Wearing shawls in public

I wore my fps to a concert the other night (and yes, I wore more under it than I did in the first pictures - a black camisole to be precise)

It was wonderful. It was light and warm-but-not-too-warm and really really perfect. I was astounded, and honestly, I didn't figure on it being too terribly practical, despite what I've heard from everyone else. Because really, it didn't *look* practical.

I ended up sort of crossing the ends over one shoulder without actually tying them, since tying looked a little frumpy. It was a *little* short for this to work quite perfectly. I'm not sure whether a shawl pin would help, or be to heavy and ruin the effect. It would be worth looking for a lightweight one at least.

Or I could trying using a bamboo dpn ;)

I tried to wash it afterwards and just push it into shape rather than going all out with wires and pins. We're in a strange in-between state with living and washing arrangements currently - not much space to stick pins in, and I don't even know where my wires are. I do not think it was a success. Too bad. Blocking takes so darn long I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that step every time I wore it. But I worry more about ruining it if I don't wash it every time, since it was next to my bare skin, and I don't want the oils to sit on it and cause it to deteriorate or discolor. Would this really happen, or am I worrying too much?

So moral of the story: I do like wearing shawls. I must make more shawls. The shawls must be larger. Blocking is a bear.