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

[Kara]

Oh, and I'm MrsCollinHobbs on Ravelry :-)

[Claire]

I fell in love with side on crescent shaped shawls recently thanks to you, Roxanne.

Rav name is : Claireej

[FelicityS]

I love all sorts of shapes and construction, but my favorite of the moment is triangular and top-down. It's fascinating to me to see this tiny piece of work develop into something beautiful.

FelicityS on Ravelry

[Jenny]

My favorite shawl shapes to knit are triangles and half-circles. I like to wear shawls as neck-scarves, so those shapes are ideal for that. I'm "kountingsheep" on Ravelry.

[Emily]

I have never knit a shawl, but I won a skein of Wollemeise in a drawing earlier this year and decided I would make my first shawl out of it. How perfect if I won this book. My favorite thing to knit at the moment is scarves because fall is quickly approaching, and I hate having a cold neck!

- ahappyaccident on Ravelry

[Kimberly Pillon]

Shawls have become my new favorite to knit. I haven't knit enough styles to have a favorite yet. However, I do love the increases when knitting a triangle and seeing it grow with every row. They amaze in that you can create them small and extra large, a little something to keep the neck and top of your sholders warm, to a little larger something to envelope your whole torso.

Ravelry id : Santel

[Amy Lounsberry]

I have yet to make a shawl - although I'd love to step out of my comfort knitting and try one out.

I knit mostly hats, scarves, blankets, slippers, small baby cardigans, and pullovers.

The photo on the book's cover is absolutely beautiful - the color!

amyknit40 on rav

[Anne Marie]

I've only knit one rectangular shawlette and a traingular shawl. I would love to try one with more of a semi-circular shape. The book looks wonderful. Rav amchart

[Shirley]

I haven't knit many shawls so I can't really say which shape I like best. I can't imagine though ever wanting to knit a circular one!

[tami]

I love a good triangular shawl.
My rav name is squiggi

[InJuneau]

I haven't knit any shawls yet, but I love the look of large triangular ones.

Rav ID: InJuneau

[Michelle]

I am coveting this book and waiting to get enough money to buy it. :D (Though getting it through this? Would be amazing.) I really just love all kinds of triangular shawls, though I'd have to say my favorite would be top-down triangular ones (since the rows keep getting shorter). That said, triangular shawls that are bottom-up are really fun to get started, and knit and see how it shapes up while you work on it. ^^

[Michelle]

Oh, sorry, right! amerai on Ravelry.

[Julia]

My fave shawls are top down triangles. Not sure why, but there ya go. Rav ID Luliriisi.

[Aimee]

Rav ID: PrincessMommie

Chandelier, Changing Directions & Mystic Lanterns are in my queue right now. I am on quite a shawl kick, finishing 4 in the last 3 months!

I really *need* this book! ;-)

[KathyN]

oh my, I think I love them all! I have knit triangles the most tho. Lovely looking book! Thanks for hosting the giveaway! dragonxser on Ravelry.

[Lea]

I enjoy working all shapes, as seeing the shawl progress which is what I find most rewarding. Rav ID LotsoKnots

[Lotsofhermies on Rav]

I have knit several shawls and enjoyed them all. I love the Comfort shawl that stays on your shoulders. So understanding how to make more of those would be fantastic. I love lace but I am not to good at it yet. I would love learning more about it.

[Lisa]

I think my favorite shape right now is crescent. I love to see them wrapped up like a scarf to make an outfit pop. The book looks wonderful and even if I don't win, I will be buying it.
Lisa (yenforyarn on Ravelry)

[Malinda]

My favorite shape shawl to knit is Faroese but I love all lace! Rav ID moejo