Crochet CAL 2016 - Bubble Gum Shawl by Katja Löffler

Hello again,

Did you know that there is a Crochet Along going on right now for a shawl?*

I only found out beginning of this week when I came across the image for the shawl on pinterest, find it here.


Bubble Gum Shawl by Katja Löffler




Copyright Cittigato on Ravelry

First things first - here is the Ravelry page with details and link to the free pattern

The CAL is running from 17 June to 8 July 2016. But that doesn't mean that you can't crochet your own shawl any other time, of course. I'm a bit late to this party, but it doesn't bother me.

Important : it might be that the pattern is only free during the CAL, so I would advise you to download it as soon as possible before the 8 July 2016 - just in case!

This is indeed a beautiful and intriguing shawl! I've not seen another quite like it. For me it was love at first sight! It has got lots of holes. I believe a colour changing yarn is a must.

Going through my yarn stash I found the right yarn - Schachenmayr Tahiti which is a fine cotton yarn I have used before for another shawl last summer - you can find the blogpost with photos of the finished shawl here

Unfortunately this yarn is now discontinued. There are lots of different colourways.

And here are my first photos, I only started on Tuesday!

Happy Yarn - Schachenmayr Tahiti

Getting started on the Bubble Gum Shawl

29.06.2016 - making progress

30.06.2016 - Last night's colour changes

Shawl is curving gently

I just finished row 57. There are a total of 109 rows in the pattern. Obviously the rows keep getting bigger each time. I photographed it laid out on 4x A4 sheets of paper.

Each row is written out, so it is very easy to follow! After a while you see how the pattern is built, one side is curved, the other has got spikes every so often. The pattern starts at one side of the shawl and then works across to the other side.

Despite the fact that my shawl in progress has not been blocked you can see the 'bubbles' very clearly!

I am using a 4mm hook versus the recommended size of 2-3mm for this yarn. The pattern actually states a 5mm hook, but I decided against that. Sometimes you have to go with your own instinct! To me this feels the perfect match.



KAL 2016 Knitted Bubble Gum Shawl © Biancha Müller

* For those of you who are also knitters, guess what? There is a KAL 2016 as well!!!
Find the ravelry link to the free pattern here (download before 8 July, might have to pay after that date).

Knitted Bubble Gum Shawl © Biancha Müller

All photos are my own, except those taken from the Ravelry pages of the originators of the CAL/KAL (Katja Löffler and Biancha Müller) - which are credited accordingly. Please check out their pages for detailed information.

Hope you enjoyed this post. Many thanks for all your recent comments, they are always much appreciated. It gives me great joy to share these things with you and I hope you will find some inspiration!

Feel free to leave me your comments below. Thanks for your visit!

My Tahiti Shawl is finished plus flowers on my balcony garden

Welcome back, my friends!

In my last blog post yesterday I told you that I wanted to finish my Tahiti Shawl as soon as possible. Well, I put in a lot of crochet time both yesterday (whilst watching the gripping Season Finale of Wolven (a crime series here in Belgium) plus some more this morning and I'm happy to say that I finished it mid morning! Yippee!!!

My Tahiti Shawl

19.06.15 Finished Tahiti Shawl

Warning: Lots of photos to follow below.....

19.06.15 Morning - I still had to do more rows

The finished Shawl - note the spacing of the stripes!

Happy with the result

Stitch pattern

Here is a quick visual comparison between the Tahiti Shawl and the Minty Shawl - both from the same pattern. You can read more about the Minty Shawl in my blog post here.

Tahiti vs Minty Shawl

                                                           Tahiti                                   Minty

 Finished sizes:                              188 x 63 cm                          154 x 23 cm
                                                                                                        (without tassels)




Balcony Garden

Today the weather is cooler again, at least yesterday we had some more sun, but the temperatures were not great... Never mind, that way we get to appreciate the hotter weather when it returns! ;)

The good news is that the recent heatwave has helped my plants to grow more, and I'm happy to see a bit more colour again!

Here are a few photos to show what is flowering now...

Pink Roses

Hydrangea

Oxalis (Clover) and Gladioli planted a few weeks ago

 

Flowering Succulent Sempervivum

Red Rose

Blue White Lupins plus Thyme and Lavender

Hope you enjoyed reading this quick post! If you got the time, why not leave me a little note?
Have you planted anything recently? 

My new Veritas Triangle Shawl

Hello my lovely blogfriends!

Thank you for your lovely comments about my latest post. And welcome to my latest followers, I hope you will enjoy reading this new post today!

I am slowly starting to realize that I really love making shawls in the Summer, because they are so versatile to wear and equally fun to make!

