Pattern: Icarus Shawl by Miriam Felton, Interweave Knits Summer 2006
Yarn: Sundara Yarn hand-dyed silk lace, color 012
Needles: 3.25mm Addi circular needle
Gauge: 21 sts and 38 rows equals 4 inches
Finished Size: 72 inches wide, 36 inches from center top edge to bottom point, after blocking
Started: 5.8.06
Completed: 7.26.06

I am usually eager to give my knits away, but this one will be hard to let go. It’s off to my sister who I know will appreciate it, especially because of its color. Red is her favorite and I think this yarn is the perfect shade. Vibrant. Bold. Rich. The pattern has a simple elegance that I think suits her style. There are mistakes - a few lace patterns on the left side that don’t line up and look like they are taking flight. Knits and purls with minds of their own – or at least that’s what I tell myself when I make mistakes knitting lace.

Posted by brooke at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

The stockinette-stitch body of the Icarus Shawl.

I knew what I was getting myself into after looking at the charts and photo. I’m knitting this for someone else, who only likes a little lace. Knitting with the recipient in mind, I think the edges/end of the shawl offer just the right amount.

Indulge me as I stretch out the knitting to show you I’m finally at the good stuff.

My inspiration to finish? Joyousknits finished Icarus Shawl here. It’s gorgeous!

Posted by brooke at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Icarus shawl progress.
Five repeats of chart 1.

Posted by brooke at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is there someone in your life who you wish would knit? Someone who, despite your efforts, hasn’t shown any interest in starting to knit him/herself? When they visit do you casually throw a skein of yarn at them to see what kind of reflexes they have to wool? Do you keep your bookshelves filled top to bottom with fiction, except the shelf at eye level, which contains all knitting books? Or do you just put yarn and needles in their hands and say, try it?

Wish she would knit. For me this person is my sister. She has supported my knitting…buying me knitting books, tagging along to the yarn store and wearing what ever I knit her. (She actually wears what I knit! In public and sends emails with photos of her wearing the knits to family and friends.) I don’t want to push her into knitting. And you’re probably wondering why I don’t just say, Hey, wanna learn how to knit? Not sure why. But I just realized recently one thing. That I’m a big fat selfish knitter. I haven’t been knitting items in her favorite color. Red. And the perfect example of me being a selfish knitter is that my next thought was about my stash…If you stayed at someone’s house, and the shelf next to the guest bed was filled with yarn in blues, greens and browns and your favorite color was red, you wouldn’t want to knit either. My plan is simple. 1. Start knitting things in red for her. 2. Keep a ball of red yarn and bamboo needles in my bag, so when I see her she won’t be able to resist... 3. Start stashing up on the most luxurious red yarns available.

Above, number 1 & 3. This yarn is sure to get her thinking. Sundara Yarn.

Pattern: Icarus Shawl by Miriam Felton from Interweave Knits Summer 2006.

Also, thank you for all your lovely comments on the finished somewhat cowl.

Posted by brooke at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)