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Of course!! Those are two more that I'd forgotten about when I posted yesterday morning - And Anna Dalvi - I adore her patterns.

I've already answered about favourite shapes -- but I'd like to mention a pet peeve of mine when it comes to shawls: It seems that some people are designing "shawls" that are really no more than a fashion scarf! To me, a shawl should be something that at least covers your back, shoulders, top of the arm, and back of the neck -- something to wear over a sleeveless or spaghetti strap top or dress. There is nothing more frustrating than thinking you are creating a shawl (because the picture doesn't show it on a person, and not everyone can easily visualize size when just given numbers) and it turns out to be too short to wrap around your shoulders, and not wide enough to keep your back or arms from being chilled!!

I so agree with your pet peeve- I have had problems knitting up Pfeilraupe (which has no lace!) but a lovely drape, I just did not have DK or worsted weight available in sufficient quantities, to get the size I was hoping. My current part lace project Waiting for Rain I did knit in DK, rather than the recommended Fingering weight, but I got the size I wanted. (without blocking- I do not have a blocking frame and no mats either to achieve this- just a function of being on a retirement income- things come only when there is a little spare cash, or in the unlikely event of being able to save and not having to pay an unexpected bill.

 

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My very favourite circular is this one from Golden Hands in the 1970's. You pick up the stitches along the border, in six segments and knit into the centre.

 

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That border is something else!!! Totally gorgeous!

Took me 17 years as I up-skilled!!!!! But in the end I completed most of it in a six month period. I really really love that border.

 

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I've knitted a couple of things from Victorian Lace Today. The patterns are lovely. There is a section in the back for designing your own shawls. I've actually done one of the scarves but with a different border. It was fun working out the pattern.

:sm24: :sm24: :sm24:

 

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I actually have almost all if the golden hands beginning with the very first one - which one is it please.

It is definitely in the collection, 'All You Can Knit and Crochet for Babies and Children', Do you have that one?

 

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Lately my new love is Estonian lace in fingering or lace weight yarn. I prefer animal fibers or blends, but avoid cashmere for environmental reasons. I like the triangle shawls best. I've made the Ashton shawl numerous times, a!so I enjoy making a variation of the swallowtail shawl, which I knit stockinette down to the start of the lily of the valley pattern. The colors I like best are ivory color and blue. Darker colors are difficult for me to see.

At the risk of seeming dumb, what is the environmental problem with Cashmere?

 

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You know how much I love this shawl Julie, I just gave one away recently. I knit 10 centre sections on mine.

The pattern is in Cleckheaton nursery album, pattern 16 and called Baby Shawl. It is also in Knitting & Crochet for Babies The Best of Golden Hands. It is called Circular Shetland Shawl. It is also in all you can knit and crochet for babies Golden Hands Special.????
Ros

:sm24: Thanks for the extra sources, and correcting my faulty recall, Ros! Indeed I always think of you, when I see this one!

 

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Many of us are old enough to remember when cashmere was truly a luxury item, so expensive that only the wealthiest could afford a small scarf. Suddenly in the past 15 or so years it's everywhere at very affordable prices. Curious, I wanted to know why. So I googled it. What I discovered was disturbing. Cashmere is the soft under fleece produced during the extreme cold winters in China and Mongolia. It is harvested by hand. So far, so good, okay? Now enters the need to increase supply to meet demand. In this endeavor, herds have to be increased, leading to over breeding, and decreasing the overall quality of the product. If the problem ended there, we might say "so what?". However, the impact of increasing the herds is having devastating effects on the environment. When sheep graze, their tendency is to eat the plants right down to the root, leaving nothing for regrowth. We aren't talking about a couple hundred animals destroying a few acres....the herds are huge. Their simple need for food is literally creating deserts where there used to be grasslands. The long term effects impact the entire planet. In addition, the animals themselves are suffering from lack of adequate nutrition. That's it in a nutshell. If you want to know more, you can Google like I did. There are a number of informative articles.

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