Lace and Clark

I have two skeins of very nice, wollweiß alpaca yarn (German for "wooly white") that I had intended to use for knitting Hannah Fettig's Whisper Cardigan (apparently the number one design on Ravelry these days). However, I didn't want to end up with yet another oversized cardigan, and since Fettig's pattern calls for lace weight yarn, and the alpaca is a sport weight, I realized--just in time--that I'd produce a giant, heavy, very unwhispery cardigan (rather than the delicate little something Fettig designed) if I went ahead with my yarn.

What else to do with it? Since I really loved knitting the Pearls and Diamonds Shawl I wondered if I'd find another lace shawl design for a sport weight yarn. I checked with forum members of Knitter's Review, who encouraged me to try any lace pattern I liked, make a couple of different swatches and then pick my favorite one. And so I did!

I found two lace shawl patterns that actually recommend the use of a heavier yarn, both designed by Evelyn Clark: the outdoorsy Heartland Lace Shawl that features bison tracks, and the more romantic Swallowtail Lace Shawl that has a lovely lily of the valley border (Clark's website has links to both designs, which can be downloaded for free).

After knitting two swatches, it was decision time: did I want to commit to bison tracks or lilies of the valley?

Even though I *really* like the Swallowtail pattern, I decided I'll save that for a lace yarn project. The sport weight doesn't seem like the right choice for this precious pattern. But it works very well for the Heartland Shawl! And since my husband and I travelled through Wyoming last summer and saw our fair share of bisons, I was quite excited about the bison tracks. :)

So I started knitting the Heartland Lace Shawl; I'm already in the midst of the second repeat of the bison track pattern. I'll probably add two repeats to the recommended four, since I'm tall and like a large shawl. If all goes well, I'm planning to wear it at a good friend's wedding this summer!