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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The butterfly on this piece — the Owl Butterfly Playmat by Sophie’s Stitches — caught my eye before I even knew what the project was. Now that I’ve give it a closer look I’m still not 100 percent sure what it is meant to be for, but I still love it.

I think it’s maybe to give you a flat surface to roll dice or play cards on, but there are no images of the project in use so I’m just speculating on that. If you know what it is, be sure to let me know!

What it physically is is a worsted weight mat (the sample is worked in cotton) that measures 14 by 24 inches, or 35.5 by 61 cm. The impression I get from the pattern notes and the photos is that you knit the rectangle plain and the butterfly is stitched on after using duplicate stitch, which is provided as a chart.

Of course you could choose to knit some of the colorwork as you go, either using stranded knitting or intarsia techniques, or maybe some of both. It just looks like a lot of duplicate stitch (and it is!) so knowing me if I were making this project I’d probably try to knit some of it instead of stitching it all.

The pattern also suggests that you can knit a second plain mat to sew on the back and cover up all the yarn ends, as well as making the mat thicker and a little more stable. There’s also a photo that shows fabric sewn to the back, which is also a good option if you have some fabric that has a bit of grip.

I like the graphic on this one enough I might just make it as a table pad for our entry way table. You can always make the mat part a different dimension, just make sure you’re centering the image if you do.

You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Sophie’s Stitches]

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