Christening Shawl

For my Knitting Olympics Challenge, I've decided to go for a christening shawl which my niece would like as she's expecting her second baby at the end of February/beginning of March. I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself by opting for an Heirloom Shawl along the lines of one of Sharon Miller's designs as I think completion in 16 days might be cutting it a bit fine! However, I did have six or seven shawl patterns that I got in the Designs closing down sale. Most of them I thought were a bit too simple but two showed promise of presenting something of a challenge given the timeframe within which the project should be completed.

I've sent them as email attachments for my niece to choose which one she would like (hopefully she will like one of them). They are both Sirdar patterns but I thought as the shawl is to be a christening shawl, I'd knit it in something a bit more special such as Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. My personal favourite of the two is this one. This one has a centre, a border and an edging but is slightly smaller than the other.

To view detail, click to enlarge

The other one I picked out as a possibility is this one which is a bit larger than the one I prefer but only has a centre and an edging (no border). I know it looks as if it has a border as well as edging but, in actuality, it doesn't.

To view detail, click to enlarge

Which one do you prefer?

In the unlikely event that I finish the shawl with time to spare, I'm going to challenge myself further by attempting to also complete a pair of socks (the first I will ever have knitted!) and I already have the sock kit sitting in the drawer patiently waiting to be tackled!

Thanks to JenLa for the Great Britain Olympic Knitting Team button designed for the use of us Brits which is now sitting prettily in my sidebar next to the Yarn Harlot's one!

UPDATE: Since publishing this post, I'm beginning to wonder if the shawls in the patterns are meant to be christening shawls? Are there any special requirements for a christening shawl? For instance, should it be knitted in laceweight yarn or would it be okay in 4ply? Also, should it be a particular size and so on? Any suggestions???