Day One

My precious middle daughter, Natalie, is getting married in October. I have decided to make her a Shetland lace wedding shawl for the occasion. This is quite an undertaking. It's not unusual for me to set tasks for myself that seem insurmountable at the time. Only time will tell. I will try to use this blog to track my progress. Maybe that will help me stay on track.

I spent much time researching online. I have a book on Shetland lace by Sarah Don that I bought in Scotland when we were there (unfortunately, we never actually made it to the Shetland Islands). Then I splurged on a book by Sharon Miller called Heirloom Knitting. Besides the patterns and instructions, both books contain some very interesting history. I will try to share some of the history as I go along.

There are several ways to approach the construction of a Shetland lace shawl. The traditional method is to knit the edges first and then knit from the outside in. The most common modern method is to knit the center first, then add the borders and the edging. I am using the traditional approach. So far today, I have spent almost seven hours knitting. I have about a yard of edging. I have chosen the pattern Ocean Waves Edging on page 78 of Heirloom Knitting. I chose this because both Natalie and her fiancee, Steven, both work for and have a passion for the preservation of the Gulf coast. I haven't chosen the border or center patterns yet.

I will share pictures as I go along.

Back to knitting...

Day One knitting time...9.5 hours

Total knitting time...9.5 hours