Two years ago or so I bought a book by Myrna Stahman, Stahman's Shawls and Scarves. Here's my result:
Faroese shawls have a clever shaping that keeps the shawl from falling off: they have a center gusset with triangular side pieces. They are traditionally worked from the bottom up and may have long ends so as can be tied around the back. A good book to check out on traditional construction of these shawls might be Bundannaurriklaedid which is available from Schoolhouse Press. I don't have this book so can't specifically recommend it. Another example is found in one of my favorite books, Nordic Knitting by Susanne Pagoldh, which includes directions for a garter lace Faroese shawl.
Of course, traditionally they are knit from the wool of Faroes sheep
which is one of the Northern European Short Tail Sheep. A landrace breed, genetically they are related to Old Norwegian and Icelandic breeds. Natural colors are brown, black, gray, and creamy white.
Here is a map of the Faroe Islands.
The Faroes are part of Denmark.
In her book, Myrna smartly conceived of a way to work this shawl form the top down, allowing one to stop wherever she wants to, with regards to length. Her shawls also have some additional shoulder shaping. I'm a lousy blocker and the photo above doesn't really show the proper shoulder shaping.
I worked hard on my shawl, the Barbara pattern, until a summer trip stopped my work on it, and on returning from Scotland my knitting motivations were elsewhere. I found this particular lace to be a very hard one to memorize.
I decided recently that I should finish this project. It wasn't too long, but I have also recently decided that this shape of shawl might be a bit Grannyish looking and isn't really fitting in to my lifestyle. Not that I don't love Grannies...but anyway, I decided to stop this as a shawlette.
Some words on this yarn; this is Classic Elite Tapestry 2 ply. I just love the stuff. It's bouncy, springy, and crunchy, and great for lace: a wool-mohair blend. I bought several colors when I lived near Lowell MA, location of the Classic Elite outlet. It is no longer being made. What this yarn has taught me is that I really do love some mohair in yarn for lace as it adds crunch and dimension to lace patterns. I will be looking forward to more lace knitting with what's left of the Tapestry 2 ply, and with other mohair yarns, including my handspun.
As always-beautiful. Lace knitting and mohair, I have worked that combo a couple of times. However, it is so hard to tink and frog. I wear my shawls at the front, so I can look down and admire my work :))
ReplyDeleteI would luv to see some of the content of your Nordic Knitting book :-) I particularly enjoy that style of knitting very much!
ReplyDeleteI luv kid mohair and someday I hope to knit a lace shawl in Kidsilk Haze yarn (do have any to trade?) I luv the etheral look to mohair lace.