A forever shawl.
This shawl is my most worn handknit. I put it on for a date night at the local sushi place, but toss it on just as quickly for a romp in the woods on a rainy day. Moonlight Garden shawl knit in Quince and Co. Crane is the most perfect combination I have ever had the joy to create.
Things I did & learned.
Small changes.
• Began with size US 7 and knit with gauge looser than required/suggested, moved up to size US 8
• Increased to US 9 after Middle lace segment
• Final eyelet segment worked, then 6 rows of garter then a second eyelet row offset from the previous (began with K3, yo, k2tog to last 2 sts, K2)
Yarn choices.
I got it in my head years ago that I’m not really a shawl knitter.
Then my Quince Quarterly box arrived with new to the world yarn Crane. It whispered to me “Make me a shawl! Make me a shawl!”
And so I started looking at the eight million beautiful shawl patterns there are on the internet… and decided upon my friend Melody’s design. Melody & I have been friends for years, but I had not knit one of her shawls until casting on this one.
It is a gentle, softly flowing pattern, moving from section to section.
This shawl took some time to knit. It is quite voluptuous and decadent. If you can’t say that about a shawl you have, then you must knit this pattern with the yarn I used. Today.
When I first cast on, the rows fairly flew, and I had the misguided realization I would have the entire thing knit overnight.
It took from the end of January through April to get it finished, but I must confess to my wayward ways. I was not monogamous in my knitting. I rarely am. Initially, when this project was small and required little space in my backpack, I took it on my daily hikes and it continued to bloom rather quickly. I had to stop bringing it along after two or three weeks as it was then too big.
I missed it.
But I could satisfy myself at home knitting it happily looking out at the ocean. I found it so enjoyable I would stay up late into the night knitting and listening to an audiobook.
This is very much off the knitting topic but I find I must mention the amazing book I listened to during this time:
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan & narrated by Kate Reading
It was excellent. Such a uniquely refreshing story, original in content and believable to its core. I recommend listening to it as much as I recommend this project.
The rows became longer and longer, and my enjoyment never wavered. This project really was a delightful bit of my knitting life. And in case you decide you want to replicate my version you will find you need 4 skeins = 832.0 yards (760.8 meters) of Quince & Co. Crane in San Antonio. You’ll relish every stitch.
