theknittyvritti

the shawl of invincibility

 
Here they are, the two things that got me through the recent health dramas.....the Paisley Long shawl, designed by Dorothy Siemens, and the dog.

I've been hoarding this incredible Sundara lace for a year now, obsessively trying to decide on the perfect pattern for it, and fending off Hightest's requests for me to give it to her on the grounds that it really is one of her colors. Well, she can have the 700 or so yards left on the second skein, but for now, this is my color.

 
This shawl is perfect front and back, a real heirloom project. And a potentially quick knit, if you are interested and just happen to be in the rare circumstances in which regular life comes to a grinding halt without a lot of demands being placed on you. Cranked it out in three weeks. I've never done that before, and I hope I never do again.

 
Here's a close up, it shows the color really well.

 
And finally, I was very motivated to have this turn out both wide and long, so I added a few motifs to the pattern. I got about 80 inches in length and 28 inches in width, for a generously sized shawl that wraps me in it's silky embrace and makes me feel like everything will be all right, always. Here's what I did:

 

cool cat

 

The Yarn Eater hasn't made it to fifteen and a half by stressing. He's a pretty chill guy. So our recent crisis didn't phase him at all, and he was turned out to be right. We dodged a bullet, and in the process we traded one troublesome organ for a beautiful shawl. Hospital waiting rooms and convalescence turn out to be wonderful lace knitting venues. 

Said shawl looks better on me than under the cat. More pictures to follow pending necessary weather and time to take the photos. Life goes on.