Stripanan

by Bristol Ivy

Shape: Asymmetrical Triangle

Dimensions: 66" x 43" x 60"

Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Weathered Frame and Gossamer

Construction: sideways with a picked up border and knitted on edging

I started this shawl in October 2013 after frogging the Little Things hat by Veera Valimaki. I was using Madtosh TML in Weathered Frame. That color made me look run down when hugging my head. Nine Rubies in San Mateo has a nice stock of TML. I grabbed several different skeins I thought might pair well with Weathered Frame and looked at them in the light. Gossamer, hands down, paired with it best. I then had to find a pattern to use with those colors. Since I love shawls, I jumped onto Ravulous to check what shawls I had in my queue. Stripanan jumped out at me, it was knit in similar colors and would look equally stunning. SOLD.

It was my first time working with TML, I was in heaven! I knitted away on it for about a month when I realized that I completely misread the directions and I wasn't increasing as rapidly as I should have been. My good friend, V., patiently sat with me and helped me to frog it so I could wind the yarn into balls as it came apart. I will steam those later to get the kinks out.

I started again mid-November, took a break while cranking out some Christmas knitting, then started up again the day after Christmas. I'm ready to start the border but I'm one stitch short. V. would rip back until she could fix the mistake. Me? I'm a "let's make it work" kinda knitter, AKA a product knitter who just wants to finish the damn thing so I can see the end result.

So, I'm going to tink back a few stitches and add an extra stitch so I can begin border. You won't tell, will you?

Where I Stand

As of today, I have knitted the following shawls:

1. Boneyard Shawl - Stephen West
2. Verity Shawl - Ágnes Kutas-Keresztes
3. Shetland Triangle Lace Shawl - Evelyn A. Clark
4. Shaelyn - Leila Raabe
5. Celes - Jared Flood
6. Tibet - Paulina Popiolek
7. The Lonely Tree Shawl - Silvia Bo Bilvia

I plan to frog #'s 4 and 7 because I'm just not wearing them.

I am currently knitting:

1. Stripanan - Bristol Ivy in Madelinetosh - Tosh Merino Light
2. Rock Island - Jared Flood in Classic Elite Yarns - Silky Alpaca
3. Bridgewater - Jared Flood in Stitch Sisters - Cashmere Lace
4. Trellis Scarf - Evelyn A. Clark in Knit Picks - Shimmer Lace
5. Skeleton Scarf - Donna Druchunas in Knit Picks - Shadow Lace

In my immediate queue:

1. Farthing - Jared Flood in Shibui Knits - Staccato
2. Brandywine - Rosemary (Romi) Hill in Ella Rae - Lace Merino
3. Madrona Lace Scarf - Evelyn A. Clark in Knit Picks - Bare Hare Yarn
4. Magpie Scarf - Evelyn A. Clark in Knit Picks - Palette
5. Terra - Jared Flood in Knit Picks - Wool of the Andes Tweed
6. Spruce Forest - Nancy Bush in Knit Picks - Palette

About My Journey....

What constitutes a shawl?

According to Wikipedia:

"A shawl is a simple item of clothing, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, that is often folded to make a triangle but can also be triangular in shape. Other shapes include oblong shawls."

For the purposes of my knitting adventure, the different shapes I will be knitting are:

• triangular
• rectangular stoles
• scarves
• square
• semi-circular
• circular or Pi shawls

In addition, shawls I knit may contain:

• lace (arctic, estonian, icelandic, shetland, orenburg, etc.)
• texture
• simple stockinette
• stripes!

Some of my favorite knitting designers from which I plan to knit more than one shawl patterns from are:

1. Jared Flood
2. Nancy Bush
3. Evelyn A. Clark
4. Leila Raabe
5. Galina Khmeleva

I am very interested in breed-specific wools, so I plan to spend 12 months during this journey knitting a different shawl each month from different breeds of sheep so I can experience the varieties they have to offer.

Timeline?

Well, seeing as it takes me at least a month to complete one fairly simple shawl, I'd like to give myself a generous timeframe to reach my goal.

End date: March 5, 2021 (my 40th birthday)