When I saw the brief for this month my first thought was Shetland lace. Most Shetland lace is knitted on a garter stitch base and there as so many pretty patterns to choose from.
The alternative inspiration was India and my mind wandered to an odd little stitch pattern that I remembered seeing that was based on a paisley teardrop.
Paisley shawls were very popular in 1800’s and were produced mainly in Paisley in Renfrewshire in Scotland. These were copies of Kashmir shawls from the 15th and 16th century that had started to find their way into Europe. The Paisley shawls were woven, but as with many fiber crafts the motifs are interchangeable and found their way into a knitted form. I started thinking what would happen if I was to combine the colors associated with the Kashmir and Paisley Shawls with the lace motifs of classic Shetland lace knitting…
This shawl is the result
The shawl is knitted in sections. A sideways knitted border, then the paisley section with a central section of rosebud lace. A second border section is then grafted or attached with a three needles bind off at the other end.