A Shawl to Knit for the Generations

This design was inspired by a saying in Judaism, L’dor v’dor, which means, “from generation to generation,” when translated to English. Typically, it is understood to mean the transmission of the culture’s values, rituals, traditions, and history to the next generation.

While designing and knitting the Generations Shawl, designer Jessica Ays says, she spent time thinking of the things we pass down from one generation to the next – the things that have been passed down to her, and those she is passing down.

I thought of the cookbook that my cousin Jenna made for my Bridal Shower filled with secret family recipes, including some in my Grandma Faye’s own handwriting. I thought of my Aunt Arlene who taught me how to crack an egg to help make her famous matzoh ball soup. I thought of my Mom and her favorite chocolate cake we’d make from scratch on rainy days and snow days … she always let me lick the batter from the bowl after we put it in the oven.
I thought of the little ways I pass on my values and traditions to my children, from the holiday traditions to the everyday little life lessons about how to be a good and kind human.

This asymmetrical shawl starts out with just a few stitches and is the perfect pattern for a gorgeous solid, tonal, or very gently variegated skein of fingering weight yarn. Want a larger shawl? Just keep knitting! This shawl is simple to adjust for a larger size by continuing on with additional repeats.

The lace is simple to follow, and the only stitches used are knits, purls, yarn overs, k2tog, ssk, and m1L.

The pattern is fully written and the repeat is charted, so you can take your pick to work from! And a stitch count table is included to help keep you on track.

It’s worked in superfine yarn, but you could also make a bigger shawl just by using heavier-weight yarn and larger knitting needles. It’s totally up to you!

You can grab the pattern for this pretty shawl on Ravelry or Payhip.

[Photo: Jennifer Ays]

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It’s a common complaint among women and femme dressing folk that our clothes do not include enough (and enough useful) pockets. And even if your clothes do have good pockets, there’s always a chance that you’d rather have another pocket to put some essentials in rather than having to carry a whole bag.

But because we are knitters, we can take this problem into our own needles and knit ourselves some auxiliary pockets.

Beatrice Mase did just that, with a kind of fancy toolbelt pocket accessory that they call VELVET Pockets.

The stitch pattern has a plush, sort of velvet effect, thus the name, but it’s worked with regular fingering/sock weight yarn. (The sample uses wool, but you could experiment with other fibers, too.) It calls for 776 yards of 710 meters, which you might just have in your sock yarn stash.

The pattern includes several pockets of different sizes, with the main body of the pocket worked flat in one piece and the exterior pockets sewn on at the end. You also have the option of adding screw rivets and a coordinating clasp that make it look even more toolbelt chic.

The design is worked with a loop of knit fabric at the top so it can slide onto a belt. The pattern includes explanatory diagrams, photo and video tutorials and is adjustable to fit different sizes of belts.

It’s almost enough to make me want to start wearing belts again, even though I haven’t for years. Because who wouldn’t want a few extra little pockets to hold things when you don’t have enough to really justify carrying a bag around?

The pattern is available in English and French on Ravelry and you can also buy a kit complete with the yarn, rivets and clasp (the pattern is not included in the kit) direct on Etsy.

[Photo: Beatrice Mase]

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