FO Karise KAL

Way back in Nov (I told you I was way behind with these posts, I participated in my first ever KAL.  For those of you uninitiated this is a Knit-Along, where a group of people all knit the same pattern in a given time frame.  The one I joined in on was hosted by Lilith of Old Maiden Aunt yarns through her Ravelry group and was a 'small shawl KAL'.  Although I have knit a couple of shawls I had yet to knit one for myself so I took this opportunity to interrupt my rather hectic knitting schedule with a selfish knit that I knew I would actually finish because I had a deadline.
So the rules were pretty simple.  Choose from one of three designated patterns (or do all three if you are really nuts) and go ahead and knit.  There were spot prizes along the way and some prizes at the end to keep everyone motivated, with an extra entry for completing your project in OMA yarn.
I have quite a stash of OMA yarn now but most of it has been in the 'too good to knit' pile.  Yes I really am that crazy but any true yarn addicts will understand exactly what I mean by that.  I mean how tragic would it be if I took one of these prized skeins of fabulous yarn and turned it into a project that just didn't work, I didn't like or it didn't fit!!!!
As indicated by the title the pattern I chose was Karise which is a lovely triangular small shawl and I decided to knit it in OMA cashmere/merino/nylon in color "Seen the Ocean".  This would have to be my all time favorite yarn ever to knit with, it is the smooshiest (yes I'm sure that's a word) and softest yarn ever and therefore is perfect for a shawl that I can snuggle into on a winter day.
I did make a couple of changes to the pattern, I made the central plain stocking stitch part smaller because I have knitting ADD and get easily bored, especially when I am waiting to start lace, then I did some extra repeats of the lace charts to make up the size.  I actually made the overall shawl one lace repeat smaller than the pattern suggested and the final size I have after blocking is perfect for wearing as a scarf :-)
So here is my finished shawl.

And it gets even better because I was the lucky winner of one of the random draws and received this most spectacular skein of merino/silk in Bramble from Lilith.  You know how I said the MCN was my fav yarn ever?  Well I might have to review that once I have knit this baby up :-)