Shaping Shawls.

If I had to sum up Shaping Shawls, a lovely new shawl pattern book, in one word, it'd have to be breath-taking! Anna Dalvi, the book's writer and designer, manages to capture not only gorgeous lace designs expressed in several different shawl shapes but also delves into the technical knitting aspects of each one in thorough detail. She has managed to not only give knitters beautiful designs but has also managed to explain them all in great detail. Gorgeous lace design paired with material geared to enhance your knitting skills...there's not much more to ask for in a book!

Ravelry: Shaping Shawls

I had the pleasure of first meeting Anna in person at TNNA in June of this year in Columbus, Ohio. We only spoke briefly over the 3 days of the market but with our first meeting, I could sense that Anna really had a lovely grasp of the technical side of lace knitting. It wasn't until the Knitters' Fair that I got a chance to talk more with Anna about her designing and it all came together as she showcased and signed her book in my booth:

Anna Dalvi - Shaping Shawls
Book Showcasing/Signing
Knitters' Fair - Sept 10/2011
Kitchener, Ontario 

Anna is an Engineer by education and also holds an MBA. Finally, the pieces of the puzzle were coming together because as a few of you know, Mr. Zen is also an Engineer by education. Engineers have a way of conceptualizing design and implementing them with fine details. Anna is no exception when it comes to lace designing and her Shaping Shawls book definitely captures her ability to put her conceptions into her designs.

So with that in mind, I had a chance to ask Anna a few questions about her book and I hope you enjoy these as much as I did: 

Roxanne: Where did you grow up and did you go to school for any degrees?  If so, what degrees did you receive and do your degrees help with your designing process?

Anna: I grew up just outside Gothenburg, Sweden.  In 1990 I moved to the US and went to school at Cornell University.  I have a B.S. in Computer Science with a concentration in Electrical Engineering.  While I was in school, I worked in a robotics lab developing localization algorithms for the robots (basically helping the robot figure out where it was and how to navigate in an unknown environment).  I also worked on a Hybrid Electric Vehicle - an HEV built from scratch by a team of 40 students or so.  Our HEV then competed in a race in California against a number of other schools.  After I moved to Canada, I went back to school for an MBA (from Queen's University), which has been very useful in terms of running your own business.  I've been self-employed since 2003, and that MBA has definitely been useful.

Roxanne: What was the inspiration that led to your taking the leap to becoming a designer? 

Anna: I have always liked to experiment with my knitting and make up new things.  As for writing the patterns down and publishing them, I really just looked around at a number of the knitting patterns that were out there and thought "I could do this".  I submitted a design just on impulse to (now defunct) MagKnits, and when it was accepted I wrote it all down.  That was the Burridge Lake Aran Afghan.  And after that, I decided to host a lace mystery KAL, just for fun, and that was Mystic Waters.  After that, it just sort of continued, and here I am.  

Roxanne: Are there any particular fibres you like for shawls?

Anna: I'll have to say that it depends on what I'm making.  I mean, I always love a good merino, as well as a number of merino blends (MCN, merino/silk, etc).  I also really like the yarns with a slight halo, like the baby alpaca blends, or even angora blends, as long as the yarn is not so furry that the lace pattern is obscured. And then silk and tencel result in a completely different texture and drape.  All are nice, it really depends on what I'm aiming for.

Roxanne: How do you incorporate colour into your creation of a design?  Does the colour ultimately inspire you to design something or make you design in a certain manner?

Anna: I often do start with a particular yarn and a particular colour and associate freely from the colour to pick the theme of a design. That said, I do love when knitters substitute yarn colours in the design, because it really impacts the finished look of the shawl.

Roxanne: Do you enjoy designing other things along with shawls? If so, what else do you like to design?

Anna: Yes.  I like all sorts of things actually.  In the past year, I've been on a bit of a fingerless mittens spree, just because they are nice, small projects that can be used to explore a variety of techniques and textures.  I love lace and cables, colours and textures, and anything that allows me to play with those is fun.  And that would be all knitting.

Roxanne: And lastly, do you have any other books coming over the horizon?

