Today's date is 3/14. Math lovers probably love March 14th. Get it... 3.14... Pi. You know... as in, how do you figure the circumference of a circle... or the area of a circle? Pi! In honor of Pi Day, the teachers at my son's school asked kids to bring... pies. I baked pumpkin pies. Dang it, son couldn't carry two pies to school so we had to eat one at home. It was rough. We can polish off a pumpkin pie in our house in no time at all.
Speaking of Pi (and pie), I've been noticing beautiful lace shawls called "Pi Shawls" on Ravelry and it wasn't until recently that I started to read more to find out the details.
Apparently, Pi Shawls were "invented" by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I don't know much about this gal, but I see her name everywhere and understand she is quite an iconic figure in the hand-knitting world. On Ravelry, I read that Pi Shawls are a circular shawl based the geometry of Pi--the relationship between a circle’s circumference and its radius containing six shaping rounds. The other thing I am learning about Pi Shawls is that they are incredibly versatile. The construction is such that you can insert just about any lace pattern to tailor the shawl to your liking... simple or complex.
Elizabeth Zimmermann’s elaboration on the Pi Shawl (from Ravelry):
“When you set out on the annual family trip naturally you have to take your knitting; something has to keep you sane in face of the possibly quite ferocious situations you will be up against in the next two weeks. Try a shawl. I have a circular shawl for you which starts at the center, has absolutely no pattern, and only six shaping-rounds in the whole thing.”
Hmmm, now I am really curious... this deserves some attention... another knitting goal for me in 2011: make a Pi Shawl! For today, if you are interested, check out this project (click HERE). I plan to sit down with this pattern and some cotton yarn tonight... in observance of Pi Day! Too bad the pie at home is all gone.
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