After that

After the sorry events of yesterday, I sat down and did some soul soothing knitting.

I have begun.  

I love lace knitting.  I don't love errors in lace knitting, but I sure do love knitting lace.  There is just something so musical in it.  It is hypnotic and soothing and mystical in all kinds of ways.

It is as I suspected it might be, I present the Lilac Leaf Shawl by Nancy Bush.  To be honest, I was not 100 percent sure that would be it till I sat down to cast on.  

I looked over my fairly long list of shawl possibilities and each of them was cast aside for one reason or another.  Some were too ornate and too fussy.  Hard to believe I am saying that, but there are some that I might wear but my much more conservative, with respect to shawls, sisters might think were like wearing a table cloth.  I think too, that my sisters will see them more useful if they consider them scarves.  Simpler designs.  Wider rather than deep shawls.  And very few beads.  No matter how lovely they look, beads against a cold neck in the deep of winter doesn't work.   

This shawl answered all my questions.  I simply love it.  There is such an elegant simplicity to it.  Large motifs.  Airy. Light.  These are the most striking features of this design.   One day I will make it for me.  

I am making one change to the shawl as written.  I have lots of yarn so I am making it wider by two motifs (9 instead of 7).  While I want it to be useful as a scarf, I also want it to be deep enough for really significant wrap.

So, onwards.  Most mornings I get a good chunk of time to knit and have a quiet coffee before heading off to babysit.  The sun peaks in my north east facing window at just the right angle.  It's an unexpected little bonus.  Onwards.