Rose Garden Shawl
by TiffaniLynneCrochet
I’ve been working on this piece for several weeks now. I picked it up right after my grandmother died. There’s something about loss or gain, good or bad feelings and experiences, that make you want to create something new if you’re a creative type. I’m that type, so I began this pattern in early January and I’m just now finishing it up.
It reminds me of all the colors and light of my grandmother’s spirit. She was a beautiful woman, classy, a native New Yorker (the city, not just the state), a former Marine during WWII, a newspaper ad woman (the real life version of Peggy of Madmen fame), and so much more. She smelled like sweet tobacco and fine perfume whenever she kissed me and she loved little pink roses. She always had advice and knew the best way to get things done–her way.
And so I began this piece thinking of her, and this week (hopefully) it should be done and I will give it away to my cousin who had a birthday the other day. She recently moved away from her family and friends in Arkansas for a new job in the Midwest, and when I was working this quick pattern into a shawl, I thought this might be a nice hug for her.
“Why not give this to your aunt who cared for your grandmother for so much of her life?” you might ask. Well, she gets the afghan version of this, because she has two dogs who might need the cuddle room. I tend to give things away, because I love my readers and I like to see people smile. The world is too dark to charge for every piece of art, and make no mistake, crochet is a beautiful art form, the kind that is made to be shared. I sell stuff, too, but when I’ve been blessed with yarn (and this is blessed yarn–I didn’t pay for it), I tend to make things and give them away to someone who’s not expecting anything.
So, here’s the pattern for the shawl…pretty much. If you want the afghan pattern, just make it bigger. It’s that easy (although, there’s a strong possibility you’ll be contacting me and asking me to explain myself, because I’m not the world’s greatest pattern writer, especially, when I’m steroids and Myasthenia Gravis is pounding away at my muscle strength all day). There will be a video soon. That should be helpful if this scribbling below is not. Enjoy!
Rose Garden Shawl
Choose six skeins of complementary colors. This works best with cotton, wool and wool blends, and acrylic yarns.
American Hook Size J
Crochet 100 chains
Skip the first thee chains.
Half-Double Crochet into the fourth chain to end of row.
Turn. In the first chain, half-double crochet three times.
Single crochet the next two chains.
Skip two chains, half-double crochet into the next chain.
Single crochet the next two chains. * Repeat until the end of the chain.
Turn chain one into the first chain, repeat process, using alternating colors in whatever pattern you choose. You can visually choose what I did, but I am using scraps, so you might be more purposeful.
****Make sure that your shells (three half-double crochets in one chain) line up with each other. Crochet into the middle of the three hdc stitches, line your single crochets and skipped chains together as well. Whatever you have to do to make that work, this is the most important aspect of making this pattern work***
Make the shawl as thick as you like. I repeated the same pattern for the edging and I’m building on its length and width this way. If you get stuck, comment below. I’ll check back soon, and I’ll try to upload a video tomorrow, for better clarification.
Happy crocheting, and try to make one for yourself and give another one away. Spread the blessing around.
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