A Warmth of Shawls

Not only was Thanksgiving filled with the warmth of family, it was also filled with shawls! I finished this shawl during our weekend at Grand View and prayed that my mother would like the natural white color. Otherwise, it was just what she had asked for: light, lacey, and wrapable over the shoulder. She LOVES it and it turned out to be the perfect length as well! This shawl will shortly be keeping her warm when the Florida evenings turn cool. :-D


Next, my sister surprised us by finishing her "shmatte" (pronounced sh-mah-tee). Now for those of you familiar with Yiddish you will recognize this word as meaning a rag. How could this beautiful shawl be called a "rag" by its knitter? Well, she explained that it is sometimes used as an affectionate term for a baby blanket that has been well loved. In fact, loved until it is little more than a rag. She expects this shawl get that much use and be as comforting!

My sister-in-law showed us an attractive and hands free way to wear the shawl. By running the front points of ths shawl through the belt loops it creates this nice criss-cross in front and keeps the shawl from opening while going about life. I'll be remembering this one!

Then there is this WIP. I spent much of Thanksgiving day working on this shawl. It is one of the patterns I learned from Melissa Leapman. This is stash yarn: laceweight alpaca. It is working up with nice drape and body. I'm hoping to leave this at school. They are trying to save money by keeping the heat at a moderate level (read that as cold). I've used 360 meters so far and figure it will need at least another 180 if not more.

Only one note of sadness. This beauty which was to be a stole for me turns out to be lacking in width. It is six inches wider than the length of my outstretched arms, however, it truly needs another foot. Unfortunately, when I thought it was the right size I cut the ends and wove them in. So, for the moment I'm setting this aside. I cannot bear to frog it. Perhaps it will be a prayer shawl donation... Any ideas?