This shawl was meant to be done before Christmas and posted as a sort of free gift/stash-buster pattern. Unfortunately, I ran into such varied complications as a day job and a social life, so instead it’s belatedly ringing in the new year.

“One Last Poem for Richard” is a poem by Sandra Cisneros about a failed relationship. It’s also a beautifully melancholy thing to sit in a corner and read during a boring holiday party, which may or may not have been how I came across it in the first place. It does happen to take place on Christmas Eve, though, and it did inspire me to make my own “poem” to a former lover.

The pattern is basically a lace sampler half-pi shawl incorporating five formal stitches: star, pine, garter ladder, wandering trail, and lace point border. The sections can be worked in the suggested yarns, or each section can dip into a different leftover stashed skein. (Pine/slate/crimson palette optional.) It’s meant to be personalized, whether for a gift, an experimental piece, or a tribute to a relationship of your own.

As usual, this pattern has not been test-knitted (except by me, and I have at least a family history of ADHD), so please notify me of any kinks. Thanks much, and enjoy!