Ishbel & Hayworth ~

Or ‘why I’m now ok with wearing a scarf with a pointy end’……

Truth be told, lace has always intimidated me. While I surely appreciated the craftsmanship and attention to detail that goes into knitting lace (as well as designing the patterns for goodness sakes!) I never thought it to be something I would be interested in wearing. Ever. In all honesty, it just seemed so….. old. And, why oh why would I want to wear something that pointed straight at my bum? Really??? Or that had the potential to make me look much older than I ever want to??? (Just being honest here). And, well, as I said, it intimidated the daylights out of me. But then I started seeing all these Ishbels (and other amazing lace projects) pop up in the Plucky Knitter Group on Ravelry (go have a look, you’ll get a kick out of all the great projects) and I just couldn’t help myself.

And, from a purely functional standpoint, it’s a fantastic scarf. The drape is great, pairs well with collared shirts or a plain old tee and cardi (which happen to be my uniform of choice) and it’s great for more temperate environments as it’s not bulky at all. So, you’ll never see me sporting a shawl (or shawlette if you will) worn the traditional way, but you will see me with them bunched up around the neck/shoulders as a scarf/wrap.

Raveled

Since the finished Ishbel is such a hit I am now knitting Hayworth. It’s so Art Deco-y…… I’m actually further along than this pic suggests (wish I were further along as I am suppose to be test knitting – Sorry Victoria!!!), it’s a surprising quick knit (would be even quicker had I not left it on the patio and then had it drenched by a sudden down-pour and then had to unskein, wait for it to dry and then reskein). Hayworth is the first (can you believe it?!!?) design by the lovely Victoria. Check it out, really, you’ll love it.