by Susan Santos
The Mythos Collection: 7 Shawls Inspired by Myth & the Magic of Hand Dyed Yarns, is another lovely collection from designer Erica Jackofsky, featuring her Fiddle Knit yarns and seven unique designs all named for Greek gods and inspired by their stories.
There’s something for every lace shawl knitter, no matter what kind of construction you prefer, top down, bottom up, or side to side. Several of the shawls include beading, either optional or as a featured design element, and all the patterns include charts and written instructions as well.
Even if the idea of casting on 838 stitches makes you want to run and hide, you’ll fall in love with Harvest, the first design in the collection. If you’d rather ease into a pattern, the semi-circular Solar Flare begins with a four-stitch cast on and gives you a choice of two different bind off methods.
Erica also offers excellent advice on how to avoid some of the common mistakes in lace knitting, and how to use blocking to bring her patterns to their full potential. Since a loose gauge is critical to her designs, Erica does something you don’t see in too many shawl patterns: she gives pre and post blocking gauges. She also gives the knitter alternatives for increases and bind offs, and offers personalized tips for each pattern.
Be sure to read the intros, especially if you’re a fan of Greek mythology—the designer gives you a little story about the god or goddess who inspired the pattern. The only down side to this collection is deciding which shawl to knit first!
You can purchase the ebook or individual patterns on Ravelry.