East light

I'm about eighteen months behind the initial wave of enthusiasm for the Shetland Trader's Aestlight shawl pattern - but I'm nevertheless very much an enthusiast. Gudrun Johnson herself writes that it's a shawl whose construction falls within the Shetland tradition - a garter stitch triangle; a border, including bird's-eye lace, most elegantly attached via yarn-over loops along the edges of the triangle; and then an edging that's knitted sideways and attached to the live stitches of the border. So ingenious.



One of the reasons it's taken so long to get around to knitting this pattern is that I already have a much worn and loved Aestlight shawl that was a gift from drk. But my daughter is going to the UK and Spain for work for a couple of weeks and wanted a light shawl / scarf such as this for changeable European early Spring weather. This pattern is also perfect for travelling because it's what I think of as geometrically lacy (rather than florally lacy) and can either be casual or a bit dressy. I've knitted it from the same yarn as drk's gift shawl - Knitabulous's now extinct and lamented 50/50 wool and silk fingering weight. I think the colour of the shawl I've just knitted is my favourite Knitabulous colour ever - it's called 'glint' and is grey with highlights of a rosy dawn pink.



My living room is usually flooded in the mornings with the east light for which this shawl is named. But we've had lots of dull, rainy mornings lately that resulted in the rather variable quality of the colour in my photos. But I needed to pack and send the shawl for my daughter's trip, and so couldn't wait for the perfect east light.