Mollis: New Design
And a softness came from the starlight and filled me to the bone. W.B. Yeats
The Mollis shawl is named for the latin translation of “soft” or “tender”. A few months ago I had driven south of Charleston to a small town in Beaufort, SC as they are home to the closest yarn store that I could visit. While I was browsing the shelves I came across Wool Addicts’ Water (by Lang Yarns) in a soft, muted rose-pink color. In March, we are planning an epic ski vacation in European in the Alps of France, Switzerland, and Italy. I knew I wanted to create a shawl that would work great for the après lifestyle in the early evenings but that would be functional and keep me warm as well. And thus the Mollis shawl was born.
Mollis is a simple garter stitch shawl with eyelet rows evenly spaced throughout. Not only do the eyelet rows create a visual interest, they help you keep track of your shawls progress from start to finish.
Add an interesting accent to your completed shawl with the help of a shawl pin crafted by the lovely Jul Designs. Featured in the sample photos is the Gesture Penannular Brooch, which was designed and hand crafted by Laura’s son. Laura gave me the design story behind the brooch, and I think the thought of increased openness in this new year is a lovely thought.
The two tiny hands with open palms that adorn the Gesture Penannular Brooch were inspired by an ancient Chinese hair stick with a delicate hand reaching out. They were also inspired by the idea of the openness of giving and receiving and the strength and generosity involved in working with ones hands. When I decided to execute this idea in a series of designs that used these two tiny hands in jewelry and knitwear jewelry, I asked my son to make the waxes, which would be cast in metal in multiples using the lost wax method, and developed into several related designs. He was only 17. As you can imagine, carving one tiny hand in malleable wax with a toothpick is difficult. Now imagine carving that first hand's mirror image - identical (or at least as nearly as possible) in scale, attitude, and detail. This was my request to my son. And I think we can agree he succeeded brilliantly.
I agree completely Laura! This is a gorgeous brooch that I will treasure for years to come. For those of you unfamiliar with Penannular brooches (as I was!) the tutorial video below by Laura is incredibly helpful.
The pattern is available both in the shop and on Ravelry. I’d love to see the versions you make with #molliskkd
