The shawl is worked in one piece, with no seams. The body is worked first, starting with casting on a few stitches, and working across from side to side, ending with a k3together. The edging is then picked up from the long side of the body and worked outwards. Beads are optional. The fingering weight version is done in 2 complementary colours. The laceweight version is made from a single skein of linen silk yarn.

The size (and overall shape) of the shawl can easily be adjusted by working fewer (or additional) repeats of the body, and of the edging. Notes are included on this.
The difficulty level of this shawl is intermediate. Only charts are provided.

The inspiration for the shawl comes from the Tsuga, or hemlock tree.
Tsuga canadensis is native to the east coast of North America, and is a graceful and highly ornamental conifer. Sadly, it is very much under-utilised. This majestic tree can be seen in the wild near our cottage, with their graceful branches reflected in the lake. The ornamental dwarf varieties are a special favourite of mine in our garden.

The design was done as a part of the Artist in Residence program at Shall We Knit, my favourite LYS, which is located in Waterloo, Ontario. The yarn was provided by Indigodragonfly as a co-sponsor for this program. Thank you Karen and Kim for starting this program to promote local artists. It was an honour to participate. You can find Karen and Kim’s websites at:
http://www.shallweknit.com/ for Karen
http://www.indigodragonfly.ca/ for Kim