Hello, friends and family! It’s a beautiful Friday for some beautiful knitting, isn’t it?
Dawnwings is knit from the “Wings of Peace” pattern by Renate Haeckler. It uses nearly 700 yards of silk/merino blend DK yarn, knit on US size 9 needles.
It took me some time, stealing bits of knitting here and there in a busy year of commissions, gifts, and other projects, but I have finally finished my Dawnwings (companion to the Duskwings I completed for my wife last year.) This was one of the first patterns I fell in love with in my early weeks browsing Ravelry, and I knew I’d need one of my very own someday. Now, I have wings of my own!
The silk blended into the yarn makes this knit less “warm” in the heat wave – but will still help trap heat when the cool weather returns.
This pattern is rather uniquely shaped – very long and good for wrapping around your neck in a more scarf-like manner, while still looking stunning draped traditionally over your shoulders. I’m fond of having folded wings over my shoulder, but the triangle scarf look is trendy right now (and a little less warm), so I might experiment. Or I might just hold the tips in my fingers, stretch out my arms, and pretend I’m flying. :)
Wheeeeee!
For this iteration, I used a very slightly lighter-weight yarn and smaller needles than I did for the Duskwings, although a more aggressive blocking led to a similar finished size. The yarn is also has a different construction method (single ply – fluffy and light) and fiber content (merino-silk blend). All in all, these differences add up to make Dawnwings much lighter, as is appropriate to the name.
I’m also extremely happy with the end effect of the color. Back in the very beginning, when I first discovered this pattern, I’d dreamed of making it in a yarn I’d found randomly googling small dyers – a shimmering merino-silk blend shifting between gold and peach, heavenly and magical to my baby-knitter eyes. When it came time to purchase yarn for my shawl, though, I was committed to buying from my local yarn store, and thus picked this tonal gold colorway of Malabrigo’s Silky Merino. I’m in love with its brilliant brightness now. It’ll be easier to match with my wardrobe, to be perfectly honest, and I’m excited to wear it out and about.
It’s a perfect pop of sunshine, and a good accessory to have on hand for overly-enthusiastic air conditioning (or for needing some shade from the sun).
I’d discussed in my Duskwings post some of the… difficulties I encountered knitting said project. After having knit this pattern once before, and having developed my lace skills extensively in the meantime, I’m happy to say that I had a much easier road of it this time. I’m incredibly pleased with the look of the correctly knitted contour feathers (although Kai prefers her messy, organic style), and I enjoyed the pattern more when I understood how it was coming together under my fingers. I’ll be happy to experiment with knitting this again with different colorways and types of yarn.
All in all, this was an incredibly valuable knitting experience, and I have an incredibly wonderful shawl here at the end. It’s a good conclusion to a long and winding yarn-road of learning, and after taking a breather, I’m setting my eyes on the horizon, so to speak, of new projects. Let’s see what comes after the next turning of the sky.
-Kit
