LIA Sun Shawl

This shawl is dedicated to Tami Duncan and her foundation, the Lyme Induced Autism Foundation. Tami's son was one of those growing number of children, disproportionately boys, who are being diagnosed with autism. But Tami found out that the symptoms of lyme and those of autism in children can be easily confused, especially when the lyme affects the nervous system - children can become hypersensitive to stimuli or insensitive to it; their mental functioning is impaired and they do their best to cope with a world they cannot describe to those of us not experiencing it.

Because of the serious threat of children with lyme being misdiagnosed with autism and going years without treatment, she started a foundation to bring awareness to this problem - lyme is, after all, treatable while there is no cure for autism. You can find out more about it on their website: www.lymeinducedautism.com (they have especially good conferences with top doctors and scientists from all over the world presenting, and make recordings of the lectures available to those who couldn't go!)

Through lyme treatment, which can take one to two years, the children who had previously been diagnosed with autism can make such huge developmental strides that they will no longer meet the criteria for autism or sometimes even for autism-related disorders. That makes this shawl seem appropriate for this cause - having a child who has autism come into their personality and make connections with the world is like watching a sunrise; a new beginning, and that is what Tami has done for her son and is trying to help other families do as well.

But as a prayer shawl, you don't need to give it to someone affected by autism, give it to anyone who likes sunshine or could use a little of it!
The Pattern
Gauge is very important here if you want a shawl in a grown-up size. I used about 500 yards of Peace Fleece worsted weight on #10's and got 4 rows per inch, before blocking - any less and it will be a very short shawl, so up the needles a size or more if you have more than 4 rows per inch. This project was started to use up the yarn left over from the HomeAID shawl (below).

This can easily be made into a round blanket - you just need to start on double pointed needles and go around - the shawl would be round if I hadn't left out the "wedge" between two of the sunbeams, so the pattern would be a tidy 8 repeats instead of 7 with the last sunbeam tacked on. But since I've never knitted on double pointed needles, I can't tell you how to begin it, sorry!

I think this would look nice in a fuzzy pale yellow; also it would be cool to use three strands and start with all yellow, then change one to white, then another to white and end with all three white; or something similar! If the gauge is big enough, this looks good without blocking so would be good for an acrylic as well, but the sides would curl in some so an edging pattern may need to be used or just the two edges steam blocked.

Every other row is purled.

Cast on 24 stitches.

Row 1: knit
Row 2: purl
Row 3: knit
Row 4: purl
Row 5: (k1, L, k1) 8 times [L = lifted increase - knit one, then pick up the stitch under the one you just knit and knit into that one as well.]
Row 7: (k1, L, k2) 8 times
Row 9: (k2, L, k2) 8 times
Row 11: (k2, L, k3) 8 times
Row 13: (k3, L, k3) 8 times
Row 15: (k3, L, k4) 8 times
Row 17: (k4, L, k4) 8 times
Row 19: (k4, L, k5) 8 times
Row 21: (k5, L, k5) 8 times
Row 23: (k5, L, k6) 8 times
Row 25: (k13, yo) 7 times, k13
Row 27: (k2 tog, k11, yo, k, yo) 7 times, k2 tog, k11
Row 29: (k12, yo, k, k2 tog, yo) 7 times, k12
Row 31: (k10, ssk, yo, k4, yo) 7 times, k10, ssk
Row 33: (k11, yo, ssk, k4, yo) 7 times, k11
Row 35: (k2 tog, k9, yo, k7, yo) 7 times, k2 tog, k9
Row 37 (k10, yo, k7, k2 tog, yo) 7 times, k10
Row 39: (k8, ssk, yo, k, yo, k9, yo) 7 times, k8, ssk
Row 41: (k9, yo, k3 tog*, yo, k7, ssk, yo, k, yo) 7 times, k9 *[k3 tog for the rest of this pattern means slip two together, knit1, pass two slipped stitches over - so the center stitch comes out on top.]
----------------THIS IS WHERE I CHANGED TO ORANGE-----------------------
Row 43: (k2 tog, k7, yo, ssk, k, yo, k8, yo, ssk, k, yo) 7 times, k2 tog, k7
Row 45: (k8, yo, k2, k2 tog, yo, k2 tog, k6, yo, k2, k2 tog, yo) 7 times, k8
Row 47: (k6, ssk, yo, ssk, k3, yo, k7, yo, ssk, k3, yo) 7 times, k6, ssk
Row 49: (k7, yo, k4, k2 tog, yo, k5, ssk, yo, k4, k2 tog, yo) 7 times, k7
Row 51: (k2 tog, k5, yo, ssk, k5, yo, k6, yo, ssk, k5, yo) 7 times, k2 tog, k5
Row 53: (k6, yo, k, yo, k2 tog, k3, k2 tog, yo, k2 tog, k4, yo, k, yo, k2 tog, k3, k2 tog, yo) 7 times, k6
Row 55: (k4, ssk, yo, k3 tog, yo, k5, yo, k, yo, k5, yo, k3 tog, yo, k5, yo, k, yo) 7 times, k4, ssk
Row 57: (k5, yo, k, k2 tog, yo, k3, ssk, yo, k, k2 tog, yo, k3, ssk, yo, k, k2 tog, yo, k3, ssk, yo, k, k2 tog, yo) 7 times, k5
----------------THIS IS WHERE I CHANGED TO RED------------------------------
Row 59: (k2 tog, k3, (yo, ssk, k2, yo, k4) 3 times, yo, ssk, k2, yo, ssk, k3) 7 times, k2 tog, k3
Row 61: (k4, (yo, ssk, k, k2 tog, yo, k2 tog, k2) 3 times, yo, ssk, k, k2 tog, yo) 7 times, k4
Row 63: (k2, ssk, (yo, k, yo, k2, k2 tog, yo, k3) 3 times, yo, k, yo, k2, k2 tog, yo) 7 times, k2, ssk
Row 65: (k3, (yo, k3 tog, yo, k2 tog, k, yo, k, yo, k2 tog, k) 3 times, yo, k3 tog, yo, k2 tog, k) 7 times, k3
Row 67: (k2 tog, k2, (yo, k3 tog, yo, k2) 7 times, yo, k3 tog, yo) 7 times, k2 tog,
k2
---------------------THIS IS WHERE I CHANGED TO BLACK--------------------------
Row 69: (k2, (yo, k, yo, k2 tog, yo, k2 tog, yo, k3 tog, yo, k2 tog) 3 times, yo, k, yo, k2 tog, yo, k2 tog, yo, k3 tog) 7 times, k2
Row 71: (k2 tog, yo, k3 tog, (yo, k2 tog) 18 times, yo) 7 times, k2 tog
Row 73: (k2 tog) repeat until last stitch, k <-- I didn't do that one but wish I did!
Row 75: purl
Row 77: bind off very loosly

Revised and renumberd on 4/12/09