Frost Fair
three simple shawls inspired by winter, light and shade, and fleeting frost on the water’s edge by Bristol Ivy
There have been a few precious moments in my life where I’ll hear someone say a phrase or mention an event in history and everything just stops. I’m completely lost in the idea, swept up in a brand new, vivid, sparkling world of my own invention. I don’t remember where or when it was, but at some point in the last year or so, someone mentioned the Frost Fairs on the River Thames, and I knew I was a goner. The Frost Fairs occurred during a period in British history that was colder than current times. The River Thames had frozen over in the winter many times previously, often being used as a thoroughfare for carts and horses as far back as the 10th century. But in the 17th through 19th centuries, the people of London took their time on the river one step further, bringing merchants, vendors, games, and races all out onto the ice. The Fairs were often brief, single-day affairs, taking advantage of a fleeting landscape that wouldn’t exist the following morning. I. . . am not a winter person. I love the contrast of the soft snow against the starkness and rawness of the landscape during this time, but I love it pretty much solely from within the confines of my own home, preferably wrapped up in many layers of woolens and accompanied by tea, cat, and knitting. But the idea of the Frost Fairs completely fascinates me. They were such an explosion of joy in the hardest time of the year, such a show of defiant life against the cold. I wanted to see if I could capture all the aspects of this in knitting--the light, the shade, the ephemerality, the boldness, the joy. So the Frost Fair collection was born. These are three simple to knit shawls, but they all feature little quirks in their shaping and construction that make them special. They also all feature two different weights and textures of yarn--one heavier, smoother yarn, and one finer, more haloed yarn--striping to create that interplay of hard and soft that, to me, winter is all about. Thanks go out to many people for their help on this collection; Beatrice Perron Dahlen, Addison Aliprandi, and Darlene Ivy for their stellar sample knitting; Dawn Catanzaro for her magic tech editing skills; and Dana Fadel for going on a Saturday morning wander in the woods with me for a photoshoot in the perfect Maine winter setting. Thanks also to Lorna’s Laces, Zealana and the Yarn Sisters, Dirty Water Dyeworks, Shibui, and the Woolen Rabbit for their generous and gorgeous yarn support, and to Suzie at KnitWit for helping me pick that last pesky skein of matching yarn to complete the collection. Here’s to lots of knitting by the fire while the snow comes down. -1
Bristol
Table of Contents
Notes Har Hrim
Freosan
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Har Har
Old English, adj. Grey, hoary. Root of hoarfrost.
Main Color: Edna Extra by Dirty Water Dyeworks; 1 skein, or 405 yards in color Slate Contrast Color: Meadow by the Fibre Company; 1 skein, or 90 yards in color Cornflower 6
Hrim
Old English, n. Rime, frost. 8
Main Color: WW Opal by The Woolen Rabbit; 3 skeins, or 495 yards in color Grey Goose Contrast Color: Silk Cloud by Shibui; 1 skein, or 185 yards in color Mineral
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Freosan
Old English, v. To freeze.
Main Color: Haymarket by Lorna’s Laces; 2 skeins, or 410 yards in color Chino Contrast Color: Air by Zealana; 1 ball, or 125 yards in color Natural
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