This past summer, I bought some yarn in lovely, smokey fall colors, thinking to make another version of the simple asymmetrical shawl I had just finished. Several rows into the project, however, it was clear that this yarn and that pattern were not meant for each other. I loved the yarn, so I tucked it away and hoped I could find something else to make with it. From time to time, I would scroll through knitting sites and thumb through my patterns in search of something that would work with the yarn. The arrival of fall reminded me of a pattern I’d printed out several years ago from Lion Brand, an afghan with a lacy pattern of leaves worked into it. I pored over the pattern. Yes, I decided, I could adapt it to make a shawl. I could use smaller needles, since the yarn I wanted to use was worsted rather than chunky weight and work fewer repeats of the leaf motif, since it wouldn’t have to be as wide as an afghan. The result was wonderful. I had a sense of joy and rightness as I knitted and watched the colors and pattern come together. As I worked, I thought about how making prayer shawls has taught me to listen–to the yarn about what it wants to be, to God about the state of my own heart as I work. The time it took to find the right pattern for this yarn was one more lesson in patience and trust that things come together in God’s time.
The very day this particular shawl was blessed at church, it went home with my friend, Laurie. Several months later, her eyes still sparkle when she talks about it.

“I can’t put it away in the closet because it makes me so happy to look at it,” she tells me. It fills my own heart with joy to think of the lift this shawl gives my friend on a daily basis.
I’m including my shawl-sized version of the Autumn Leaves Afghan. The original pattern is available for free at www.lionbrand.com.

You will need:
3 cakes of Lion Brand Ferris Wheel in Buttercup
Size 10 1/2 needles (I used my favorite 24″ bamboo circulars)
Stitch markers

Stitch explanations:
tbl=through the back loop. Check on YouTube for videos that demonstrate this if you’ve never done it before
sk2p=slip 1 stitch as if to knit, k2tog, pass the slipped stitch over. You have decreased 2 stitches

Autumn Leaves Pattern Stitch

Row 1 (WS): Purl
Row 2 (RS): *K1, yo,k1,k2tog tbl, p1, k2tog, k1, p1 k2, p1,k2tog, k1, p1, k1; repeat from * across
Row 3 *P4, (k1, p2) twice, k1, p4, repeat from * across
Row 4 *(K1, yo) twice, k2tog tbl, p1, k2tog, p1, k2tog tbl, p1, k2tog, (yo, k1) twice; repeat from * across
Row 5 *P5, (k1,p1) twice, k1, p5; repeat from * across
Row 6 *K1, yo, k3, yo, sk2p, p1, k3tog, yo, k3, yo, k1; repeat from * across
Row 7 *P7, k1, p7; repeat from *across
Row 8 *K1, yo, k5, yo, sk2p, yo, k5, yo, k1; repeat from * across

Cast on 80 stitches
Work the bottom border in seed stitch for 2 inches. The last row of the bottom border should be a right side row.
Work 6 stitches in seed stitch for side border, place marker, purl across for Row 1, placing a marker every 17 stitches, work 6 stitches in seed stitch for side border.
Continue working in the pattern. There will be 6 border stitches on each side and 4 repeats of the Autumn Leaves. Placing markers between each repeat of the pattern will make it easier to check your work and find mistakes.
Work until two inches from the desired length. I make my shawls anywhere between 60″ and 72″ inches long.
Work two inches of seed stich for top border. Bind off. Weave in ends.

Ferris Wheel is a cake yarn; it works up in graduated stripes. I really enjoyed watching the colors come up as I worked this shawl. The pattern and the yarn really were made for each other!