Darwin Shawl

Once in a while there's a project that's just special, and this one is definitely one of those. When I sat down to chart this one out, all of the math worked out just so easily (that never happens). And when I sat down to try it out with a lovely yarn that wasn't quite right, Wendee (Hazel Knits) sent me the one I knew would work right away. From the moment I had that yarn in my hands, I was a knitting fiend, and finished this beauty in about two and a half days (and there was plenty of horse-time in between knitting). And when I blocked it, it was just such a beauty.

This shawl was inspired by the last line in Charles Darwin's most famous work, "On the Origin of Species", which is "...from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved." The stitch patterns radiating outward are larger versions of the previous "layer" and culminate in a beautiful, intricate lacy edging. The shawl is written for one skein of sock yarn, but