South Bay Shawls

Gifts from the heart are the best to give (and receive), I think.
And handmade gifts from the heart, oh my, they are the very best. Childrens’ drawings, paintings and crafts definitely rank high in that category.
What counts, of course, is the time and energy that someone invests just for you and whether this is a child or an adult, it’s thát thought that matters.

Ever since I restarted my creative journey, I try to handmake the majority of my gifts, especially for people close to my heart.
Three of those gifts were needed recently, all in the month of May. Luckily the recipients are all ladies, which made it so much easier to pick a present that could be crocheted.

I had my eye on the South Bay Shawl for some time, and I found the pattern on the lovely blog of “Haken bij Saar en Mien” (tutorial – in Dutch – plus chart here). The pretty pattern can be found (for free) all over the internet, e.g. here or – if you need more links or inspiration – here on Pinterest!

All three shawls were crocheted with the acrylic Hema-yarn (100% acrylic, “fine”) I already used for other projects, with two strands and a hook size 8 for the bodies of the shawls.
It made them nicely soft and loose, which I liked.
With the first one I was the least adventurous, double crocheting (UK) a picot border (one hook size down) on the straight side of the shawl, thus finishing it off – all in the same color.

I truly lóved this pattern, the crocheting part of it, and the way the shawl turned out and so I decided to make another one, using the same pattern.

For the second one I crocheted the exact same body in grey, but wanted to do something completely different for the border …… pompoms: yeah!
First I crocheted around the bottom part (the curved part) with trebles and the straight part with dc’s in black. Then the real fun started!
Going back to the wonderful tutorial by “Once Upon A Pink Moon” I had used before, I decided to go a bit crazy and do them in neon-pink. I love how this turned out! They proved to be extremely hard to photograph, but such a fun, fun combination – very happy with the result!
 

And then the last shawl …….had to be the same pattern, but I picked a different color for the main part this time (Hema calls this “terra”). It’s a burgundy kind of dark reddish purple. While crocheting I kept contemplating what to do with the border. Strangely enough I could not come up with an idea that hit the button “yes, that’s it”. I went back and forth from one idea to another.
So ….. the big book of borders needed to come to the rescue, the wonderful “Around the Corner”, by Edie Eckman. Much to my surprise, a very simple design (number 21 in the book) struck a chord and so I crocheted little pale pink lilly flowers around the curved side and a little picot on the straight side. Tickled pink with the result!
 

Am I a bit excited and nervous about whether the recipients will like their gifts? Oh, yes, but one thing’s for sure: they’re gifts from my heart and most certainly made with love!

Love,
Marianne

PS: all three have been gifted and well received ….. happy me!