The Shipwreck Shawl

"Beyond the shadow of the ship/I watched the water snakes:/they moved in tracks of shining white,/ and when they reared, the elfish light/fell off in hoary flakes. Within the shadow of the ship/I watched their rich attire:/ blue, glossy green, and velvet black,/they coiled and swam; and every track/ was a flash of golden fire." - "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I've finally understood what it means to suffer a "fatal attraction." It happened when I beheld this shawl knitting pattern:

It's one of the most beautiful, difficult knitting patterns I've ever considered making (possibly more so than the Christening Gown below). I felt that quoting the Rime of the Ancient Mariner was appropriate in this case, seeing as he and I have sealed doom in common - him for shooting that Albatross, me for planning to make this shawl...

The pattern is here.

In case I unwittingly seal some other knitter's doom and they too feel compelled to make this shawl, you can find yarn and beads for knitting at bargain prices at these websites:

www.yarn.com
and
www.websbeads.com

As soon as I make some room on my knitting to-do list and get around to this project, I'll definitely write a post about it - provided I escape the Ancient Mariner's fate.

To be continued...