Stitches West is this weekend! I thought this would be a good time to spotlight a gorgeous shawl that was born last year at Stitches. I asked Elena if she would allow us to share her project, and let us know more about it, and she graciously agreed.

I met Haiku at Stitches West last year. I usually buy yarn with a project in mind. When I go to Stitches I take with me a list of projects I would like to knit with notes about yarn weight and yardage required for each project. Asunder shawl was on my list.

I seem to have a soft spot for large shawls with clean simple lines. What I like about Asunder is that it’s elegant and modern at the same time. In particular I was attracted by its dropped stitch sections, those made the shawl look different from others I knit before.

When I saw Haiku as I was walking into the Anzula booth, I fell in love with the yarn. I was definitely taken by the amazing colors. I mostly like solid or subtle variegated colors and Haiku was just perfect. It had the right amount of light and darkness, enough to give the yarn a beautiful depth.

I knew I wanted a darker color for the main body and a lighter one for the dropped stitches stripes. I chose the colors Bark and Lenore and I must say the choice was surprisingly easy. Those colors looked so good together!

Only afterward I realized my color choice was probably unconsciously influenced by other people’s Asunder. I was quite surprised to notice that, because I had no specific color plan when I chose and bought the yarn. Some people before me used a golden color combined with a cooler shade though, so I guess that stuck in my head.

I really enjoyed knitting Asunder with Haiku. I think the shawl turned out great, it has soft sheen and a lovely drape thanks to the bamboo content of the yarn. I find it extremely gratifying when I am able to spot a good yarn-pattern match.

I can't wait to see what beautiful projects originate at this year's Stitches West, this weekend in Santa Clara, CA. This is our one retail event each year, and we offer our most comprehensive selection of yarns during this event.