Cotton Candy Mohair

Every once in a while, God gives me an idea project that actually turns out amazingly beautiful & on Saturday morning, I woke up with just such an idea in mind.  I found out on Thursday that my new friend's birthday was on Friday & of course, I had no idea what to get her.  She has expressed interest in learning how to crochet & knit so I was thinking that something handmade would mean alot to her...but what on earth can you make in 1 day???

The idea I woke up with was for a pale pink shawl made out of mohair yarn with tiny beads throughout - quite a tall order for a Saturday, don't ya think!?!  Well, I got up early Saturday morning & headed straight to my favorite specialty yarn shop - as I walked in, I immediately saw the most perfect yarn for my project!  It was a mohair/silk blend from Italy in the most gorgeous shade of pale pink - now keep in mind that I have NEVER worked with mohair before & had no idea how easy or difficult it would be to knit.  Come to find out, mohair is very easy to work with...much better than those faux fur yarns - the natural quality of the yarn is amazingly soft, durable & a breeze to knit with!

Of course, before I went to the yarn shop, I stopped by Michael's to find a suitable gift box for my spectacular undertaking...here's what I found :)  It was perfect!

I decided to use a prayer shawl pattern that I have made exactly once before...but it turned out quite well & only took me 6 hours the first time.  It started small...as most projects do...see the little sparkly beads???

Although this project took quite a bit longer that my first shawl - 12 hours to be exact - it was so worth it!  The yarn is lace weight & I ended up using size 11 needles to make it extra airy.  There was no rhyme or reason to the beads, I just placed them wherever I thought they should be :)  So, after 12 long hours of knitting, here is the gorgeous finished product...I must say that I'm quite proud of it!  It's so light that it could be a cotton candy cloud :)

Close-up of bead work...can you see them?

All folded up in the box w/pink & white tissue paper



My lovely friend all wrapped up in her cotton candy mohair shawl :)

I'm still in awe at how well this project turned out & how quickly the knitting went...I will definitely be making more of these!  Who knows, maybe I'll get a few buyers :)