Back to shawls and grandmothers:
The only imagines I had of that accessory (shawls not grandmothers) was given to me by movies: a big chuck of fabric, basically a ratty, un-stylish, triangle blanket wrapped around the shoulders or an aging cantankerousness woman who is looking for her glasses while she's clicking her false teeth. In my memory, neither of my my grandmothers had worn such an article, though I can't imagine why.
My alternate vision of a shawl also comes from movies: a lacy piece of delicate thread hanging from the elbows of a woman in an expensive gown. My mother, I doubt, has ever owned an expensive gown (she even borrowed her wedding dress).
It wasn't until I started working the magic of yarn with others that I was introduced to the wide range of possibilities that a shawl could represent. I attended a work night where everyone seemed to be working on a shawl, only a couple of them were grandmothers.
I started to examine the shawl patterns online. Proportion jumped out first and foremost. They weren't all giant blankets folded in half. Also, they were colorful, and while some were lacy they still held a functional quality. Perhaps I could run about in shawl and not be branded, although antiquarianism has always held a sort of appeal for me. I also am seriously drawn to the style that is twined around the neck.
Thus a shawl is born. I only wish I had spent time taking a few additional pictures along the way but the piece works up so quickly that the circular needle was overflowing with stitches before I realized it. Though this piece will be given as a gift I have my eye on a few patterns for myself.
This pattern is the Sweet Alyssum shawl in Kid Merino by Crystal Palace Yarns.
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| The general motif: a simple cluster of six yarn overs and the corresponding decreases. |
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| The shawl is currently upside down as it is not finished yet. At this point it's about 3/5 done. Imagine it reversed and you'll get a clue as to the finished product. |
