The City and the Stars

The title for this post comes from an Isaac Asimov story which has absolutely nothing to do with the subject under discussion, but could be the name of my most recent FO. Oh, wait, that’s exactly what I named it. Heather Anderson asked me if I would test knit her most recent shawl and I gladly responded in the affirmative. I had already knitted two of her shawls in KALs (knit alongs) and I found her instructions to be clear and straightforward. I also think she’s a talented designer, so I said, “Sure.”

The first shawl of Heather’s I made is semi-circular, with increase rows every now and again. I haven’t figured out the math, but instead of the shawl getting steadily bigger, as do triangular and crescent patterns, It merely is given the opportunity to stretch. That sounds weird. I’m not describing it very well. You start out with a garter tab and 12 stitches on your needle. After several rows, you quadruple the number of stitches on your needle, either by yarn overs, knitting front-back, or something else. Continuing on, knit the pattern, then double the number of stitches again. This increase happens one more time, and then you knit until you’re done. Bind off. Wet block. Wear.

Here is the first such shawl I made in this fashion:

It’s a pretty clever trick. That particular garment was knit in Classic Elite Yarns Silky Alpaca Lace on 4 mm. needles. The pattern called for fingering, but I’m really happy with the way it turned out. It’s even warm. However, this entry is not about that shawl.

The test knit I volunteered for is also a semi-circular shawl. Because it was a test, I used the weight of yarn and size of needles specified, but the rest was up to me. Heather’s name for it is City at Night. It’s whimsical, and she chose two shades of blue: dark and darker. I chose Knitpicks Stroll Glimmer in Kestrel and Black. The composition of the yarn is 70% Merino, 25% Nylon, 5% Metallic, the latter what the company calls “stellina”. It sparkles. The main body of the shawl has lace “stars” and the border has a ribbed representation of skyscrapers. In a fit of whimsy, I added a red shiny bead at the tip of each building to warn off low-flying planes. 

Here’s a closeup of the warning lights:

A friend’s response to my description of the buildings being in bas relief was, “If it is knitted out of lambswool, then they are in baa relief.” I wish I’d thought of that!

Finally, the finished garment warming me:

And that’s all I have to say about this one.