When the winds kicked up and the lights went out last October during Hurricane Sandy, I was snug in my third-floor studio working on a new knitting project. It wasn’t what I was supposed to be doing, since I had a HUGE “secret project” and a scant number of weeks to complete it. But I had fallen in love with Shibui yarns, had swatched this magnificent pattern stitch from Barbara G. Walker’s A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, and envisioned a poncho design to go with it. I just couldn’t let the idea go!
That Monday afternoon I cast on to the roar of gale-force winds while watching the trees in the yard bend almost sideways. By the end of that night our electricity was out, a 60-foot spruce had landed on our house, and OUR Sandy saga was underway! Little did I know that we would be without heat and electricity for the next two weeks.
During the cold, dank, dark, and frustrating days to come, working on the poncho brought me comfort, and despite the lack of power I found ways to keep knitting. Sometimes I sought refuge at my husband’s office, sometimes I hunched over a space heater in my studio, and sometimes I snuggled with my dogs by candlelight, but I just kept working. Exactly fourteen days later, when the power was finally restored, the poncho was done! How could I not name it after the event?
Introducing shades of Sandy…
Shades of Sandy is a modern take on the traditional poncho, simple and elegantly-shaped with a fitted bodice and cowl neckline. It’s surprisingly functional — it’s reversible, short enough for easy movement, a cozy coverup in a chilly room, and the perfect extra layer over a sweater when running to the store or walking the dogs.
Shades of Sandy is knit in “shadow check”* pattern with 3 strands of Shibui Yarn (baby alpaca DK, staccato and cima) held together, which results in a novel textured fabric. With a fun embossed check pattern on one side and a deep series of horizontal ridges on the other, it is interesting to knit and intriguing to watch unfold. And the mix of Shibui Yarn is simply magnificent to work with and to wear.
This poncho is a good project for a new knitter ready to move from simple knit and purl stitches to a slightly greater challenge. Skills needed include: knit and purl stitches, decreasing by knitting 2 together, slipping sts, yarn overs and working in the round.
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I only wish that I had been able to wear shades of Sandy during those two weeks when I sat knitting and shivering over a space heater. Maybe that was the motivation — to combine the cozy warmth of sweater with the comfort of a prayer shawl. All I know is that shades of Sandy helped me get through those uncomfortable days without power after the hurricane.
You can buy shades of Sandy on ravelry!
*“Shadow check” is from Barbara G. Walker’s Treasury of Knitting Patterns