Now that I have the lace knitting techniques down, I wanted to try something closer to genuine lace with smaller needles and lighter thinner yarn. I loved the intricacy of Susan Pandorf’s pattern entitled “Sherwood” but didn’t really like the end sections, nor was I prepared to spend the time beading the main body as her pattern directs, so I just used the beautiful criss-cross design of the main body and added some seed stitch edging on either end.

I usually knit these shawls for my sister’s parishioners but as I was knitting this one, it was my own life that entered a turning point: my husband’s decline into early-onset Alzheimer’s worsened and he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, necessitating three surgeries and nearly two months of radiation, followed by a very long recovery period. All throughout this period, I was knitting this shawl, in waiting rooms, in doctor’s offices, at home during his various treatments, waiting for the outcomes of PET scans, surgeries, tests--in fact I was so emotionally overwhelmed by the end of November that I took three months of a break from knitting it entirely.

So in June, I am having my sister bless this shawl for me and I will be using it as a scarf next winter with my forest green wool jacket. So many of my own tears and prayers went into it, it feels appropriate to keep it for myself, a part of my own history and spiritual life.