women of a certain age are like sunflowers; they know how to turn their faces to the sun.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Westemnet

Bealocwealm hafað fréone frecan forth onsended
giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende on Meduselde
þat heo mano arer his þruc ne deores
on meagorinc deorcas, belu

An evil death has set forth the noble warrior
A song shall sing the sorrowing minstrels in Meduseld
That noble cousin who always held me dear

Now is held in darkness, enclosed…

Eowyn's Lament


When I got this lovely ball of Isager Bomulin, it was a challenge to find a pattern that showed it off to its best advantage. The yarn is slightly bumpy, due to the wrap of the 2 strands: one linen & one cotton. The linen is natural beige; the cotton is white. So there is a slight marl to the yarn as well.

Complicated lace patterns got lost in the yarn. The yarn was too fine for cablework. Knit/purl and slip stitch patterns weren't the answer either.

Then I found this nifty little yarn-over pattern in my Barbara Walkers. It couldn't be simpler. If you can knit, purl, yarn-over, knit 2 together, & slip, slip knit, you're all set.

The pattern is slightly textural and evolves into this dainty hourglass pattern. It is open & airy & light & quick & easy peasy - everything a summer scarf should be.

In my humble opinion...

As to the name, I wanted something that played off of the casual, slightly rustic feel of the scarf.

Westemnet was the westernmost grasslands of Rohan beyond Entwash that spread until the rivers Isen, marking the western part of the land of the Mark.

The most important of Rohan’s settlements and fortifications lay to the south of the Westemnet, where the White Mountains rose up from the plain. Helm’s Deep was among these, and to the south-east was the seat of the Lords of the Mark, Edoras itself.

Emnet means “plain” in Rohirric.

WESTEMNET

The Lord of the Rings Collection



Materials:
3 balls Isager Bomulin (color: natural) or 525 yards other fingering weight yarn
size 3 (US) needles


Size: 10 by 64 inches
Gauge: not important

Written & charted directions.
Suitable for the beginning lace knitter.


Mine is coming in with 2 balls, but I have added 15% to the yardage estimate to allow for differences in knitting styles.

Hope you enjoy the free pattern as much as I did, knitting it up. Now I'm just waiting on that second ball.

Patterns on the sidebar and Ravelry - you know what to do...

2 comments:

Julie said...

Thank you! I seem to have quite a collection of your patterns, but only one actually in progress (Snowdrift), according to my Ravelry projects page. Too much knitting, too little time, I suppose!

Anonymous said...

This is such a pretty scarf! Thank you.