Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Cashmere Swallowtail Shawl

The prayer shawl for my Mom's friend is finished. Although the actual knitting was a dream, I was not prepared for how breathtaking the shawl would be when finished. I actually gasped when I first picked it up. Blocking is a special kind of magic. The shawl is so very heavenly soft and delicate.
Since Mom offered to cover the cost of the yarn, I suggested it should be knit from cashmere, you know, so it will be extra soft and snuggly. This certain shade of blue (the color in the top photo is the true shade) beckoned me from Sarah's Yarns. It just happened to be 100% Pure Luxury 2-Ply Mongolian Cashmere and perfect for the shawl I wanted to knit. (I will have a shawl knit from this!) All told it took about three weeks to knit. I probably could have knit it in two weeks if Christmas was not happening at the same time. I have a small favor to ask...go over to Flickr and send Mrs. Strawn some healing wishes. I am planning to send her the link to the Flickr site so she can experience the good nature of all knitters. I would really appreciate it and I am sure she will too!I knit five extra repeats of the Budding Lace 2 pattern and left off the nupps. They were taking entirely too long. I would still be knitting them if I had left them in the pattern. Nonetheless, I believe this is the most beautiful thing I have ever knit.
See Ravelry for project details. (I am sorry if you can't access Ravelry yet. I will be happy to answer any questions.)

12 comments:

urbanknitrix said...

Amanda, I am in awe!!! Your shawl is so beautiful. The color is gorgeous and cashmere too, I know it was a dream to knit. She will definitely love it.

Kudos!!

Vicki said...

What a gorgeous shawl, and such beautiful, heartfelt emotion behind it. I hope she loves it!!!

DAWN said...

Just beautiful. One of my favorite shawls.

Lara said...

It is gorgeous, Amanda! You did a fabulous job. I will have to knit that shawl after seeing yours. I have no doubt it will be well loved and appreciated.

twigletqueen said...

That is a really lovely shawl, I'm sue it will be vey well received. Just gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

That is breathtaking! OMGoodness, I can see why you gasped when you looked at that shawl. It's absolutely gorgeous! What a wonderful thing for you to do & yeah, if Mom's covering the cost of the yarn, definitely suggest cashmere, lol. Just beautiful. I'm going to go to the Flickr page now.

Cass said...

It's stunning and the color is amazing! What a wonder to have something so beautiful and soft, and to know that you thought of her with every single stitch.
XOXO

Knot Another Knitter said...

Oh that's beautiful!

Sinéad said...

Beautiful, just beautiful.

knittingma said...

*Gor-geous!*

Amanda said...

Thank you all for your kind comments! Thanks again to everyone who commented on the Flick'r page as well. Your prayers are expecially appreciated!

MadMad said...

Wow - it is beautiful! I'm sure she will love it, and that it will mean so much to her, every time she puts it on. Just gorgeous!