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Project Notebook: Maedwe Shawl

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my maedwe shawlRight before Christmas I participated in a really fun, spontaneous act of giving. Using the hashtag #getyouryarnwishesgranted, knitters requested yarns they’d like to play with and went about fulfilling other people’s wishes, too.

One of the yarns I wished for was something from Lorna’s Laces, because I feel like it’s shameful that I’ve never really knit with their yarn before.

I was gifted two skeins of Shepherd Sport Multi, and they arrived just before the holiday. On Christmas I set out to find something to knit with them. I knew I wanted to knit a shawl, but beyond that I wasn’t sure.

I finally settled on making a version of Maedwe, a short-row garter stitch shawl by AnneLena Mattison found in the book Free-Spirit Shawls. It’s actually a pretty easy pattern once you get the rhythm of it, and I finished up mine in five days.

I really like the look of it, even though the original was knit in a much more subdued yarn. I’ve already worn it quite a lot and intend to throughout the season. maedwe and instahat

This is me wearing it on New Year’s Eve along with a quick as lightning hat I’ll tell you about next week.

What’s on (or recently off) your needles? I’d love to hear about it!

 

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Comments

  1. Beautiful shawl. I’m so sorry that I missed #getyouryarnwishgranted. I’ll have to keep an eye out for it next year as I’d love to participate.
    I’m currently working on an infinity scarf for my daughters best friends 30th birthday gift.
    I’m using the bulky Brown sheep co. Lambs pride.
    I purchased this yarn at the New York sheep an wool festival this past October.
    Knitting with this yarn reminds me of the great day that I had with my daughter.
    The Eucalyptus leaf color will look lovely on her.

Have you read?

Stitch Some Seagulls on Your Sweater

It’s been well documented that I love a knitting pattern with a bit of whimsy, so when I saw the Mine! Pullover from Sarah L. Kelly recently I knew I had to share it with you.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to knit a sweater with a yoke full of seagulls? And another seagull at the waist? Chasing little crabs?

The story behind the sweater (and you knew there had to be one, right?) is that while Sarah was traveling around Europe there were a lot of cheeky seagulls about. They reminded her of the scene in Finding Nemo where the seagulls say “mine, mine, mine” and thus the Mine! series of patterns was born. 

Oh yes, there’s a whole set. It was the sweater I saw first but there’s also a pair of socks (and the pattern says there’s a cowl, too, but I couldn’t find it as of this writing. If you see it let me know and I’ll add the link here!) so you can totally deck yourself out in pesky seabirds if you want.

But back to the sweater for now. This is worked in DK weight yarn from the top down in the round. The yoke and a section at the bottom are worked in stranded colorwork, with stripes on the body, though you could make the body a single color if you wanted. Details like the beaks and eyes are added with duplicate stitch to make the knitting a little easier.

The colorwork sections are charted. The pattern comes in 10 sizes, with a finished chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 80 to 170 cm.

The socks are worked in sock yarn and come in three sizes. There worked from the cuff down and change needle sizes to accommodate the less stretchy nature of stranded colorwork. You can choose from a side profile or a seagull that’s looking out from the sock. Make a matching pair or mix it up.

Both patterns are available on Ravelry: sweater and socks. If you make them I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sarah L. Kelly]