The following shawl was really quick to make! I got the pattern from a woolshop here in Belgium - at Veritas. They often have free leaflets called #how to create. I picked up one that was called 'Driehoekige sjaal met pailletjes' (Triangular shawl with Sequins).

Sadly I couldn't find a direct link to the pattern which is written in Dutch.

Here is my Veritas Triangle Shawl!

Here you can see how it came about

Recently I went to Breiboetiek Debby in Antwerp to get more of the Katia Jaipur for my Rustic Lace Squares.

There I found some random yarn at reduced prices. After a good rummage in the box, I came up with the following:

6 balls of 50g , Three in a pale Sea green/Putty colour, one in Cream, and one each of different natural coloured balls with hints of browns, blues, green and orange.

I had never made a shawl from odd balls of yarn before! I thought it would work because these were all natural shades that look good together.

The pattern didn't look too difficult, and with a 5.5mm hook the shawl started to grow fast!

I started on the 5th June, the weather was sunny and I enjoyed crocheting on our balcony.

I alternated the colours, using the Sea green/Putty colour as my main colour because I had the most of this one.

 

  

I love the subtle stripes and colours. When it was finished only 3 days later, I added some tassels from the remaining yarn.

The finished shawl!

08.06.15 Tadah! My finished Shawl

The finished shawl measures 136 cm wide x 60 cm long (without the tassels, they measure approx 14 cm).

I already have worn this shawl a lot, it is soft and great when you are sitting somewhere with the airconditioning, protecting you against a chill.

My Tahiti Shawl - an update

Meanwhile I am concentrating on my Tahiti Shawl to get it finished. I'm hoping to show it to you all soon, but there is still quite a bit to do! You can see my recent progress here:

My Tahiti Shawl

The reason this one is taking longer is the difference in yarn! It is very thin cotton and I am only using a 3 mm hook. Also the size is a lot bigger, the width is approx 177 cm! So it will end up bigger overall!

What is your favourite summer project? Have you made something recently that you are already wearing now?

I'd love to read your comments, please feel free to add them below! Thank you for taking the time!

Happy summer crocheting!!!

Catch up - Some more crochet shawls for you

Welcome back!!!

Thanks for your lovely comments on my recent posts.  I realize I haven't talked much about my crochet shawls yet.

I subscribe to a few crochet magazines in England and I noticed there were some lovely shawls by the talented Elisabeth Davis de Herraiz. One that caught my eye was her 'All at Sea Shawl' so I dug out my copy of the Simply Crochet magazine and began making it!

You can find out more about this shawl (and photos of her original design) on her lovely blog here. I highly recommend it. I have been following her since last year and find her work very inspiring!


The All at Sea Shawl

All at Sea Shawl

Emerging pattern

Crochet in the car after a music festival

The light and airy pattern

The shawl was finished in late April and I started wearing it immediately. The colour is a fresh green, the acrylic yarn (Maya) was from Wibra.

However, about a week later I decided it needed something else and I added a large tassel from the same yarn. Now I love it even more!

My finished shawl with the added tassel

My Tahiti Shawl

This is the same shawl pattern I recently used for my Minty Shawl - here! It's such a nice pattern with a very easy 2 row repeat. This time the yarn I used is much finer, with a 3mm crochet hook. So it is growing a bit slower, but I don't mind. I will be quite large. I really like the colourplay!

New beginnings: starting a shawl with variegated cotton yarn

Tahiti Cotton yarn by Schachenmayr

Crochet time on the balcony in the sunshine

Crocheting before my dental operation

My Azalea

Balcony still life - this is all I need!

... and cats keeping me company!

The Festival Shawl

This was amongst my Ravelry favourites for quite some time. I suddenly decided the time had come to give it a go!

You will find the free pattern here!

After the initial few rows I realized how the pattern worked and had been crocheting happily along without further having to consult the pattern. I think that is the moment crochet really takes off!

I am using the wonderful Schoeppelwolle Zauberball in the 'Frische Fische' colourway. It is a typical sock yarn but with wonderful colours! Great for shawls, too!

And one more recent thing I learnt: some things do require blocking. Here you can see how the pattern is much clearer after a bit of blocking. Of course, the shawl is not yet finished. I recently bought a second ball of yarn and am continuing.

Festival Shawl pattern

Do you have a favourite shawl pattern - feel free to post a link, perhaps by ravelry or pinterest!? Do you prefer triangular shawls or the long rectangular ones (stole)?
What tip would you give to somebody who hasn't tried crocheting a shawl before?

I hope you enjoyed your post and I would love to know what you think. Please leave me your comment, no matter how short or long, it's always lovely to read!

Have a nice sunday!