I have knit one shawl in my life and I finished it just about a week ago. Shawls are for old ladies, right? I never considered knitting one, until I saw how beautiful shawl patterns are. Just do a search for hand-knit shawls and you will see what I mean! They are colorful and fun and perfect for women (and men!) of any age.
Now all I regret is that I don’t live in a climate where shawls could be worn. Still, it will not stop me from mastering shawl-knitting.
My First Shawl Project
My one and only shawl project was the No Fuss Shade-loving Shawl which can be downloaded at Ravelry and is offered for free by Susan Ashcroft. Her directions were easy to follow and there was no weird garter tab cast on – which I have yet to figure out how to do. See my finished shawl below. I had some trouble choosing a yarn, and ended up trying 3 different ones! It came out a little small also. I should have continued for a few more rows. But okay for a first try!
No Fuss Shade-Loving Shawl by Susan Ashcroft
The Spindrift Shawl is Free and Comes With Encouragement
When I saw the lovely Spindrift Shawl offered for free on Ravelry, I thought I was too late to get in on the action. Then I went to Curious Handmade site and there it was.. the offer to get this free pattern … on the right sidebar. Go to either link to find the free pattern. You will have to sign up to receive e-mails, but this designer has a beautiful selection of patterns and I won’t mind getting mail from her.
Helen, who runs the site, will send me the downloadable pattern and a welcome video.
As she says in her video, when she began shawl knitting she wished she’d had this type of help. It’s perfect timing for me, and I am grateful for the help even if Helen is a stranger who lives in England! Thank you Helen.
Beginning the Spindrift Shawl
What a nice idea. Also, Helen has tons of gorgeous shawl patterns (and more) to purchase. I can’t wait for the time when I feel confident enough to buy a shawl pattern and create something intricate and beautiful myself.
Baby steps. For now I will try my hand at the Spindrift Shawl. I have downloaded the pattern. And I received the second e-mail, which was about choosing the yarn.
Here are the particulars:
Yarn: Need 437 yards of fingering or sock yarn.
The crescent shaped shawl begins on a size 5 circular needle and switches to a size 6 and is worked from the top down.
The cast on is done using the backward loop method…and I chose a yarn I had purchased from Miss Babs. It’s a “Wild Iris” which means “one of a kind” color. I love the lavender, off-white and brown accents.
As you can see in my photo, I have begun knitting the shawl.
Often I will start the day with a vegetable breakfast. I have a garden, and here in Florida the herbs (and peppers) grow year round. When fresh food can be found in the backyard, it is more enticing to use the vegetables.
I’m still learning how to grow food here in Florida. (Read my Hydrangeas Blue blog if you are interested in my garden adventures.) My second year of growing green peppers (yes, on the same plant – it never died) is a huge success. I am picking big, juicy peppers. Hot peppers are easy to grow, so I have an abundance of those.
Keep onion and peppers in a container in the fridge so they will be ready to add to any meal
The parsley has been growing since 2016 and I use it almost daily. The onions and garlic I buy at the grocery store.
I’ve found that keeping onion and pepper in a little container in the fridge helps me use those ingredients more often. When I’m cooking, I can grab a piece and use it, or slice off what I need, which adds flavor that only comes from using fresh ingredients.
Finely chopped veggies sautéing in avocado oil
Eat More Vegetables!
The herbs from the garden (parsley, fennel, basil, thyme) are chopped with the onion and peppers to create a handful of veggies to sauté. After a few minutes, I will add an egg and create a vegetable scramble.
Get a serving of vegetables for breakfast
When I eat my special egg dish with a glass of pure cranberry juice, I feel that I have done something good for my body.
(By 2020 I have switched to a Keto / Paleo diet and do IF (intermittent fasting) so I eat my breakfast at noon!)
You don’t have to have a backyard garden (obviously) to make a meal like this. Garlic keeps for a long time, and so do onions and peppers if they are kept in the fridge once they are cut.
Other vegetables would work well for breakfast too, like summer squash and zucchini. I used to chop the squash flowers and add them to my omelets.
I suggest getting away from the normal cereal, bagels, toast and bacon idea of breakfast. None of that food is really good for us. Now that I am older and my kids are grown, I have time to chop and sauté and eat much better than I used to. I’ve also learned to figure things out for myself so I can stay feeling well without being on medication.
Beginners and advanced knitters alike enjoy knitting shawls. They come in many styles, shapes and sizes, but the ones on this page are simple to knit and may expand your knitting knowledge as well.
For those knitters who can knit and purl and easily do simple stitches (or are willing to learn), I’ve found two free shawl knitting patterns. One I have knit, the other I have not.
