows can be confusing and, if done incorrectly, can result in gaps.

My breakthrough came when I received a gift card for a local yarn shop, London Yarns. There, I met Judy, who had just finished her own version of the shawl. It was gorgeous, adorned with purples and pinks and a stunning edging in a crochet stitch known as the crab stitch, which she executed in the main colour. Inspired by her use of German Short Rows—an easier alternative to the traditional method—I decided to give them a try after watching a helpful tutorial by The Blue Mouse Knits.

With a solid plan in place, I began my shawl, although I frogged it several times until I settled on a colour combination that resonated with me. Now, several sections in, I find the process of knitting this shawl addictive. Each section’s texture is more captivating than the last, and it’s the first time I’ve worked with the garter stitch and thought, “Wow, that’s beautiful!”

I have a lot on my plate, so I’m not sure how long it will take to complete the shawl, but I do know that each time I pick it up, it fills me with joy. What more could a fiberartist want?

Until next time friends…