Shawl Worthy

As fiber folk, many of us have an undeniable passion for shawls.

It's perfectly comprehensible. They’re the ideal way to learn new stitches, experiment with construction and play with color and fiber combinations while we also create something pretty, practical or both. Shawls, stoles, scarves and wraps are particularly popular right now, but many of us wear them year in and year out regardless of fashion trends.

Way back when, I sewed a lace shawl for special occasions and wore it often. I've also purchased shawls and stoles in varied colors, weights and configurations. For years, I admired your lovely hand-crafted versions, but I didn't knit one myself until 2012: It was a summer-weight shawl for my lovely Aunt K who was feeling frail and always cold. (FO details are here.) 

Since then, I've been bitten by the bug and made several more, each of which is worn on a regular basis. In fact, I’m wearing one as I write, because a shawl is the best defense against the occasionally cool morning breezes. (Today's choice: The Dojeling Oyster Bay shawl shown below. The blend of wool and silk is cozy but light.)

As you may recall, earlier this summer I was reorganizing and consolidating the stash, trying to figure out what to do with an extremely varied collection of singletons, partials and long-term lurkers in fingering, sport and sock weights. This group began to coalesce.

All of the yarns are leftovers from shawl projects for which I'd bought multiple skeins to test color and fiber combinations to customize each piece to suit the recipient. The yarns at the center and top were used in constructing Aunt D's shawlette, which featured gradient silks and variegated Blue Heron with flashes of metallic gold. The solid shades were acquired for sweet Aunt K's shawl, which was worked in soft, light Wool Cotton 4-Ply (Rowan).

Knit worthy aunts and shawl worthy yarns. 

Somehow it feels like a cosmic connection. Am I the only one who sees a fresh spate of shawl knitting on the horizon?


UPDATE
For those who inquired: Dojeling, the pattern for the Oyster Bay  shawl above, has been released!