My latest shawl collection: New Lines

 

This week I released the first shawl of New Lines, my latest shawl collection which will have four shawls, released between now and February 2013 on Ravelry.  This collection is inspired by the lines and motifs of the Art Nouveau movement.  There are triangles and at least one crescent shawl in the collection, and they are worked in different weights of yarn.  Each pattern will be available individually, or you may buy the entire ebook subscription here at a substantially reduced price (you have to be a Ravelry member to access the ebook); updates are sent to each subscriber each time a new pattern is added.

Here's what I wrote in the Introduction to the collection:
The art movement known as Art Nouveau began in the late 1800s and lasted until the First World War. Its lasting influence spread to all manner of decorative objects, from posters and book covers to furniture and architecture. Artists of Art Nouveau were inspired by flowing lines as well as themes from nature; flowers, trees, and insects were common motifs. These artists sought to bring beauty to ordinary objects, to make artistic expression part of everyday life and not limited to the more traditional forms of art such as painting and sculpture. Table lamps, chair backs, jewelry, staircase railings, clocks, cutlery—all became a means to express the New Art.


This collection of knitted shawls is inspired by the organic beauty, the new lines of Art Nouveau. When finished, I hope each shawl adds its own delicate art to the wearer.

And a fitting quote from a British artist of the period:
“Line is all-important. Let the designer, therefore, in the adaptation of his art, lean upon the staff of line—line determinative, line empathic, line delicate, line expressive, line controlling and uniting.”
--Walter Crane, 1889

The first pattern, The Sinuous Line, is a top-down triangle worked in fingering weight yarn.  It is shown here in Claudia Hand Painted Fingering in Turquoise.  The individual pattern can be purchased here on Ravelry.

I hope you find this new collection beautiful and inspiring!