Here is the Truly Tasha Shawl finished, an almost laughably fast piece of work.
I must say that I am rather disappointed with one aspect of the Cashsoft, that out of six full balls three of them ended with a loose six- or seven-inch piece, then a small unattached wodge in the middle. Splices in a ball I understand, knots I accept, but this is going too far. Not at all what I can accept from something with "Classic" in its name. The yarn itself is a bit apt to split, and is already tending to fuzz a little, but is wonderfully soft — the finished garter stitch has a beautiful drape and feels almost like velvet. David started caressing it the other day — said, "Ooh, what’s this?!" then checked himself gruffly.
That said, the shawl itself is very pretty, and I’m almost embarrassed about how little effort actually went into it. I compliment Nancy Bush on the design — it is completely reversible, even the lace edging, and I like the way that the yarn-overs at the sides are echoed in the edging, so that the top has a line of eyelets as well. I was delighted to see how the edging at the top incorporates the live stitches, so that no binding-off is necessary, which next to sewing up is my least favorite part of knitting. The shawl is not really large enough in the original size to tie or wrap around, so a pin may be in order at times — otherwise, the drape is enough to keep it in place over the shoulders while reading or knitting.
Tasha herself seems to solve this by wearing hers under her apron straps!
(Photo from Tasha Tudor and Family)
Regarding size, since I did not use worsted-weight wool and therefore couldn’t use the given "work until you finish the third skein" system, I worked the center piece until it was about an inch short of the given length, then added the edging, to make it a similar size to the original.
A Bluestocking Knits 
Leave a comment