I finished my Holden Shawlette weeks ago, and haven’t posted about it–mainly because it is seriously difficult to photograph the back of oneself while artfully wearing a shawl. (And my helper husband gets a little weird about quilt photography, so the mortification of a shawl photography session…well, I didn’t even ask him.)
This was the first lace pattern I’ve ever knitted, and my first “shawl”. It was much less difficult than I thought it would be! I also thought the finished object might not be so useful. “Good practice,” I thought, and then I thought it would stay folded in a drawer. Not so!
I wear it all the time! It looks great over a tank top and bare shoulders (so I can only assume it’ll look great over a summery dress), but it also looks fantastic over a sweater and under my fitted cloth spring jacket, worn like a scarf.
I used The Plucky Knitter Plucky Feet in Edwardian (a colorway that has since been discontinued. I feel pretty lucky to have snagged a skein in time! The green-blue-grey color suits me perfectly). Because I used a true sock yarn, the shawl is really sturdy with great shape retention. (Though it may not have blocked out to the intended size, for the same reason.)
Finally, I’ll just mention that you can get this lovely pattern by Mindy Wilkes free on Ravelry. Try it! I think if you can knit and purl and kind of keep track of what row you are on, you can do it.
