I made a lot of gifts this year, and they were mostly knitwear. I have made my mother-in-law several things in the past, but they were all quite practical, like socks. I wanted to make her something this year that was more of a treat. One hurdle was that she is allergic to wool, so I had to find something else that would work - I found some beautiful cotton yarn, but ultimately it didn’t have the soft, luxurious feeling I was looking for. I then found out that alpaca yarn is hypoallergenic, which was a big relief! I could only find a lace weight yarn that didn't include any sheep's wool, so I bought that - Malabrigo Silkpaca in two colours, a blue and a green. I held two strands together to make up the 4ply weight needed.

I made a tester bracelet for my mother in law to try wearing and make sure it was safe to wear, and when that was confirmed I got knitting. It was a fun pattern, the Combinatorics Shawl by Tetiana Otruta, and satisfying to see the sections build up over time.

I also made the Ashton Shawlette for my mum, and I used a worsted weight Malabrigo yarn. The shawl knitted up super quickly because of the heavy weight, and it's very snuggly. It also had a brilliant blocking transformation!