Often times, it’s the story that gets me. A story from my life, a story of how a garment came to be, a story of the materials.
Here’s the story of my new shawl.
It started in NYC in the halls of the VK Live market place.
No. It started with Ellen’s obsession.
Still further back. It started in Maine, in the cottage, with Amy Lou hooking away on her Wingfeathers, designed by Cal.
The pattern was on my mind. As soon as holiday knitting is finished, I promised myself.
And then I was in Jill Draper’s VK Live booth with Gale, and she picked up a skein of Rifton and said Wingfeathers. You might have felt the world shift a little then. I did. Kirsten felt the pull, and so did Jani, making hers in glorious Starcroft Fog.
We hooked long into the night, at every chance the next day. Hooked in the pop-up shop, and hooked while eating cheese. Hooked on the train, and then, as my semester started, I hooked every moment I didn’t have to work on class prep.
Every inch of Rifton that flowed through my hands delighted me. You can read the yarn’s story here. 
That’s part of what makes this shawl special to me, knowing the care that went into making the yarn. And part of the shawl’s story is like many hand-crafted garments’ stories: making the same project with a group of folks you really, really like, knowing that the stitches were hooked with laughter and good conversation. And part of the shawl’s story is making a pattern from a designer who embodies ethical elegance and is immensely likable. And part of the shawl’s story is absent friends who’ve been hooking their own shawl in their own corners of the world.
And part of the shawl’s story is just starting to unfold! Oh, the stories it will tell years from now!
Tell me a story, willya? I’d love to hear about a hand crafted item of yours that is rich in story.
oh my GOODNESS! i love that story! i’ve been waiting patiently to hear just how it all came to pass. you are a wonderful storyteller and i’m so honored to have played a small part in all this… and that you all serendipitously came to make Wingfeathers in Jill’s new yarn (which i’ve also been patiently waiting for) is KISMET!!!
wooooooohoaaaa it turned out so beautiful as the full skein of Rifton unspooled into the shawl! I love mine for all the same reasons and am contemplating a blogpost later today, linked to here, that reads simply “What Beverly said”.
I love the yarn, the shawl, and the story. The story of all my hand knits is the time I’ve spent knitting them with the best of friends!
That is just lovely — the yarn, the story, the shawl! What a wonderful — elegant — reminder of your time together.
I came in on the tail end, and I’ll be hooking mine on my own, but remembering the laughs we shared when I was watching the three of you hook yours, and looking forward to the time – soon, I hope – when we’ll all be wearing them together!
Ooooh – I can’t wait for the next batch of Rifton.
I have the best friends in the whole wide world.
Such a beautiful shawl and the colors are lovely!