A Beautiful Shawl

I have been wanting to knit a shawl for a while. Shawls are interesting because they can be so many different styles. I started with a flimsy light one to wear in the summer. It's made of fingering weight yarn, and it's pastel colored. A lady in my knitting group gave me the yarn as a gift, right before I had my hip surgery. It's lovely...merino wool and silk. Although I enjoyed the pattern, it wasn't really what I was hoping for...the eyelets didn't really show, and I realized that I wanted more of them. Still, it was a start. I decided that the next shawl I knit would be on worsted weight yarn with larger needles. I wanted the geometrics of the pattern to show from across the room. I had some lovely silk and llama yarn leftover from a couple of sweaters that that I knit recently. I knew that it would be perfect. It feels so good to use up the small balls of remaining yarn from a finished  project.

I found another pattern that appealed to me and started tweaking, like I usually do. I kept the bones, and worked from there. Math was never my strong subject, anyway. I love to look at photographs on Ravelry. My eye goes right to the talent. It's interesting how several people can make the same pattern, but  a few will really stand out from the crowd. It reminds me of looking at a group of dancers. Often I can just tell from watching a  room full  of dancers walk which ones are the most talented and trained. Looking in their eyes is another way. The intelligence and passion just shines. It's so evident. Master energy has a flash that's unmistakable.  It glimmers like a diamond.

So, with shawl number two I began the first row. Already I liked this one better than my first attempt. I could immediately see the eyelets. The pattern really moved, too. I loved the rhythm and speed. There were lots repetitions, which I enjoy. The yarn overs were in logical places, and easy to remember.  It reminded me of good choreography, which flows, and feels natural and musical to do. It was consistent, with a nice structure. I always prefer the look of simpler patterns. To me they read well. When paired with beautiful colors and quality yarn, the result can be exquisite.

Several months ago I attempted a complicated shawl pattern on sock yarn. It was very tedious, and required constant counting, intense concentration, and an incredible amount of reknitting. I had to take two private lessons in order to understand my mistakes. I set it aside to complete a sweater, which is unlike me. I can't remember another time when I haven't finished a project. By the time I got back to it, I had forgotten my corrections from my first private lesson, which normally I would have written in my notes.  I was repeating the same mistake, doing my yarn overs incorrectly. Anyway, after a lot of effort, and quite a bit of stress and frustration, I bound off the small piece of a shawl that was left, and turned it into a hat  for this little black stuffed poodle. My mom gave her to me a few years before she died. I call it the $36.00 hat. The yarn was a gift, otherwise it would have been a $56.00 hat. I'm going to make her a very small shawl to match. I think my mother would like that. She had dolls all over her house. They were all dressed impeccably, and positioned on her polished antiques beautifully. She had great taste, my mom. I knit her this oval brown shawl several years ago. She would make sure she wore it when I came to visit her in the years before she died. She wore the socks, too, and would make a point to show me. I wondered if it was hard for her to put on shoes. I remember adjusting the shawl  because she had it hanging like a scarf. It's more like a stole...very vintage...of course. Now I wear them.