For some reason, I got it in my head a couple of weeks ago that I want to make a shawl. I’ve been wearing wide scarves over my shoulders all winter. They all have been store-bought, and I have had a bit of knitter’s shame in that none of what I have worn has been anything I’ve made. You wanna know why that is? There IS nothing I have made. A few hats, an i-cord scarf, and lots of unfinished objects. I am the true embodiment of a process knitter; I start a project, eager to learn something new, and then once I get the concept, I quickly get bored. So, there’s not a lot to show for my “career” as a knitter.
But, back in November, when I visited Woolstock, I discovered the wonder that is Koigu. I bought 8 skeins, intent on making a shawl. Of course, it can’t be just ANY shawl. It had to be the PERFECT shawl. And so, the agonizing began.
Agonizing, because… here’s the thing. I love the idea of lace, but I really don’t like “old lady” lace. I’m 45 with purple hair for gosh sakes, I’m fighting my age tooth and nail. So, I had to find the right stitch patterns, and style and shape of shawl.
Enter the book, Crazy Lace:an artistic approach to Creative Lace Knitting
The thing is, I’m not quite that brave. Not yet. I want to be, but I’m not there. Still, the book was a great read and I will refer to it often every time I need a knitting confidence booster.
Then I thought I would love to try knitting a Faroese Shawl. The concept of this shawl appealed to me because as a person in a wheelchair, I have trouble keeping shawls in place on my shoulders. And the shaping looked like just the thing that would make this shawl easy to wear. I looked at some basic shaping instructions from this site. I understand the concepts laid out in this site, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. Not yet. It was making my brain hurt, so I ripped it out after only the first few rows. I tried again and again, but the confusion never lifted. So there went that idea.
Then I looked around Ravelry, and there it was: The Pi Are Square shawl. (There’s a good example of one in this photo on Flickr.) Put simply, it’s round in the back, and square in the front. with shoulder shaping. This seemed perfect. Of course the creator of this beautiful design was none other than my knitting herone, Elizabeth Zimmermann. I have most of her books so I pulled my copy of Knitting Around
If I’m brave enough. We’ll see.
. I’m already in love.
but the format is ingenious! It’s a box of index cards, with a card for each pattern, and tips for things like heels on one, and toes on another, etc. I think this solves the one thing I hate about knitting books… lugging them around. Now all the patterns are on individual cards and they’re so easy to throw in the knitting bag and don’t weigh it down. This is especially important for sock knitters, who, as knitters go, travel light. They know that one of the major attractions to sock knitting is that socks are small and can be worked on anywhere, and packed in almost anything without taking up any major amount of space. Knitting books, by their very nature, cancel out this benefit, unless you have access to a personal copier and remember to copy all your patterns before you leave the house. (My office would frown on me using their copier to make copies of my knitting patterns for sure.)
contains several variations on a basic design in just about every size. Of course, my curiosity was piqued and so I ordered a copy for myself. It’s a great little book, if you like raglans, of course. In general raglans look just about as awful on me as they do the next fat girl but I kinda like their relaxed, “wear it on Sunday” appeal. So, I think I may try one. Maybe I’ll do one for my son first, since he’s the smallest person here, just to see how it goes. If that goes well then maybe I’ll be on a roll and be brave enough to try other kinds of sweaters. I keep hoping for that magic design that will prove to me how easy making garments that fit can be, so I can get over my fear of them and just start making — and finishing — actual sweaters. Then I’d feel like a real knitter. 
,” edited by Judith Durant. I admit I waited for this book for a long time. I am a professed Not-Sock-Knitter, and yet, I have bins of beautiful sock yarns with nowhere to go. I like a beautiful yarn as much as the next knitter, and so many of them these days are sock yarns. I have amassed many skeins, and have a total of ONE pair of socks in my Finished Object collection.
. I learned that even I could knit anything I want to knit… that what is important is knowing my gauge, whatever it is, and then I can make practically anything, in any yarn, without following a step by step pattern.
) because it said this: “Gauge: About 5 sts to 1 in. But babies come in various sizes.” 
. It’s like having the website in a book, only there’s more. More variations, more increases and decreases, and patterns. Lots of patterns. I can hardly decide what to knit first.