Item description
A photograph of a multicolored knitted shawl draped over the shoulders of a dress form mannequin. The shawl is knitted in a pattern of many stripes both vertically and horizontally. The horizontal stripes alternate between white and blocks of different colors including orange, blue, pink, purple, and green. The vertical stripes are white, and stitched on top of the horizontal stripes, giving dimension to the shawl.
Image | 2024
Pantone Botanic Shawl 1
I worked on this knitting project for several months in Fall 2020. For me, #pandemicknitting has been a way of finding calm and centering myself. The muscle memory of knitting, when your fingers slip yarn and needles almost autonomously, can be immersive and meditative. During the pandemic I’ve found myself knitting bigger projects (wide shawls and blankets rather than scarves). All the time spent at home afforded planning for projects that require longer blocks of knitting. When writing blocks have been a challenge, seeing another inch or two of a knitted project has been gratifying. In a time of stillness, the forward momentum of something growing was much needed.
