...A Sweet Little Beaded Prom Shawl...

...y'all know that many years ago...fresh from university...I taught Latin and French at an inner city high school...

...'now you may ask yourself' (talking heads)...ahem...what this has to do with knitting...or crocheting as the case may be...

...well...I read through the Aeneid yearly with my Latin IV (first half) and Latin V classes (second half)...and this is one of my very (VERY) favorite passages...I even wrote a whole graduate paper on it at Chapel Hill...

Parcae fila legunt. validum namque exigit ensem
per medium Aeneas iuvenem totumque recondit;
transiit et parmam mucro, levia arma minacis,
et tunicam molli mater quam neverat auro,
implevitque sinum sanguis; tum vita per auras
concessit maesta ad Manis corpusque reliquit.

[translation from Loeb Classics]
and the Fates gather up Lausus’ last threads; for Aeneas drives the sword sheer through the youth’s body, and buries it to the hilt. The point pierced the targe—frail armour for one so threatening—and the tunic his mother had woven him of pliant gold; blood filled his breast, then through the air the life fled sorrowing to the Shades, and left the body.

...I absolutely have hundreds of things I could say about this passage...a taunting youth is killed by a seasoned warrior...tragic...the passage from solid to liquid to air to spirit...

...but truly...the most tragic part of all...

et tunicam molli mater quam neverat auro

...and (pierced)...the tunic that his mother had woven from soft gold...

...so very sad...mention of a precious soft tunic made by his Mom...

...anywhooo...

...crocheting this shawl with a strand of gold woven in reminded me of this passage...so I thought I'd share that with you too...

...and I'll write up a proper pattern and publish it soon...it's so easy...the entire shawl is done in chain stitch...so absolutely anyone can do it...it's the very first crochet stitch you learn...with a single crochet tucking each loop in (the very second stitch you learn to crochet)...really easy and it only took an evening to finish...

...Scout's girlfriend is wearing a beautiful burgundy beaded gown for prom this weekend...and when I made the Sparkly Triangle Shawl back in February...she admired it and after I saw her dress I planned on making her one like it for prom....

...but I procrastinated a little too long to make the Triangle Shawl...and truly it'd be a little bit heavy for this time of year...she really just needed a little something to drape over her shoulders if she gets chilly...

...so I stopped at Joann's and got some burgundy I Love This Yarn...and a spool of gold embroidery thread and a pack of multicoloured glass beads...

...I made a really long bead snake...just on the gold thread...I tried several times to pull the yarn through the little glass beads but was unsuccessful...so I just (quite easily) threaded them onto the gold thread...

...the beads go around the entire edge of the shawl...

...giving it a nice weight and drape...

...it really was super easy...

...Prom is Saturday...and I'll be sure to post pictures...

~Have a lovely day!