My nephew Matt is getting married very soon--next weekend to be exact! So I have been busy knitting. Several years ago, when another nephew married, I began my own tradition: I knit a lace shawl for each bride, whether she be my niece, or marrying one of my nephews or (someday!) one of my sons. So far, I've made three shawls. I have no photos of the first one, but these are the other two:
For Gladys: "Shoulder Shawl in Syrian Pattern" from Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby; yarn is Noro laceweight, maybe Taiyo?--alas, the yarn label is long gone.
I make and give the shawl with the proviso that the bride is under NO obligation to actually wear it at the wedding, unless she wants to; the wedding is merely my excuse to knit her a lace shawl! So far, all the weddings have taken place in the summer so it's been, um, a little warm for a shawl, but Addie did wear hers, and it matched her dress beautifully.
Which brings me to the current bride--Julie--and the newest wedding shawl.
August in Vermont. Could be cool, or, based on the scorching heat we've had all summer, could be HOT. If we're lucky, it will be dry, though we could very much use some rain!
Julie and I talked a lot about what she wanted for this shawl. Though she is inclined to wear it for the wedding if it's not too hot, I wanted to be sure the shawl would be something she would wear and enjoy well beyond the wedding day. We agreed on a wide, shallow crescent, with a simple lace pattern to compliment rather than compete with her very lacy ivory dress. She decided to go with a contrasting color for the shawl, a deep red to match the flowers she will wear in her hair (KnitPicks Shadow Lace, colorway Garnet Heather).
I searched and searched but could not find a pattern that pleased me so... I designed it myself, taking as starting point my own Linen & Lace triangular shawl, and adapting and modifying the shaping from the Terribly Simple crescent pattern by Caitlin Ffrench. I made the prototype, Damselfly, in fingering weight yarn earlier this spring, then several weeks ago I began the laceweight version for Julie.
Damselfly. Yarn is Seven Sisters Arts Meridian, colorway Damselfly.
When we went on vacation to a cottage on the lake a few weeks ago, I took enough knitting projects to last me several weeks, or months. But pretty much the only piece I worked on was this shawl. After we got home, I bound it off--
and blocked it--
and then took a few photos:
All that's left to do now is wrap it up in something pretty, and give it to Julie. I hope she likes it!
(And for all of you, yes, there will be a free pattern available soon on my Patterns page, just as soon as I can write it up.)
