Jeanne's Shawl

My friend Jeanne thought that her 80-something-year-0ld mother would enjoy having a shawl. Seemed like a good idea to me.

Eventually, Jeanne selected a Faroese shawl because the shaping would stay on her mother's shoulders better than a triangle or a rectangle. Then she choose the Alka pattern from Myrna Stahman's book on Faroese shawls and seaman's scarves.

The yarn presented a challenge: soft, not too heavy, not too light, no wool, machine wash and dry. With the help of Ravelry's yarn index, I found that Knit Picks CotLin, a DK-weight cotton-linen blend, met my requirements. Jeanne chose the color Lantana.

Knitting on US7 needles, I used about nine skeins, 1,100 yards. I used the leftover yarn to make a few face cloths for Jeanne.

Jeanne gave the shawl to her mother for Christmas and it was a hit. Her mom seemed quite taken with the idea that someone would hand-knit a shawl just for her. She joyfully modeled it before all of her friends and relatives (that's not her in the photo, that's me).