The weather here in Ok is sweltering (it is summer, I am sure it is sweltering everywhere).  I just finished knitting two baby afghans for belated baby gifts, and the last thing I wanted to knit right now is another heavy project.  But there are only so many dish cloths you can do for summer knitting, you know?

Last week I picked up the 2013 Accessories Special Issue of Knit Scene.   Almost every issue that Interweave Press publishes is beautiful, full of inspiration and knitter’s eye candy.

Image Courtesy of Interweave Press

But the shawl pictured on the cover of this issue is just gorgeous!  And when I opened it up to the pictures in the magazine I knew had to knit it!  It was love at first sight!

Knitting a shawl in the middle of summer does not sound like a smart idea.  But shawls really are a good project for hot summer days.    If shawls are constructed from light yarn, shawls remain light and breathable on your needles and in your lap, helping you to not smother under your knitting in hot weather.

The Shawl featured in this issue is the Valois Shawl designed by Alexandra Beck.  It is a neck down trianglar design, with an elegant lace pattern.  The edging is knitted in rows back and forth separate, and joined to the body by knitting the live body stitches with the edging stitches one as a time.

Image Courtesy KnitScene via Ravelry Pattern Database

The pattern calls for Artesano 100% Alpaca 4 ply yarn which is a fingering weight yarn.  It is also a yarn way out of my current budget. As much as I love to touch and paw botique yarns….   Right now my budget is Hobby Lobby or other large crafting stores.

I purchased Patons Lace Sequins for this project in Aquamarine. I do not normally like this color, but I really liked this yarn in this color.  I was also very fortunate to get it on clearance (on my birthday! Happy Birthday to me!!).  I immediately cast on for a gauge swatch so I could practice the lace pattern and then the edging.   I finished the swatch with the edging yesterday and blocked it. I think this yarn is working well for this pattern, don’t you?

The lace pattern looks complicated, but it really is not.  The chart for the pattern is pretty straight forward to read. The hard part is just keeping track of what row you are on in the chart as it is read across.

The edging was a little tricky though, and actually took me a few attempts before I finally got it to work and be what I think the designer intended.

I cast on for the shawl today and am working on the body of the shawl.   I actually expect that I will be able to finish the shawl body and ready for the edging within the week.

Follow my progress on my Ravelry Project Page