Shawls are everywhere at the moment, have you noticed? They are the perfect fashion accessories, dressed up over an evening outfit, daytime over a tunic or jumper, even with jeans and a blouse/jacket combo. Their image as a 70’s hippy left over have been banished by the delightful crochet and knitted shawls that talented designers are creating! I have been collecting a few on the Gorgeous Yarns Pinterest pages in the hope that one day I will have time to make one for myself. I am especially keen on “Gumdrop” by Annie Baker on Ravelry, and “die Pfeileraupe“ which is also on Ravelry as a free pattern. (If you haven’t signed up for Ravelry yet, its a free on line community, with invaluable resources, groups and patterns for all kinds of projects, and for all abilities.) I’m planning to use Eden Cottage Yarns for GumDrop and perhaps some Purely Gorgeous for die Pfeilraupe (It means “arrow caterpillar”!) Shawls are just what you need in this awful weather, its cold and misty raining in Cornwall today. The lady in the opticians told me its “wet” rain! I think what she mean was that although its not big drops of rain, its still drenching! I was glad I had my crochet shawl under my waterproof coat!
Shawls are the ideal small project. Perfect to make if you are travelling, ideal if you only have a couple of skeins of gorgeous yarns, and just the thing to make if you are a knitter or crocheter wanting to try something new without too much to do. We have several shawls available at patterns, and the Dreaming of the Seashore pattern is also available as a complete kit.
Lastly, a shawl pin? I love the designs by Tatty Squawk here in Cornwall. They make the perfect closure to hold your shawl in place, and they are all individually hand made so no two are the same. So are you tempted to make a shawl?
I’m still deciding which of the 2 patterns to make, and I mustn’t go on Pinterest for a while before I choose or else I will see more lovely creations and be even less able to decide! I like using 4ply for light shawls, cotton and or bamboo DK yarns for summer shawls like the orange one, but I’d love to have a go at a lace-weight shawl, the Anniken Allis ones on Ravelry are gorgeous! Ooops, there I go again, getting distracted! But in Eden Cottage lace-weight, or a Perran Yarns lace-weight though…. and then what colour…?
Keep warm and dry this weekend, I’m going to stay inside and create!!
Bye for now, Caroline
PS if you have a moment, please consider supporting the very talented Lyn Roberts who has launched “Time for Teal” to raise money for Ovarian Cancer, one of the “silent” cancers. Later in the year, Gorgeous Yarns will be proud to stock these fund-raising project kits, I’ll tell you more when I have more details.
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