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The five weeks I spent in Europe were lovely. Time passed quickly and although I (and later Mr Soknitsome, too) spent time with many family members and friends, there were, sadly, people we didn’t get to see.

One of the highlights at the start of my trip was the chance to join my old Stitch ’n’ Bitch group in Cologne. I had already cast on a TGV shawl a few days beforehand. It really was super simple knitting and perfect for chatting at the same time. The pattern had been given to me by a former member of the group, DianaGKnits. She felt it was perfect for Schoppel Zauberball (many of the projects on Ravelry use this) and we had once spent ages in a wool shop in Cologne choosing Zauberball colours.

I used Noro Taiyo which is a linen, silk, wool blend. Cool to work with in summer and quite soft. Noro yarns are good for a few colour surprises so I had already rewound the ball, checking for any joins and to make a note of the colour sequence.

After Stitch ’n’ Bitch I continued knitting on this sockStriped sock on knitting needles

and kept TGV for my trip to my parents in Edinburgh. I finished it there, which was perfect timing as Mr Soknitsome and I then travelled on to north Germany. It was pretty cold there and I was really glad to have a scarf to keep the draught out of the neck of my jacket!

The pattern includes some variations and I did the slightly pointier ends (in the ribbing section). I also used almost two-thirds for the garter section and one-third ribbing instead of half and half. I wanted to make the shawl a bit deeper and I think this worked.

Would I knit this again? Most definitely. This can worn as a scarf or small shawl. It’s truly reversible, it doesn’t need blocking and is a great project when you need some ‘mindless’ knitting!stripey shawl with ribbed ruffle