Fifteen years ago I’d certainly heard of Oscar Wilde, though the only piece I was familiar with was his terrifying Picture of Dorian Gray. Just thinking of that story still sends shivers up my spine. I’d no idea that the same author was responsible for the delightful story, An Ideal Husband, or my current favorite, The Importance of Being Earnest. Wilde said that the theme of “Earnest” was “that we should treat all trivial things in life very seriously, and all serious things of life with a sincere and studied triviality.” The third pattern I’ve named for a character in “Earnest,” Cecily is just as dreamy as the person she was named for.

Shawl is worked in two pieces, each worked from the outer edge to the center. The two pieces are grafted together to form the finished shawl. The nupps are only on the outer edges. As each side the shawl progresses, the stitches become simpler.

Size : 12 x 55 (17 x 60, 22 x 74) inches; 30.5 x 139.5 (43 x 152.5, 56 x 188) cm.

Yarn: lace weight; 400 650, 1000 yards.

Skills: k2tog, ssk, YO, s1-k2tog-psso, nupps, grafting.

Notions: stitch markers (optional), yarn needle.

Stitch patterns: Charted and written.