Monday 15 September 2014

Leaf Evolution Shawl: Knitted by Helen, supervised by Archie

A few months ago, I saw this on Helen's blog, Archie the Wonderdog and I was smitten.  A conversation or two lead to a suggestions and a plan was hatched. This is the result:


A Leaf Evolutlion shawl knitted by Helen for me.  I used to be a very keen knitter.  I learnt to knit as a young child and by the time I was a teenager in the 1980s and knitting was going through a boom period, I earned pocket money knitting up fairisle/Navaajo patterned cardigans in mohair.  I couldn't wear mohair but I was obsessed by the vibrant colours that it came in.  I knitted throughout my teens.  It waned when I left home for uni into occasional jumpers but was rekindled by the birth of my daughter when I knitted her many cardigans, jumpers and toys inspired by Debbie Bliss , Ros Badger and Rowan yarns.


By the time my daughter was four a combination of many factors had lead to repetitive strain injury which took a long time to recover from and still gives me problems.  I am pretty much recovered but I have limitations and one of these is I can no longer knit, it aggravates my wrists so quickly that I know not to got there.  All over Instagram there is the temptation of beautiful patterns, yarn and inspiration a-plenty and I look on as a spectator.  And so Helen offered, we chatted to work out practicalities and I was incredibly grateful.  The yarn, Manos Lace, was a lucky ebay bargain. The skein is long and the mix of fibres is soft enough not to irritate my skin or Helen's.  There was no time scale or deadline for finishing and to be honest I was thinking about it.


And then a sudden surprise in the post last Wednesday, half an hour before I was due to leave for work.   I could not believe it!  I quickly dragged my husband outside (working from home day) and asked him for some quick snaps in the sun.  And you can see Helen's fine handiwork- not only the beautiful knitting but the meticulous blocking which defines each curve and point along the edge.  I was absolutely over the moon.  It is the most beautiful lace pattern, designed by Tetiana Otruta designs and originally ran as a mystery knit-along.


Archie has been convalescing through some nasty aches and pains so Helen has been secretly knitting away whilst sitting with him and as a result, I have a beautiful shawl, swiftly knitted and ready for the cold weather this year- I feel so happy and incredibly privileged that she knitted this, it's a treasure and so is she.   And Archie is on the mend, gently does it Archie x

sib blog

16 comments:

  1. She is such a lovely lady but she is also an excellent judge of character and has recognised so are you! *g* I love that colour, it's vibrant without being neon!

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  2. Fabulous shawl! I love knitting but wool literally brings me out in a rash and it kills me not being able to use some of the really beautiful yarns as a result. Helen did a fab job, you're very lucky xx

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  3. It's beautiful, and it suits you perfectly!

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  4. How wonderful, and I love the smile on your face :-)

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  5. I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this for you (I think this counts as my first ever commission but that sounds a bit official, I prefer to think of it as 'making something for someone lovely'!) and I'm so glad that the yarn worked out for both of us! I'm missing my knitting, I don't think it will be long before I start something else. No idea what it will be but it will be a shawl of some sort as I love knitting them, even if I can't wear them! Thanks for giving me such gorgeous yarn to work with, it was a delight from start to finish!

    P.S. Have I mentioned how fabulous you look in that colour?!

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  6. Gorgeous! Love the colour and those pictures speak of its softness.

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  7. Helen is definitely a lovely person to knit you up this lovely shawl and you look absolutely fab in it!!!
    I love knitting shawls too ~ have a bunch of them!

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  8. It's a gorgeous shawl - Helen is so clever. And that colour is just perfect for you (and looks even better in the sun streaked pics!)

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  9. A lovely shawl and the colour is stunning, beautifully knitted for you. I too can't knit now, due to shoulder damage gained when obsessively knitting for my first grandchild (now 2). Every so often I try again but my golden days of knitting are over and it makes me sad. However I CAN sew so all is well as long as I can create something.

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  10. Such a lovely shawl!! You look so delighted.. I find I need to be careful with posture & knitting as it can be addictive and then pain inducing. I'd love to see a picture of some of those mohair jumpers from the past if there is one. Altho I can imagine...I knitted a few mohair delights in the 80s.
    I wish my husband was around to take a quick pic of my creations (obviously not just for that). The last shawl he photographed I looked so darn tired & worried, stunned maybe. Not surprising in retrospect.

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