This weekend my friend got married on the Oregon coast. It was a beautiful setting for a beautiful couple! They did so much of it themselves. The bride sewed her own dress and knit the groom’s vest. The maid of honor did all the flowers. The groom made their beautiful wedding arbor, and friends and family did all the food.
the happy (cake) couple
About a week and a half ago I checked in with the bride on the status of her DIY wedding:
bride: I’ve been thinking that I should get a wrap or shawl or something. The coast might be too chilly for just my dress. Do you want to go shopping this weekend for one?
me: Hey, I know! I haven’t gotten you a wedding present yet. How about i KNIT you a shawl?!!
bride: Umm…I mean, that would be awesome, but are you sure you can do it on such short notice?
me: SURRRrre!
The bride picked out a silk/merino blend to complement her silk silver wedding dress, and together we chose this pattern. I’d done the falling-leaves lace pattern before and liked it. While it looks intricate enough to be called “lace,” it’s very easy to memorize the repeats.
Even after a year in college as a studio art major, I tend to under-estimate how many hours projects will take. This wedding shawl was no exception. Friends tried to downplay their concerns about the progress of my lumpy lace…but I knew what they were thinking: “In two days THAT will be worn at a wedding?” Towards the end I got hit with a little eleventh-hour-panic myself. I considered calling the bride to say, “I know we talked about a shawl, but how do you feel about a little capelet?? Eh eh?”
Late Friday night I ran out of yarn and ran out of steam. I did the binding off, said a prayer, and sloshed it around in the sink. I haven’t knit that many lace patterns, so I wasn’t sure how much post-bath expansion to expect. It added more than a foot of length and about six inches of width. WHEW.
Falling Leaves shawl
In lieu of a blocking board, I used couch cushions
finished size = approx. 60" x 24"
Congratulations to the happy couple!
Foxflat 
katie – you amaze me everytime! i have no patience for all the counting involved in such a pattern … kudos!! will you knit me something when i get married?! -bethany
of course bethany! it would be an honor
p.s. you need to post some updated pix of that multimedia piece you were working on. i wanna see it.
you did a beautiful job.
Wowza! That is beautiful work, creative as always. The girl donning the shawl in the last picture looks like she might be kind of cute too!