Janingalina

My Grandfather was diagnosed with cancer in the spring. He was in for his second hospital stay over Mothers' Day weekend. I went with my parents and one of my aunts went to Grandma's house to celebrate the holiday. Grandpa's health was a big topic of discussion.

Aunt Mary is a crocheter. She said something along the lines of, "If Dad comes home, it's going to be in a wheelchair" (he'd lost a lot of muscle mass and was really weak from the chemo). A little more discussion followed and her decision was that he should have some lap blankets, because a man that we love, who is that sick, should not be cold.

I thought that was a great idea. But if she had the lap blankets covered, I should work on something else. Grandma was going through a lot while caring for her spouse of 62 years, and his prognosis wasn't good. I started a prayer shawl for her.

Among knitters there's a tradition of knitting things for people. When someone you know is going through a rough patch, often a prayer shawl is created, sometimes knit by multiple people. I'm not especially religious, or even very Christian, but I like the idea of knitting something with a focus. Putting your mental and emotional energy into a thing, and staying mindful while you make it. This, to me, is a prayer shawl.

A few years ago I had knit a sweater with a big heart on the chest, I was in lurve, and on a romantic trip with a boyfriend. Later we broke up and I wore the sweater once or twice, but it just didn't turn out the way I expected it. So I ripped it out and balled up the yarn again. I used this New Zealand Merino Wool, already imbued with some love and sentimentality, to start Grandma's Shawl.

I knit it on some Boye interchangeable needles that Grandma had given to her sister Ethel 40 years ago. When Et went into the nursing home, the needles came to me because I'm the only family knitter now.

I started the sweater after I visited Grandpa in the hospital, the day after Mother's day. I cast on with the red wool, and kept both Grandma and Grandpa in my thoughts. The shawl progressed, I took it to work for our knitting lunch.

I made the most progress over Memorial Day weekend, during the all-night watch we held in Grandpa's hospital room. I sat, with aunts and parents and cousins, knitting and helping with the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle. It was a long night, there was much knitting.

After that, I knit at home. I'd put music on and knit for a few hours, staying present with the work.

When Grandpa passed, I knit at the viewings. I kept the project near me the whole time. Having something to do with my hands was reassuring. I love the colors. Knitting this shawl, was a comfort to me.

Out of Folk Shawls I chose a traditional shape from the Faroe Islands. I'd knit it before and it would be easy to remember. Faroese shawls stay on the shoulders and don't really need pinning because of their 3-panel shape.

The neckline is cast on first,

and the center panel is knit straight, but the side panels have a yarn over at each end, so they expand triangularly as you knit. It makes for a shoulder hugging, easy wrapping sort of shawl. I like them for ease of wear, but they're also pretty, and offer a good structure to be creative within.

The side panels were done in the Shetland Fir Cone lace pattern I picked from the Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns, with a garter stitch center panel. The fir cone pattern is funny, because it puckers when it's knit, and it doesn't lie flat until it's blocked. So a bunch of the shawl looked like it was made to resemble egg-cartons.

Near the bottom of the shawl, in the center panel I knitted up a St. John's Cross. The pattern for which was inspired by some Swedish Viking armor, and converted to a knitting pattern by a Elsebeth Lavold, published in her book Viking Patterns for Knitting. It's a symbol for good luck and prosperity.

Finally, I used a handpainted variegted yarn for the edging, a Victorian lace pattern, called Herring Bone Faggoting (little sticks) that I pulled out of Barbara Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns.


I bound off the shawl, with a K1 *Sl1L K2 K2togTBL on RH needle pattern, that allows for a lot of give at the edge. Finally, I wove in the ends and blocked it out. The fir cones went flat, the faggoting opened up, the shawl turned out beautifully. I love blocking shawls, because they look like butteflies pinned to a board. However, no butterflies were harmed in the making of this shawl.

And the best news? Gramma likes it.