Tuesday, 22 April 2008

Shawls at Ravelry

The last day or so, I have spent some time playing at Ravelry. I'm focusing on shawls right now, because I love the things. Lace knitting is fascinating. I don't know if I will ever be good at it, but I will enjoy it anyway.

One of the wonderful things about Ravelry is the patterns that are listed. Thousands upon thousands of patterns for shawls, over three thousand as of this morning. The variety is astounding.

Light delicate lace, so fine that surely the ancients brought it from heaven and ladylike lace . There is lace that is delicate looking but warm enough to be practical spring and fall wear. There are beautifully beaded shawls, and shawls that are simple enough to do even if you don't think you are a knitter. There are shawls that are scarves and scarves that are shawls.

Shawls have a lot of uses. They are wonderful dressy accessories for special events. A lot of them are gifted or made for wedding wear. They can be for when you don't want the full bulk of a sweater, on chilly mornings, and where you want your arms free but your shoulders covered. Depending on the stitch the size and if you use a closure or not, you can wear them everyday around the house. You could treat your walls to their art, and dislpay them by hanging them on a small curtain rod.

There is a lot of room for creativity in shawls. They start with simple shapes, but you can work them in any number of ways. You can work them on the diagonal, from the neck down the bottom up, from the center out, meet in the middle with grafting. The possibilities are endless.

I'm going to have to go do some work now. This afternoon considering the road conditions and vehicles with summer tires, I'll be pretending I am at knitting Tuesday, but for right now, I'm going to play at Ravelry.

Ravelry, is one big knitters sandbox, and we all get to play. Gotta love it.

1 comment:

  1. You already ARE good at shawls. The one you had on last Tuesday is proof of that! It's gorgeous!

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