I have somehow managed to sign myself up for a "10 Shawls for 2010" challenge on Ravelry. By doing so I have completely ignored that I want to knit more small accessories in 2010 as I have cold fingers and a cold head most of the year round. However, the shawls challenge does fit nicely into my stashdown knitting. Besides, the goals for the challenge are quite lenient. Yardage for each shawl should be 200 yrds plus with a few exceptions. In other words, the shawls can be quite tiny. I have looked through my stash (although I'm yet to reorganise it - blame my achy shoulder for that one) and I have looked at the shawls I have in my Ravelry queue. So far I am planning to knit the following shawls (in no particular order):

• Aeolian Shawl
• Noget Der Ligner (basically a Danish version of a Shetland hap shawl)
• Bitterroot (I'm thinking maybe using my yak wool for this?)

I'm likely to add more shawls as I find them, as they get published, and as I get new ideas about the yarns in my stash. I do not have my stash fully entered on Ravelry, but I do have some very wonderful things stashed aside and I would rather use them than keep them boxed up in a closet.I am also fully aware that my wardrobe does not need ten shawls, so I will be giftboxing some of the finished items. This may make it easier for me to pair up yarn + pattern. I tend to get a bit intense about finding the right yarn for the right pattern but if I know I will be gifting the shawl, I need not fret so much. After all, most of the recipients have a far more relaxed attitude towards knitting than I do.

And so I cast on for yet another shawl on Sunday. Last year my friend Elaine had knitted a Feather and Fan Comfort shawl (Flickr picture not of Elaine's shawl but of one made by the hugely talented Julia) and I admired it so much that I knew I needed to knit one too. While I was in Copenhagen, I picked up two balls of Drops Delight which I thought would suit the pattern. I am not liking the yarn, unfortunately. It feels far too synthetic to my fingers and it is trying so hard to out-Noro Noro that it is overspun, thick-and-thin, and has jarring colour changes (no hay or sticks, so far though!). In short, the things I find charming about Noro is significantly less charming when the yarn is more synthetic and less baa-baa-sheepsie. At least this project is portable which is something!

The new Rowan magazine is out in the shops now. It features an article by Kate Davies about knitting outdoors - something I am extremely fond of doing myself, although I'm not likely to climb mountains or run a marathon whilst knitting. The magazine also has quite a few patterns I really like. After scrutinising the pictures, I have decided that I am not going to knit that delightful little Kid Silk Haze jumper (body shape issues) but that I really like the Summer Tweed pullover. So that has been added to the list too. So much I want to knit. So little time.