A Shawl for Annie

In April, I went on a retreat with friends.  It was a really lovely weekend that I still don't have the words for.  Just leave it at "I'm in a pretty happy, peaceful, spiritual place right now".  

One of the spiritual directors for the weekend was a lovely woman named Annie.  Since Annie left such a sweet impact upon me, I wanted to make her something.  And since the theme of the weekend was all about the seasons of our lives, I wanted to go with some colors that would show    The kind girls at The Knitter's Nook in Columbus convinced me that these colors, in Rowan Alpaca, would be perfect:  green for the spring, purplish blue for the winter, gold for summer and brown for autumn.  I wasn't too sure, but after it was done, I knew they had been right.  

The pattern is one I wrote up in 2011 ago for Carolyn, one of our Knit Night friends.  She had brought in a shawl her mom had knit many years ago, and was searching for a pattern to make another.  I used all my best google/ravelry mojo, but couldn't find something similar, so I just wrote one up.   Knit Night friends have knit up many of these -- I like the chevron shape, as it stays on the shoulders nicely.  Here is the pattern, if you might like to make your own:  

Carolyn's (and Annie's) Shawl

(This pattern will make up into a shawl that was the same size as Carolyn's -- for Annie's Shawl, I cast on 40 extra stitches. You will want to do a gauge swatch so that you can achieve the look and length of shawl you want.)

Size: 30” from center point to end (60” in total); width is almost 12”. Gauge is 4 stitches/inch.

Supplies: Yarn: worsted weight; Needles: size 8 circular; stitch marker; crochet hook for fringe, if you want to add some.

Abbreviations: k=knit; k2tog=knit two together; yo= yarn over (simply take the yarn over the needle without making a stitch); m1= make 1(lift the bar between two stitches onto the left needle and knit it); ssk= slip a stitch, slip a stitch, knit these 2 stitches together

Pattern: Cast on 200 stitches.

Row 1: Knit 100 stitches, place marker, knit 100.

Row 2: Knit 1, make 1, knit to two stitches before marker, ssk, slip marker, k2tog, knit to end. Place a split marker or tie a contrasting length of yarn on this side; it will now be the right side of the work.

Row 3: Knit 1, make 1, knit across.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 4 more times, for a total of 11 rows.

Row 12: Repeat row 2.

Row 13: Eyelet row: Knit 1,make 1, *yo, k2tog* repeat between *’s until 2 stitches before center marker; knit 2, slip marker, knit 2, *yo, k2tog* repeat between *’s until until two stitches from the end of the row; knit 2.

Repeat rows 2-13 four more times (or until shawl is almost desired width). Knit 12 rows and then bind off.

Carolyn’s Shawl is finished off with a fringed edge: 2 -7” lengths of yarn were folded in half, then the fold threaded through the cast-on edge of the shawl at regular intervals.  

Peace,