Granny Shawl..... Never!

I have been know to be very focused when I get a new idea in my little head! And yes I can just imagine those of you that know me having a chuckle! No, I am certainly not OCD however if I get an idea I need to act on it! Sooner rather then later! Recently I got a bee in my bonnet about a shawl! When I told LSO , I was thinking about crocheting a shawl it was met with peels of laughter and the words "A GRANNY SHAWL? "and more laughing! Yeesh! You would have sworn I had wanted to buy a zimmer frame! (Maybe I should, I know what I could do with it......)

 

So the hunt was on, I trawled the web, looked in my VAST library of magazines and books but could find nothing even vaguely funky or fun..... they were indeed all lacy  with tassel's .... actually the only way to describe them was - Yes, He was right! - GRANNY SHAWLS! I was a tad put off but still in the back of my mind a shawl was brewing.....

 

I have told you all before that I would lurve to be able to write my own patterns, in my head I can see what I want but I just need a starting point, in this case I wasn't sure how to get the 'V' shape going! Did I start at the top and decrease down or did I start at the pointy end and work up and increase as I went...... My brain just wasn't getting there!

 

Late one night I happen on a lovely blog,(My Rose Valley) and there it was, a beautiful and funky shawl, the lady, Anette who writes the blog had written  the pattern herself and it was for sale! You can find it here! She called it a Nordic shawl. It was thick, pretty and the colours were really gorgeous! It was very 'un granny' It was just what I was looking for, I purchased the pattern on the  etsy shop, read it and it seemed simple enough and easy to follow!   

 

I was off to the yarn shop like a flash the next morning(any excuse to purchase yarn) and bought the beautiful mix of colour that you see in the picture above! I am  often asked,  how I chose colours for the things I crochet and to be honest with you... Its not rocket science for me, I do not agonise for hours, I simply stand in front of the wall of yarn, and pick out  colours that appeal to me, often more than are needed. When I get home I put them all together and arrange them over and over until I have a pallet that I like.. I needed only 6 colours for the rows in the shawl, and had purchased 7 colours....   

 

I could not  decide between these two colours, I kept swapping them until I found that the colour of the darker one was more appealing with in this particular piece! I am actually in love with the darker aubergine colour, this picture does it no justice! And although I now have an extra ball of yarn,  I can assure you it will NEVER  go to waste!! 





I began to crochet, ever spare moment I had was devoted to this shawl, it certainly was not going to take me months.... I needed it before Winter!  It progressed really quickly, the rhythm of the granny clusters was therapeutic, and I must admit at this point that this is my favourite crochet stitch! I think that these sweet little clusters represent crochet perfectly. My first memory of crochet is my granny Shiela's traditional  Granny Square Blanket.  

 

I  stuck to a very neutral colour for the main body of the shawl, there were a few times that I looked at it and thought to myself it was looking really boring! Second guessing is a major fault of mine! Soon I had finished the main 'V' shape and it was time to start the colourful rows and this is when it all came to life! The colours I had chosen were perfect! They were so me!  

  

 

At this point of the shawl you begin to work the rows around the outer edge's of the large 'V' shape and it grows rapidly, you also stop using granny clusters and crochet a combination of double crochet, half trebles and trebles! I must have gotten awfully excited at this point because I completely forgot to take any more pictures but to be honest with you .... The end product is so pretty that those are all the pictures you need to see...  

 

And so with out any further commentary ....... I present to you my beautiful Nordic Shawl and I think it really deserves a great big..... TA DAH!!!!!!

I have already used my shawl. Now it certainly is not cold enough for me to wear it yet, sooooo I simply cranked up the air conditioner and sat in our lounge with my warm and beautiful shawl wrapped around me. I am so H-A-P-P-Y with it! I keep looking at it, it is fun and actually quiet funky, I would wear it with jeans, boots and a jacket, It certainly is not what a granny with a purple rinse would wear! LSO hasn't seen it yet and when he does I don't think granny shawl will come to mind ..... well here's hoping anyway! xxx  

 

PS: Barbie in her "granny shawl" this Barbie shawl was mine as a child, I recently gave all my dolls and dolls cothes to Little Madame - she loves them!

PS: LSO is not at home right now, so no picture of me with my shawl - Sorry!