A hug from a friend

Back in April I was lucky to be able to meet 3 very special friends who live in the US: Maggy, Carol and Shannon, you might remember I talked about them in this post.

These lovely friends gave me a very special gift, a skein of yarn spun by Shannon herself.  I know very little about this yarn.  I still don't even know what type of fiber it was made of!  All I knew was that it was special, and it was made for me.

So at first I though I should design something for it... But what?  What would do it justice?  Would people know where to find this kind of delicious yummy handspun?  I didn't save it in a box in my stash... I kept it in my WIP basket all this time, trying to figure out what to make with it.
And then it stroke me: The present was for me, and I could really use some time off from work... Which meant I didn't need to design something with it, but just enjoy it and play!

So I just cast on a few stitches, worked a Garter St tab, and then started a plain stockinette st shawl.  You know, the kind where you K2, yo, k to marker, yo, k1, yo, k to end, yo, k2. :)
It was soooooo much fun to just sit with my knitting on the couch and knit without taking notes or following some drafted directions!  It was totally worth it, and it helped me finish some other patterns that were lacking corrections or edition.

So here I present you what I made with it, I called it "A hug from a friend" (link to my Ravelry project), cause when I wear it, it feels like my friends are here with me, even though we live so far away.

As you see, I couldn't help it, I had to add a fringe.  I know, these are not for everyone, but I just LOVE a good fringe!  I think it makes a shawl more fun and casual... And I actually do wear the fringed ones.
The fringe is a knitted-on border, and since I was really relaxed while doing it, you might see some of the stems nearer to each other than others...  I call it a shawl with personality.

Hope you are enjoying your knitting too!

~Joji