This was a sentimental project for a friend of ours, who had used to have a very similar blanket when she was a child. For this project I went back to the old standby, the Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom, using a 10-dent reed and a pickup stick to create the lace look.
I used that absolutely gorgeous Tanis Fibre Arts merino/cashmere/silk wool, hand-dyed in bright buttercup yellow. This wool is very pricey (at $32/skein), but it is well worth it for the finished product.
The project actually only took me 4 days from start to finish - - what a treat it is to work with a comparatively thick wool after all of those cotton tea towels!
The pattern came from Betty Lynn Davenport's great book Textures and Patterns for the Rigid Heddle Loom, which is a treasure trove of weaving ideas. The pattern only requires 4 pattern rows:
1. Reed up
2. Reed neutral, pickup stick
3. Reed up
4. Reed down
That's it! For such a simple pattern, the results are stunning. I love this pattern, and in the Tanis merino/cashmere/silk wool, the finished product is super soft and warm. I know the recipient will love this shawl, and I must admit it's one of my favourite patterns, having made it a couple of times now.
