I’m going to jump ahead a bit in my Christmas knitting roundup, but I have a good reason. The following isn’t actually a Christmas gift at all: it’s my Grandma’s 70th birthday present. However, her birthday was on January 2nd, and I had to complete it by the 27th to get it to her in time, so it felt like a continuation of the holiday knitting spree. Anyway, the gifting of this shawl has resulted in the inspiration for another exciting project, which I’ll get to as soon as I unveil:
FO: Swallowtail Shawl
Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Ornaghi Filati Merino Oro in color 956 (pale lilac)
Needles: US4 circular
For: Grandma
Mods: I increased the shawl body by working 19 repeats of the bud lace chart instead of 14. I saw that other people had done this on Ravelry, but didn’t realize that this would result in my stitch count being off by a few stitches once I reached the peaked edging. I fudged it away, but had I known I would have just knitted the shawl as written.
Results: This ended up being very rewarding: I completed it in little more than a week, it cost me about $7 (a full skein costs $15, and I didn’t even use half of it), and it’s really really pretty. If I hadn’t been in such a rush, it would look even nicer: there are two spots where stitches were dropped and I had to spend the better part of an hour fixing things, and they look less than perfect. But it’s a handknit shawl, and as expected, Grandma’s response was not “Sara, the error in row 9 of the first lily of the valley chart is simply unacceptable,” it was more like “what a beautiful shawl! thank you so much!” So I’m okay with it.
I wasn’t actually there to give it to her. My grandma lives in North Carolina, and we rarely talk or see each other. My mom hasn’t ever gone to visit her there (she moved a few years back, but is originally from MI), but for Grandma’s 70th birthday, she and my uncle paid her a surprise visit. Two weeks before she went, in the middle of Christmas knitting, Mom asked if I’d make a shawl for Grandma, and I was happy to squeeze it in. I asked her to get pictures of the shawl in action, but of course that never happened, so the blocking shots are all I have for now. Anyway, while my mom was down in NC, grandma gave her some of my great great grandma Matilda’s (that’s my mom’s mom’s mom’s mom) knitting that she’s had stored away for ages. There’s a great red and orange garter stitch scarf that I would take for myself if it wasn’t an heirloom. There’s a pair of plain green mittens knitted on the tiniest needles ever. And there’s this:
They’re the tiniest little child’s gloves ever – the fingers are barely 2″ long. They’re beautiful. I love the cable and lace stitch pattern on the back of them, and as soon as I saw them I decided I had to replicate that pattern in a sweater. I already have it halfway planned out in my head, and as soon as I have a little money (or maybe before I have a little money) I’m going to buy yarn to make it. So now I want to learn more about Matilda. I know she came to northern Michigan from Finland as a girl (teenager?), that she had hair almost down to her feet which she never ever cut, and that she lived to be 104 years old (I think that’s right anyway – I’m almost certain she was a centenarian). If she is the relative I’m thinking of, she was profiled in some UP publication in an article entitled “Iron Women of the North.” I’m going to write my grandma today to find out more, both about the gloves and their maker.
I’ll be finishing Willa, Demi and my Almora gloves before I move on to this Matilda sweater, at least that’s the plan, but I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. I think this means it’s time for me to find full time employment, and fast.
