I've been working so hard writing my own book that I neglected to announce some really exciting news: the release of my Cimarron Shawl pattern in the book Free Spirit Shawls (Interweave Press 2013). The pattern is also included in the new Knitscene Accessories 2013 magazine, which just hit the newsstands a few weeks ago. This is so exciting because I've never been in a full length pattern book before. I was extra delighted to see they put a detail of my design on the spine of the book.Lisa Shroyer, includes 20 patterns that run the gamut of shawl design. Apart from the super cool patterns, the book also has some great extra sections that explain the various types of shawl constructions, teach useful techniques, and demonstrate shawl styling tips.

Cimarron is a multicolor triangular design that uses chevron shaping to create a zig-zagging pattern. The stripes of color are accentuated by the use of garter stitch ridges throughout. I love stripes but hate all the weaving-in of ends they require, so I eliminated all that extra work by incorporating the ends into the shawl's fringed tassel edging. I really felt like I was getting away with something when I finished this sample and there were no ends to weave in.

This shawl is really fun to wear, and even more fun to knit. It begins at the lower tip, and expands outward with the addition of each color section. I think it would also look really cool if the contrasting stripes where done in all different colors. This could also be a great stash-busting project, if you had bits of multiple colors from similar yarn weights laying around.

What colors would you use? If I made another, I think I would use a charcoal gray background color, with contrasting stripes in minty green and light silvery gray, or maybe something with a little sparkle.