A Shawl for Grandma

My maternal grandmother was the original crochet person of the family.  She made several afghans for my family, most of which are still in our possession.  She also taught me to crochet when I was about eight.  She lived in another state at the time and taught me during a visit, so my mother supplemented my knowledge with a teach-yourself-crochet book, and I played with the craft off and on into my twenties.  I got more serious about yarn crafts in graduate school, eventually learning to knit, discovering Ravelry, and turning into someone who blogs about these things on the internet.

My grandmother does not crochet any more, due to pain in her hands and a shortened attention span.  She still enjoys talking about it, though, and has told me numerous times about a friend of hers who made crocheted lace.  My grandmother thought it was the most beautiful thing, and it motivated her to learn to crochet herself.

My grandmother turns 80 next month.  I am going to make her a lace shawl.


I have the pattern.  It will be Dee O'Keefe's Elizabeth Shawl, a beautiful sampler of Shetland lace motifs.

I have the yarn.  I was recommended to find "dove grey with some blue in it," so I selected Malabrigo Silkpaca in Polar Morn.

I have the deadline.  To ensure that it arrives in a somewhat timely fashion, I would like to ship this shawl by October 3.  I think that means I should probably have a specific plan.  Now excuse me while I go read through this pattern and start hand-winding lace.