Blue and White

For years - YEARS - I tell you - I have been reading about, gathering supplies for, and wanting to try Schwalm embroidery. How many years? How about at least ten? Ten years ago - and this was not when I first started yearning to try it - I read an article in an Australian needlework magazine about Christine Bishop. Her kind reply to my inquiry is dated 24 May 1999.

Perhaps you have experienced obsession; maybe for yarn or a particular pattern. If so, you'll understand. Ms. Bishop informed me that she couldn't supply instruction packs mentioned in the article as she had contracted to publish a book.

Through special order I obtained the book and sighed and swooned and read some more but still did not pick up a needle. Before too long the book was readily available in local bookstores. Eventually I acquired the threads and even a small project kit.

Why do I operate this way? I think because it is so much easier to pick up something I already know how to do; something that I feel fairly confident about the end result. Something I won't have to study, learn, and possibly find initially frustrating. Because at the end of the day, who needs frustration?

Last year I finally got down to trying Hedebo embroidery after a ten-year incubation period. This year I swore I'd tackle Schwalm. Today I began. I'll tell you more (than you'll ever want to know) about it in the next few days.

So that's the white. What about the blue? Well take a look at this most beautiful shawl. This knitter adapted the triangular Miralda shawl into a stunning square one.