Because there are no good yarn stores near where I live here in Florida, I shop online for my yarn. I’ve had to discover good yarn by reading reviews and discovering what expert knitters are using. And by simply taking a chance and buying unique yarn. (Yarn shown is Miss Babs, Yummy 2-Ply fingering,” Sorcerer”)
As time has passed and I am knitting more, I have found some additions to my list of favorite online shops.
Click on the titles below, which are links the shops.
Four purls is a local yarn store here in Florida, but they sell online. They are located in Winter Haven which is in Central Florida. It’s quite a drive for me, so I have never been to the store. However, I do visit their Yarn Truck when it comes to the East coast. How fabulous is that?
The Four Purls yarn truck visits New Smyrna Beach in April 2019
They don’t travel around in summer because of the heat (they set up outdoors), so I must order online, and that experience has been quite good. Shipping is Free for U.S. orders over $49 (as of this writing). Emma’s Yarn is some of my favorite yarn ever and I have made the Dewdrops shawl and Sun-Kissed shawl with Emma’s Yarn. She offers bright tropical colors, which are perfect for us Florida knitters. Shipping is super fast – I’m just a couple hours away!
I like the fact that I am supporting a local store. One day I would love to visit the Four Purls shop.
I can’t remember how I came across Wool & Company Fine Yarn but they are a favorite place to shop for two BIG reasons: They offer FREE U.S. shipping on any size order, and they will wind the yarn for FREE!
Their shipping is fast and the yarn is packaged in pretty dotted paper, like a gift to open! It’s the little things… and you can see below I got a free little stitch marker as well! (Miss Babs gives gifts like this too.)
Wool & Co. offers a wide selection of great yarn. It’s my favorite place to order Mohair because they will wind it for me! I once asked them to wind 2 of the 7 skeins of Shelter I purchased and discovered they wound all 7 for me! So customer service is above and beyond, IMO.
The link takes you to “Webs” which is a site full of various types of yarn. This site also lists reviews by purchasers which I’ve found to be very helpful, and they have free patterns to try. They offer yarn discounts for certain types of yarn, according to how much you buy. When you see the blue icon and “webs discount” on the yarn page, the discount applies. Depending on how much yarn you buy, get either 20% or 25% off. That is a nice discount!
Shipping can take a while and often color selections are limited.
Thumbs Up: Good discounts, big selections, and sell yarn of all prices, so you can find cheap yarn here.
This site has some very pretty yarn for sale, some of which is their own brand. I’ve bought and used the Worsted Twist to make a scarf and hat. It is beautiful yarn. They offer many wonderful free patterns (this is great for any beginner knitter) and wonderful knitting tutorials. However, often the types of yarn which can also be found on other sites is a dollar or so more expensive at this site. They don’t give regular discounts, that I’ve seen, but do offer free shipping if you spend a certain amount of money – $110 at the time of this writing. They will wind the yarn for you, but I don’t know if there is a cost.
Thumbs Up: Unique Yarn and Color Choices, Free Patterns & Excellent video and picture tutorials. Allow comments from readers / buyers.
This site offers gorgeous hand-dyed (in Tennessee) yarn. They will wind a skein for you at a cost of $3.00 per skein. I used this service for a 1750 yard skein! This site has named yarns such as “Wild Iris” and “Babette” and I only recently figured out what that means. The “Wild Iris” label means the color is not repeatable and when it’s sold out, it’s gone. “Babette” means more will / can be made.
I love the yarn I’ve purchased, and they have sent little gifts with a couple of my orders – a few stitch markers, and a tiny sample of some yarn. Also they sent a nice thank you card with info on how to reach them if I have questions or need help. I love to feel appreciated, and tiny touches like that do the trick.
This is a fun place to shop for yarn. Their product views are nice on this site, showing 2 or 3 images, with close-up views. In fact, that is how I found this yarn site. The Webs site, mentioned above, often has only one (not very good) image of yarn colors. When I first signed up, I got a discount coupon for a following order – I always appreciate discounts!
Thumbs Up: Great Images of Yarn & Good Sales & Fast Shipping!
Hedgehog Fibres “Beach Bunny” sock yarn from Wool & Company
I’m adding The Woolly Thistle as a favorite shop for online ordering of specialty wool yarn imported from the UK, Scotland, Scandinavia, and other far off places. The shop is located in New Hampshire (which definitely caught my attention) and I recently purchased some wool and a book from them (because it’s about NH crafters). Check out this store (and her podcast) if you like to do stranded colorwork with nice wool. Shipping is free if you spend over $99 and it is F A S T!
New England's Narrow Road 