Rows Red

Pattern: Aeolian Shawl, Spring 2009 issue of Knitty
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss in Bare, 3.2 skeins
Needles: US Size 3, 32″ Knit Picks circular
Started: April 12^th, 2009
Finished: July 30^th, 2009
Recipient: My mother
Techniques: Beaded knitting (crochet hook), Nupps

Aeolian Shawl in the late Autumn sun.

Next year my parents will be married for 35 years, and they want to renew their vows. Their first wedding pretty much sucked. Her parents, who didn’t approve of my father for reasons like him being too dark, too poor, and from the country, told her she had two weeks to get married or they were taking her back to Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, my father, who spoke no English and had never left the island, had followed her to New York City and plead his love until she agreed to marry him. My grandparents didn’t care that he was a good man, they had spoken and so my parents threw together a wedding in two weeks. Mom was very sick leading up to her wedding day, and the actual day of the wedding she had a fever well over 102F. Her maid of honor never showed up at the wedding, her parents barely put on a civil face, and they were hitched. They had no honeymoon aside from a night at a hotel.

Back

Fast forward to my wedding on October 7^th, 2006. Despite a lot of heartache and frustration leading up to it, our wedding was wonderful. My parents cried tears of joy, and were absolutely thrilled to see me marrying such a good man. Two days after the wedding they called us early in the morning to tell us that they were so moved by our wedding that Dad proposed to mom again and they were going to have another wedding for their 35^th. I would be the maid of honor and my brother would be the best man. I couldn’t have been happier for the two of them.

That's a really big shawl!

Early on I had it in my head that I would knit mom a shawl for her to wear during the wedding. At first, because I can be crazy like that, I thought I would spin the yarn too, but that didn’t work out. The hardest part was actually finding a design that mom liked. She doesn’t like shawls with “spines”, she didn’t want a stole, and she really liked “pointy edges”. When I saw the Aeolian Shawl in the Spring issue of Knitty I knew that she’d like it, spine or no spine. I was right, mom loved the ornate edging and beads.

The beads transition from Crystal for the main body to Copper lined on the edging.

This entire project went off (almost) without a hitch. I adored knitting it, and worked on it every day at work during my breaks and lunch, and even during some meetings. At night I’d work on other projects just so I didn’t burn out. Working on the shawl for an hour a day, every day, made for solid progress and ensured that I didn’t put it down one day and then just forget about it. I really worried that, as the biggest and most complicated thing I’d ever made, I’d burn out. That’s another reason I started it this year instead of next year. I can’t believe I finished it so quickly!

Mom LOVES the edging.

Things were going really well until I got to the transition section for the body to border. Major meltdown ensued when the chart and instructions, which until then were for one half of the shawl and then repeated, went to instructions for ALL THE WAY ACROSS, but didn’t say so clearly. Tinking back across rows that have hundreds of stitches… not so much with the fun. Oh, it was ugly, but I won’t speak of it further. After that it was smooth sailing.

The "tail" at the bottom.

I was shocked at how much I enjoyed working the yarn, and despite the solid color, I never got bored with it. I am extremely pleased with Knit Picks Gloss Lace yarn, and considering how inexpensive it is, I can say that it is my top choice for cost conscious lace projects. If you haven’t used it yet, I highly recommend that you do. If you don’t like any of the dyed colors you can just dye your own!

It only looks complicated, it was actually really simple and fun to knit.

I’ve said before on the blog how much I agonized over whether to submit the shawl for competition. I can be very critical of myself, and I knew only too well that the shawl wasn’t perfect. I’m glad that I decided to do it anyway, just to share with the fiber community this labor of love. Winning third place, from a judge who “wasn’t a fan of beads”, was thrilling. Helping the judge, up until my class was on the docket, was a great experience and I learned a lot from the smart and funny lady. Standing 15 feet away while she judged was excruciating, but to know she thought so highly of my work was wonderful. I was told that the top three were so close in points as to be almost impossible to choose between, and that’s a gratifying thing to hear when you worked so hard. This was my first time competing in the knitwear side of things, and it won’t be my last.

Eee! I was one happy knitter.

The best thing of all is how happy mom is with it, and how much she appreciates the work I put into it. Seeing her smile when she saw the finished and blocked shawl was worth every stitch, and all the thanks I need. Next October, when they get married, you can believe I’ll be sharing pictures of her wearing it over her beaded ivory Titanic style dress. I set out to, in some small way, make her “second” trip down the aisle a little nicer than the first, and I’m happy to say I think I’ve succeeded.

Tags: FO, Knitting