Lucy's Gift: A BadCatDesigns Tribute Shawl Inspired by Hallgrimskirkja Church

A BadCatDesigns Tribute Project

Lucy's Gift A small shawl

This piece was inspired by the Hallgrimskirkja church, which I visited recently while traveling in Iceland. The church has long, clean lines and sits high on a hill in Reykjavik. It can be seen from off shore for quite a distance. 1 BadCatDesigns Copyright 2013 all rights reserved! Every effort was made to ensure that this pattern is correct and easy to follow, but “Hey! I'm only human! Email with questions. BadCatDesigns @ Verizon.net

A BadCatDesigns Tribute Project

I dedicate this project to my darling cat, Lucy (affectionately known as LucyFur) who died on March 26"h, 2013. She was my constant companion, lap warmer and blocking assistant and she will be terribly missed. She was a tiny kitty, weighting in at just over five pounds, but her purrsonality was enormous. Please consider making a small donation to the Humane Society of New York if you enjoy knitting this project. You can make the donation in Admiral LucyFur's memory, and they accept PayPal. Meow on sweet gray girl... http://www.humanesocietyny.org/donations/

BadCatDesigns Copyright 2013 all rights reserved! Every effort was made to ensure that this pattern is correct and easy to follow, but “Hey! I'm only human! Email with questions. BadCatDesigns @ Verizon.net

A BadCatDesigns Tribute Project

Materials

You can make this small shawl in any yarn you choose. Here is what I did: -One ball of Einband yarn in the color of your choice. The yarn is produced in Iceland, using Icelandic wool, by the Alafoss (Istex) company. Each ball weights 50 grams and is 273 yards. The sample used just one ball, in a color that matched Lucy's eyes, but feel free to use more if you want a larger piece. Lucy was actually as soft as cashmere and had a double coat. Icelandic sheep also have a double coat, but are not particularly soft. They are very rugged and can survive the Icelandic winter in style. We took to calling them BadAss sheep on our recent trip and Lucy shared that same quality. Small package, big attitude, strong will. I might knit a second sample in fine, gray cashmere and use a few purple crystals, because she would approve... -I am working on a second sample in Malabrigo Silky Alpaca and will share photos once I finish. -2 special beads (optional) -US 4 (3.5mm) 24-32 inch circular needles or size for gauge -US 15 crochet hook to add optional beads (or size to fit your beads) -Yarn needle to weave in ends -3 semi-rigid blocking wires and t-pins

Gauge in pattern

8 stitches and 11 rows to 2 inches

Finished size

Using one ball of Einband (273 yards) the piece is 21 inches deep at center back and 48 inches wide across top, after blocking. Again, it is easy to make this as large as you like using more yarn. 3 BadCatDesigns Copyright 2013 all rights reserved! Every effort was made to ensure that this pattern is correct and easy to follow, but “Hey! I'm only human! Email with questions. BadCatDesigns @ Verizon.net

A BadCatDesigns Tribute Project

Directions

-Using a provisional cast-on, cast-on 3 stitches. -Work 7 rows in knit stitch, for 3 ridges of garter stitch. -Pick-up along one long edge of your piece as follows: yarn-over, [pick-up and knit 1, yarn-over] x 3. -Knit 3 from your provisional cast-on. -Turn and work wrong side row (and all other even rows) as follows: knit 3, purl across to last 3 stitches, and knit 3. -Begin chart with row 1 and work rows 1-14. -Now you will begin row repeats (reps), and you will repeat each green shaded section (the pattern repeat) in the row being worked one additional time for each time you work the row repeat (rows 7-14.) -Repeat rows 7-14 until piece is the size you like. If you are using the specified yarn and yardage, you can work the row rep a total of about 11 times. Feel free to make as many reps as you have yarn for. -Work rows 14-20. The beads on row 19 are optional but Lucy always liked a little bling. -Bind-off as follows: knit 2, return 2 stitches to left hand needle, [knit 2 together through the back legs of the stitches, knit 1,] across the needle. End with knit 2 together. Cut yarn leaving a 9 inch tail and bring the tail through the final loop.

Finishing

-Weave in your ends. -Soak in cool water and a good dollop of cream rinse for at least 30 minutes. Give a few squeezes to make sure the cream rinse soaks in. Then rinse in cool water and roll in a towel to remove excess water. -Lay flat to block, using a semi-rigid wire along each of the three edges. -Pin wires as shown in the blocking photograph. Imagine Lucy posing for a blocking hoto on top of the shawl. -Allow to dry completely before removing pins and wires. Clip ends and enjoy!

BadCatDesigns Copyright 2013 all rights reserved! Every effort was made to ensure that this pattern is correct and easy to follow, but \*Hey! I'm only human! Email with questions. BadCatDesigns @ Verizon.net

Lucy's Shawl Chart

Patternrepeat Garter stitch (knit on even and odd rows) Nostitch [Knit on odd rows and purl on even rows Left-leaning decrease (SSK for most knitters) on odd rows and purl on even rows Right-leaning decrease (knit 2 together for most knitters) on odd rows and purl on even rows Double-vertical decrease (slip 2 together as if to knit, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over knit stitch) on odd rows and purl on even rows Yarn-over on odd rows and purl on even rows. When there are two yarn-overs in sequence, purl the first and knit the second on even rows. BPlace bead by knitting the stitch and then sliding the bead on the stitch using a crochet hook on odd rows and purl on even rows

Rep: row repeat is in bold grid BadCatDesigns@2013