Marushka

Marushka is a Russian Fairy Tale about a girl sent out in the middle of winter, through the deep snow to fetch violets, strawberries and apples for her wicked step-sister. With the help of the twelve kings ruling over the months she succeeds. When the step-sister tries to force the kings to give her more apples, King December buries her in snow.

This triangular shawl is knit in a pale green colour called Silver Pine that reminds me of frozen pine trees in the deep of winter. The central motif on the shawl shows Marushka’s wispy tracks through the snow, as she’s trudging back and forth between her evil stepsister and the twelve kings. The edging around the shawl alternates between the spring flowers/violets that Marushka was asked to bring, and clusters of wild strawberries. The strawberries are also clustered in such a way that from a distance the clusters look like ripe apples.

The complete fairy tale can be read here.