New mohair shawl + Seoul trip

I have a lovely new shawl creation to share that is a bit different from ones I’ve made previously. This cloud-like confection is based on a Japanese pattern that is sadly not available online anymore – the website where I found it ceased to update last year. However, I did save the chart for this garment, and substituted my preferred yarn, which was a laceweight 70/30 kid mohair/silk. The resulting garment has a soft halo.

I really loved working with this mohair yarn, even though it has its challenges.

This is the first shawl I’ve made exclusively by using chart symbols. After some time, it was pretty easy, and I made a number of personal changes to the pattern, not least of which is the border. The original called for very long fringe, and I replaced it with a lettuce edge, which I think is still very dainty, but “cleaner.”

As if I don’t have enough hobbies… I have finally decided to take the plunge (or at least wade in the kiddy pool) and try embroidery. I received two awesome Jessica Long kits in the mail to get me started, and thankfully they come with plenty of video instruction for this newbie. These kits were so lovingly packed and every detail seems to have been considered. My inaugural stitches will be happening this week! 🙂

Lastly, a few photos from my 3-day excursion to Seoul last week. I wasn’t able to visit my family in the States, so I did some short trips around Korea to keep me cheered and inspired. I stayed in a little hotel hidden away on an Insadong side street. Insadong is a district in Seoul that is known for its traditional Korean houses (hanok),* handicrafts, art galleries, and charming tea houses. (*Check my posts a year and a half ago from Seoul and from my own back yard two years ago, to see examples of hanok.)

My main activities in Seoul centered around shopping (mask shops are now a thing…), site-seeing, and eating. Apart from tea, however, I managed to not have any Korean meals during this trip. I adore Korean food, but Seoul has such variety compared to my smaller city, so I took advantage of that. Among my many purchases were two small pieces of folk embroidery to inspire my new embroidery venture (see photos), and a slew of masks with cheery prints on them (hopefully my students will love them).

Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully I will have some progress on the embroidery next time.