A Winter Shawl

I love this shawl.  I found it from a multitude of patterns that were lacy and delicate – and beautiful, of course, and many which are in my Ravelry favorites – but when I set out to find this shawl pattern, I was looking for something that would keep me warm through the chilly winter months.  A shawl that I could wrap around me while driving in the frosty mornings.  A shawl to curl up in on cold, misty evenings.  A shawl that would instantly blanket me in warmth.  A winter shawl.

I actually completed this shawl a couple of years ago, but every time winter rolls around again and I end up pulling out all of our winter gear, I come across it.  This shawl is like a blanket, only one that you can wear in public.  There’s nothing about it that I don’t love.

I was lucky to come upon a Joann’s store that was closing some months back.  Yarn at 75% off?  Don’t mind if I do!  I ended up picking up a lot of yarn that I wouldn’t have necessarily purchased otherwise.  One of these yarns that looked interesting was their Sensations Angel Hair brand.  I picked up a few skeins of the color “green/pink stripe” (though the predominant color is really brown), and I knew right away that it would be toward some sort of winter warmth.  It’s an incredibly soft yarn, really.  I loved working with it.

The pattern I found is a lovely criss-cross of visual depth.  I like that it worked up solid, without lots of holes and pineapples or such.  The free pattern, found here, is in Swedish, though I was able to use Google Translate without too much trouble.  Once I got past the initial triangle, it was a breeze, and I finished it within just a couple of days.

HDCs (half-double crochets) seem to be used so seldom these days as opposed to the copius amounts of hdc patterns that I find from the 70s.  But I think it’s a neglected stitch, don’t you?  It’s so fast to work up, and that’s good for that instant-gratification that is so needed by month-long afghan crocheters like myself.

Adding a button was something I had in mind from the start, though I wasn’t sure how exactly it would come about.  I love the big, earthy, wooden button that I picked up, and I ended up just sewing it on and adding a doubled chain on the opposite side that fits snugly around it.  All of the Ravelry goodness is here for more details.  It’s also here in my gallery as well.

We have a new layer of snow on the ground this morning, so it’s the perfect time to bring this out and get it ready for the season ahead, and it’s already kept me cozy in my pre-coffee mornings.  There’s a long winter ahead, and this is the perfect “extra layer” to keep me warm and cozy through it all.

Have a warm weekend, and don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for another free yarn giveaway!

~ Mellie ★