Crochet blog

I am addicted to shawls…It’s official! 

As soon as the chocolate peacock virus shawl was off my hook, I was chaining this little beauty…

The pattern is called ‘pink shawl’ by Cecile Balladino, available in Simply Crochet issue 31.

The pattern is a sumptuous mix of shells and popcorns and I  absolutely loved hooking this shawl .  It was not mindless hooking however, even though it is only a six row repeat, I had  to keep count and keep note of where exactly I was in the pattern.  Having said that, if you keep track the pattern is easy enough to follow and makes up quickly.  Each time it came to hooking those scrumptious popcorn stitches my heart swelled with delirious satisfaction.

The yarn I have chosen is clearly not pink, and it is for this reason that I am slightly disappointed  with the shawls name… ‘pink shawl’.  I am often drawn to patterns by their names alone and this shawls name does not do it justice.  At the very least it deserves a name that is pretty or elaborate.

That tiny twinge of disappointment  however, is consumed with pure delight in this yarn.  The yarn is the most beautifully soft cotton mix I have ever had the pleasure of running through my fingers and I happened upon it by happy accident. 

I found it at the bottom of a bargain bin in my local yarn store, buried underneath some very unattractive yarn.  It was marked at just 50 pence a ball.   So I scrambled through the bin and found seven 50g balls.  I paid £3.50 at the till in haste and left before the very lovely lady realised what she had just sold for so little.  

Further serendipity ensured it was just enough yarn for this shawl too.   I have used 325g of yarn for this shawl, although the pattern states 150g.  This yarn was a dream to hook with, it slid with ease over my hook and did not split at all.  It also has a very pretty lustre.

I think my shawl is a lot larger than the pattern, despite using the same weight yarn and hook size.  The yarn suggested in the pattern is silk based whereas I have hooked with a Patons 45% cotton mix yarn. 

But, I am extremely pleased with my shawls size, it is a real beauty to snuggle in and the cotton mix ensures the textured popcorns drape wonderfully.

I will most certainly be hooking with  this yarn again, even if I have to pay full price and I will most certainly be checking out the bottom of more bargain bins! 

My Serendipity shawl…well I couldn’t call it ‘The Pink Shawl’

could I!

xxxxx