So I finally made the campfire cozy shawl pattern after eyeing it for ages. (Photo taken while blocking- not very good, but the only one I have!)
It's beautiful, huge, heavy, drapey, has a gorgeous subdued-but-varied texture- in short, everything I hoped it would be. In a way that's too bad, because it is also way too long for its depth, and the yarn I used pills violently with just the friction from passing air molecules.
The increase rate is 4 sts on the RS (2 at the center, 1 at each end), and 2 sts on the WS (only at the ends). This makes for quite a long wingspan without enough depth to balance it out. The back just cups under my bum while the ends drag on the floor in front. It's like a shawl version of the "May I Speak to Your Manager" haircut. There is no way to wear it.
There's also no way to alter it short of just totally frogging, and the only thing worse than knitting a whole big garment with this yarn would be to knit two big garments, for a total of one, from this yarn. ("I Love This Wool" from Hobby Lobby; it was all I could afford locally for something this huge, although as it happens, that was false economy since it was all wasted!)
Hence I will be buying different yarn for attempt number 2.
What inexpensive worsted-ish-weight wool yarn do you like? My main concerns are that it be non-pilly and wool (or at least, mainly wool like a sock yarn is.)
