I've knit quite a few Swallowtail Shawls over the years. The first, I knit in three or four days while studying abroad in Japan - I still think of the echoey beige halls of the university every time I see it - and the second and third, I knit in quick succession the summer after I graduated from Oberlin. It's such a fun and pretty little pattern, I could knit it a dozen more times and be happy!
This Swallowtail, unlike the other two, was never destined to be mine. A while back, a few of my friend Sooz's shawls were tragically and hopelessly damaged, and I knew she was pretty bummed about it - and Sooz being a dear friend, a beautiful knitter herself, and and immensely knitworthy gift recipient, my knitterly wheels started turning.
So I chose this beautiful Pagewood Farms fingering weight from my stash, in a color that I had seen Sooz wear before (and that looks smashing on her), and bang - a few days into January, and I had a brand new Swallowtail! I finally got the shawl blocked and photographed last weekend, and this week, we grabbed dinner, and I gave her her new shawl. She sent me pictures after she got home that night, and it looks great on her!
For as much as I proclaim to be a selfish knitter, I get such happiness from sharing the wooly things I make. There's nothing quite like seeing a garment that you had this close relationship with as you made it, warming a person that you care about. In their own ways, knitted things become objects of connection and love - and I think that's why giving away my knits is sometimes even better than keeping them to my selfish self.
Details on Ravelry here.
This Swallowtail, unlike the other two, was never destined to be mine. A while back, a few of my friend Sooz's shawls were tragically and hopelessly damaged, and I knew she was pretty bummed about it - and Sooz being a dear friend, a beautiful knitter herself, and and immensely knitworthy gift recipient, my knitterly wheels started turning.
So I chose this beautiful Pagewood Farms fingering weight from my stash, in a color that I had seen Sooz wear before (and that looks smashing on her), and bang - a few days into January, and I had a brand new Swallowtail! I finally got the shawl blocked and photographed last weekend, and this week, we grabbed dinner, and I gave her her new shawl. She sent me pictures after she got home that night, and it looks great on her!
For as much as I proclaim to be a selfish knitter, I get such happiness from sharing the wooly things I make. There's nothing quite like seeing a garment that you had this close relationship with as you made it, warming a person that you care about. In their own ways, knitted things become objects of connection and love - and I think that's why giving away my knits is sometimes even better than keeping them to my selfish self.
Details on Ravelry here.
