June 18, 2003
Moving along
Sometimes you have to let one idea go so that another can take root and bloom. But I bet you knew that!
I've been looking over my notes on my mother's shawl and analyzing what slowed me down. First and foremost is the mental picture that sprang to my mind when I first saw the Kinzel "Springtime" pattern. The original cloth is a square, knit from the center, and the diagonal linds of the leaves in the lace radiate out in spokes from the center. The leaves hit each other "back to back" and form this amazing pattern. When my eyes lit on it, I immediately thought "Faroese shawl back panel!"
I've recreated the idea here from my lace swatch by cutting and pasting in Photoshop (I don't want to scan the photo from the book because it's copyrighted.) But isn't this neat? Click for larger view (photo will open in pop-up window)
But alas, this won't work for the back panel of a shawl. The knitting, remember, radiates outward from the center of the piece, and it's not possible to create this back to back pattern as a vertical piece of knitting (divorced from the full rectangle of the original). I was really upset when I realized this, and it put the project on hold for a long time. For a good while I wasn't sure it wouldn't work, just suspicious that it wouldn't. But I think I just have to accept it.
I could do the shawl differently and take advantage of the structure of the original, something like Cheryl Oberle's Irish Diamond Shawl. (See Wendy's page for a great example of this shawl), but I really wanted a Faroese. One of the things I love about the Kinzel pattern is that it has a plain mesh bottom row of diamonds, and a lovely edging that I want to make part of the finished shawl.
So it occured to me that I could use that plain mesh diamond split vertically down its middle to "fill-in" the edges of the leaf diamonds in the back panel of the shawl. I really need to learn to use Illustrator or Freehand to be able to convey these ideas graphically!
But now that I think I know my basic plan for this shawl, I just need to study a bit more, do a bit of charting, and then cast-on. I think I'm close!
Posted by Shelda at June 18, 2003 04:23 PMHi Shelda,
What a stunning piece of lace! I think you could actually adapt the motif to be a center panel for a faroese shawl if you allow it to keep its "diamond orientation". The point of the diamond would appear in the middle of the panel in between the motifs.. I am finding this a little difficult to describe. Hope you can visualize it.
BTW, I put all my knitting charts in Illustrator and group the motifs and move them around until I am happy with the arrangement. It really works for me. A picture is worth a thousand, or maybe a million, words!
Regards, Sivia
Posted by: Sivia at June 18, 2003 11:12 PMOne of those days, I'm going to have to buy all those graphic programs and take a few classes so as to learn how to use these to the full extent of my ability.
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