Summer Stock Shawlette is a fluttery little thing—easy-breezy and perfect for cool nights or over-air-conditioned spaces. I love my version in Nettle Grove by Plymouth Yarn (a blend of cotton, linen, silk, and nettle in a sport weight yarn), but it’ll look great in all sorts of yarn. Go ahead and stash dive on this one! The pattern includes alternative stitch counts that will work for the border, so you can make this as small or as large as you want.
The inspiration first came from the yarn. My friend Britni and I had been talking about summery shawls when I ran across this Nettle Grove. It’s way out of my comfort zone, but that’s what I wanted. First of all, I don’t work with a lot of cotton, let alone linen or nettle (nettle?). It’s not too scratchy to work with, and as everyone says, it softens up so much. And then orange? Orange is SO not a good color for me, but somehow, this muted orange works. It looks great with gray, blue, purple, raspberry—all my cool-colored t-shirts. The color wheel in action!
Once I got the yarn home, I searched for stitch patterns and borders that reminded me of summer. I thought of evenings of community theatre—you’re fanning yourself before the show starts, but when the sun goes down and a breeze stirs up during intermission, you need a little something to wrap around you. I found this eyelet edging and imagined it rippling in the breeze. It turned out to be just what I had in mind. I hope you love it, too.
Price of admission is 20% off through July 6, 2018, when you buy the pattern on Ravelry. No coupon necessary.
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I’ve always loved how summer community theatre gives amateur actors the opportunity to perform. While the lead roles may still be competitive, anybody and everybody can be involved; if you want a part in the show, you can at least join the chorus or crew. The attitude seems to be “the more the merrier.” The performance atmosphere is decidedly more relaxed and inviting than traditional theatre, making a night at the theatre accessible to everyone.
Summer Stock Shawlette is a shallow crescent-shaped shawl knit from the top down. The stockinette fabric is light and airy, like the easy-going mood of summer stock theatre. The shaping is simple enough to knit while you wait for the show to start. Enlarged yarnovers along the border flutter in the breeze. You just might steal the show with your stunning new shawl.
I actually designed this shawl last summer, but I’ve been so busy that I’ve just now settled down to finish writing it up. Since I’m a designer and a tech editor, it is sometimes hard to split my time. I have all these design ideas swimming around in my head, or on the needles, even, but I want to help other designers, too. And then there’s the financial side—tech editing means quick and guaranteed income, whereas patterns may or may not sell like hotcakes, a few dollars at a time. So, when I have a calendar full of tech editing jobs, I don’t mind so much that the patterns sit on the back burner. Besides, publishing a pattern called Summer Stock in the middle of January doesn’t quite make sense for an American designer, does it?
Speaking of tech editing, are you a knitting or crochet designer? I can tech edit your pattern and catch mistakes before anyone else has a chance to see them. Or do you write blog posts, send newsletters, publish e-books, or write product descriptions? You want your customers to focus on your products and what you have to say, not your typos. One of my superpowers is x-ray vision; let me proofread your writing so your work can shine. Click here to learn more, or send me a message to ask questions or schedule an edit.
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