Anna: I have a couple of designs coming in the Fresh Design Series published by Cooperative Press, in both Shawls and Mittens.  And I'm also working on another book focused on lace and colour, which will be published during the summer of 2012.

If you haven't already, make sure to support Anna and her designs and drop by and purchase her new Shaping Shawls book - you will not be disappointed! If you'd like to read other reviews of Anna's book, make sure to drop by her blog as she's hosting a blog tour for her book.

CONTEST:  Win a free e-book copy of Shaping Shawls by leaving one comment per person to this post with your Ravelry ID name and also a short comment telling us what shawl shape you prefer knitting. If you haven't knit shawls yet, tell us what your favourite thing is to knit. I will have a random drawing for the winner on Saturday, September 24th so the deadline to submit a comment is midnight EST, Friday, September 23rd. Good luck!

WINNER: Our winner, chosen by the Random Number Generator, is RubyFox - congrats!

Comments

[Laura]

Triangle shawls are my favorites, but I love anything Anna designs! laurasknitting on Ravelry!

[Angela]

I prefer top-down. I'm the kind of person that likes to use as much of the skein of yarn as possible and this lets me be able to do that.

Ravelry id: oiyi

[Kokori]

That looks fabulous!
I've only relatively recently started to knit lace shawls, and only finished two rectangular ones. I am, however, working on my first crescent shaped, and a triangular is in the planning stage.
Kokori

[Comanchewmn]

I love top down shawls and crescent shape because they fit the body so well.

[Irene]

These are just gorgeous. Ravelry id is irenetay. I've only done 1 shawl in a Mystery KAL. On a sock binge currently but would love to make more shawls of all shapes.

[Nadine Foster]

I like side to side and bottom up shaping. For me it is all about the lace.
nafoster on Ravelry

[Nora Brown]

I knit mostly shawls, but I've yet to knit all the different shapes. I tend to like ones that sit nicely on the shoulders. :) I would love this book. It sounds like a great read and a wonderful resource.

My rav name is norabrown.

[Victoria Moss]

I'm particularly fond of crescent shape shawls -- but hey, I'm easy! If I love the design, I'll knit whatever shape it is.

[Erica N]

I think my favorite shawls to knit are crescent. I also like the kind that have distinct parts knit in different directions. Oh and I think the long shawls that work as scarves are very easy to wear. I need to try a circle shaped shawl.

nubsmom on rav

[noirem]

ravelry id: noirem

Faroese shawls are my favourite but I mostly seem to knit triangle ones. The shawls are all lovely and I appreciate that they used a non-Caucasian model.

[Kay Nysse]

I love knitting circular shawls. There's something about the 'round and 'round spiraling process that is very peaceful and contemplative. Great for introspective knitting!

[Jennings Mccarthy]

I like crescent shawls the most (so far), as they look better on me -- and stay in place! I want to explore circular shawls more though.
-JenIntl on Ravelry

[Katherine Hutter]

I absolutely love shawls and knit so many of them that it's hard to choose a favorite shape. If pressed, I would say that I love the long, extended triangle and circle shawls the best since I love to wrap the ends around. I also feel these can be worn so many different ways!

Rav ID: annababi

[Kathi Jobson]

WOW, that is all I can say, your designs are gorgeous. I think I like the elongated half moon shape or just a rectangle wrap style the best. Your Burridge Lake Aran Afgan is so beautiful too. My Rav name is Katjobson.

[St. Tracy]

I LOVE making shawls! It helps deplete my SABLE and give s me room to add more!

[Beth W.]

Shawls are perfect! Great for me and as gifts! Personally, I like triangle ones. My Rav name is yhime407. Thanks!

[Christa V]

Love the designs! I like the shape of Changing Directions (and Skuld) the most.
my ravname is ChristaV

[Knitty Attitude]

I really like three cornered shawls, knit from the top. I also like witty shaped shawls that hug your neck! I'm KnittyAttitude on Rav :)

[Lindaran (on Rav)]

I'm not sure that I have a favorite shape. It all depends on the design and the use. At the moment, however, I'm really attracted to crescent shawls. I love the movement and the versatility of the shape.

[Kara]

I like semi-circles, but I've only made one shawl so far. Her shawls do look beautiful!