Crows Flying

Since the beginning of the pandemic I’ve been largely bedridden. What does that mean? Well lack of access to medical treatments means I can’t do much standing or walking due to chronic illness and an injury I got in February. I need lots of rest and I’m honestly just really grumpy a lot of the time these days. I’m hugely privileged in many ways during this pandemic, so this really isn’t meant to be much of a pity party (only a little bit).

I designed this shawl in bed, I knit this shawl in bed and I modelled this shawl in bed. And I fucking just love it so much and I love what it represents. It’s okay to spend 9 months in bed. And it’s okay to spend another 9 months in bed if that’s the case. Needing rest, being chronically ill, being a mess… none of these things make you a shitty person. They’re morally neutral things. They just ARE.

Although I’m often struck with grief at the loss of my
mobility (and grief is normal and healthy for anyone with illness) I am also reminded how lucky I am to have so much of the care that I need. Stable housing, happy animals around me all the time, and just all the love I have in my life.

The name of this shawl comes from my last day of editing the pattern – it was a clear and gorgeous cold windy day out the window and crows were just playing. Just playing in the wind. All this joy around me still visible from bed

Yarn

3 skeins of Knit Picks Billow
in colourway “Tumeric” or approximately 360 yards (329 metres) of cotton* bulky weight yarn.
or wool, or any fiber you choose.

The colour on some of the photos is off - editing in different lights really changed the look of the yarn! It’s a golden colour with a bit of orange in it. More orange than the straw-colour that it is in the images.

Needles
8mm (US 11) circular needles in at least a 24” (60cm) cord. Or whatever size needles it takes you to get gauge.

Notions

Whichever tools you prefer to weave in ends, and whichever tools you prefer to block your shawls.

44 stitch markers (yes it’s a lot but trust me it helps a lot)

Gauge

8 stitches (an entire repeat, with dropped stitch) and 13 rows = 4” (10cm) square knit flat in lace drop stitch pattern and blocked.
70” (178cm) measured along the wingspan.
26” (66cm) measured down the deepest part of the crescent

Glossary
K - Knit (K2 = Knit 2 stitches) P - Purl (P2 = Purl 2 stitches) K2TOG - Knit 2 Stitches Together
SSK - Slip, Slip, Knit
S1K2P - Slip 1 stitch, Knit 2 stitches together,
Pass slipped stitch over
YO - Yarn Over
KYOK - Knit, Yarn Over, Knit into the same stitch
WS - Wrong Side
RS - Right Side
sts - Stitches
Ktbl - Knit through back loop Ptbl - Purl through back loop

Notes on the pattern

There’s a tiny bit of crochet at the end. You don’t actually need a crochet hook to do it though. Here’s a nice tutorial from Prairie Willow Knits on how to do the chain stitch with knitting needles.

http://prairiewillowknits.blogspot.com/2013/12/creating-c...

An absolutely huge thanks to Sarah for picking up the role of essentially the Softsweater Knits Manager and for helping me get me back to publishing. Her website can be found here: https://www.knit-consulting.com/