This pattern has been a long time coming, so to say I'm excited to finally release it is an understatement. I experimented with elongated stitch a few years ago, which involves a series of drop stitches creating the unique oval texture you see in the body of the shawl. The entire time I was knitting it I kept thinking of watching roly polys (or doodle bugs, everyone has their own name for them) in my back yard as a kid. The crossing and length of the stitches in this pattern reminded me of their little shells, their exoskeletons. Thus, the origin of the name, Exoskeleton. While I chose the name based on an association with the stitch pattern, I think a shawl in itself is a sort of second skin, another layer of protection and warmth.

Thank you to my lovely friend Jenna for modeling for me, despite the fact that it took me over a year to put the photos to use. Cheers to shawl season!

You may purchase the pattern in my Ravelry store or on Etsy.

Words cannot express how excited I am to be back on this project again! I've definitely missed it. The next few forms for the 52 Forms of Fungi series also include a bit of exciting news... Berroco offered recently to provide yarn for some of my mycological creations, and I shortly thereafter received a nice little package of Ultra Alpaca (one of my most favorite yarns!) in multiple gauges and a variety of colors, as well as a couple of other yarny surprises. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the support, and want to say a big "THANK YOU!" to Norah Gaughan and the Berroco team.

Thanks also to all of you who have followed along with the project and reached out along the way - it means a lot. Momentum Tulsa sidetracked me a little bit, and with the current first time homebuying milestone it's looking like completing all 52 forms by the end of the year is most likely not going to happen. However, this just means that the fungi will keep on coming for a while longer, so I'm okay with this! I hope you'll keep checking back to see more.

Now, what do we have here? This is Lactarius indigo, which exudes a dark blue milky substance when cut. Sounds like a fantasy novel, doesn't it? How incredible that these things exist in real life. The range apparently passes through my state, but I have yet to see one in person. Are there any tricks on where to look for these beauties? **Edit: I had previously reported that this is a good mushroom for dyeing wool, but Alissa Allen from Mycopigments has clarified this for me and I'm sad to find out that the blue milky cap does not really transfer to a dye very well. I would still love to see one, however!

To create these blue milky cap fungi, I used Berroco's Ultra Alpaca yarn in Pastel Blue and Azure Mix.

This structure was knitted as part of my 52 Forms of Fungi project, through which I will knit a different type of fungi for every week of 2013. Check out more of the forms from this project.