A Beautiful Summer

It started like this.  Hooking up lacy triangles while sitting in the sun, happy work indeed.

I had a pattern idea for a lighter shawl, something that would be perfect for summer so when I came across this lovely cotton yarn, Safran by Drops, I thought it might be just the thing to make my idea come to life.  It has been too.  Lovely to work with, a great price and best of all, a great range of colours.  Bliss.

So I'm pleased to say that I now have the summer shawl I wanted and I'm even more pleased because I think it'll make a great new pattern.  But most of all, I've enjoyed having this project on the go
through the very best days of summer.

Sitting at home, making the triangles whilst perching on my garden bench.  Feeling the warmth of the sun, or sheltering in the cooling shade, watching the bees buzz and the breeze rock the summer blooms.  Then whiling away the hours on the long drive to and from France, joining triangles into strips and strips into a shawl.  Basking in the sun pouring through the windscreen and feeling the air-conditioning cool my face.

Then home again and time for some colour.  When I had this idea it made me think of the colourful old Romany caravans, with pretty flowers painted on them.  So I think of this a my 'Dancing Flowers Shawl' and lots of these glorious little, deliciously quick to make, flowers were utterly essential for the final 'vision' as I imagined it.  As the great lover of 'the dangly bit', these flowers were the part I was most excited about.

Then the debate of how best to block.  After a little research I decided to wet block.  So a good soaking and a good stretching and my little vision was complete.  In retrospect, and after further experimentation, I think I would have been better to go with the stretch first then spray technique.  Bother.  Still, you live and learn and anyway, it seemed a small point as my shawl was now ready.

Ready for wrapping and dangling around me.  Ready for prancing and preening in.  Ready for some posing and photographing.  Are you ready for that part too?

For some reason, as you might have noticed in the pictures above, this shawl of mine just seems to call out to be wrapped around my waist too, as some sort of decorative 'over-skirt' which I'm pretty sure is not actually a thing.  I can't help but love how it looks - am I going crazy do you think?  I haven't worn it out in public that way... yet.  But there's no getting away from it, I do kind of like it that way.

Well, I hope you like it.  At least as a shawl, if not as a slightly unusual skirt draping!  As always, when I thinking of making a pattern of something, I'm always a little nervous to know what you all think.  I hope that it will speak to you of gorgeous long summer days the that way it does to me.

Dancing Flowers Shawl Pattern


S x

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