Too many shawls

A couple of weeks ago I finally folded and put away the shawls that have been lying on my ironing board. It necessitated emptying a bottom drawer in my dresser, getting rid of things that have accumulated there over time, folding and putting the various wraps and stoles I possess neatly away. The drawer is full. There are shawls I have knitted, a shawl I crocheted, two near-identical white lace shawls (one I bought, one my mother-in-law gave me), silk wraps I purchased from Burmese fundraisers, pashminas bought at the Montreal bus station and two gorgeous stoles bought in New York from the Metropolitan Museum on separate occasions (one painted silk, one a pashmina). There is even a black satin stole from a Montreal airport store. I have probably missed a few. The point is, I have way too many shawls. I can’t wear them all, and yet I keep knitting them. The most recently completed FO of this genre was undertaken for a MKAL on Ravelry: Rapt for the Holidays (Holiday MKAL 2014) by Heather Anderson.

I’ve been trying to figure out what the appeal of MKALs is. I haven’t yet, so that’ll be a discussion for a future time. In the meanwhile, I should talk about the shawl that is now in a zip-lock plastic bag awaiting a decision on its fate. I had bought a skein of Marine Silk-Lace from Blue Moon Fiber Arts at the Toronto Knitters Frolic last spring which was the right weight (lace and 100 gm) for the undertaking. I went to a local jewelry supply store and purchased way too many beads. I was prepared!

Heather leaked the clues one chart at a time. First the beginning of a semi-circle following Elizabeth Zimmerman’s π formula in stockinette; then a chart of snowflakes, then a chart of lace candy canes. Aware that not everyone would want to make a garment too obviously reminiscent of Christmas, she included an alternate second chart which more people chose to knit, even though it was untested. I am included in that group. Then there was another chart of snowflakes, followed by a chart of wreaths, a final sprinkling of snowflakes, and a row of fir trees. People posted photos of their FOs before I was even close to the last bit, and I determined that the trees looked a little squat; so I added another set of branches. There was a beaded eyelet edging, and a choice of blocking it with points or not. I chose points. Here is my FO with the pins.

After I photographed it, I repinned the edge to redistribute the points. I’m much happier with the finished result.

Now. What do I do with it?