the half-granny triangle shawl

At my fall retreat, Kelly was using the most gorgeous yarn to crochet a half-granny triangle shawl.

And as I watched her double crochet back and forth, I was smitten.

On the drive home, Kelly, Sasha (my retreat kitchen goddess), and I stopped at Rainy Day Yarns in Gig Harbor and I bought yarn to make my own shawl. And then a few days later, I went back to buy more*.

I kind of can't stop making these simple, delightful, shawls. 

You can find the awesome and very easy to follow video tutorial to get you started right here. You can crochet one is about two movies worth of time. A beginner(ish) project for sure.  

The truth is, I think of them like a prayer shawl of sorts. As I said here, I like to imagine love being woven into each stitch. And while I'm crocheting away, I'm holding the person I'm making it for in my thoughts and truly hoping they feel a hug from me when they wear it.

And even though shawls might not be as "hip" as a cowl, scarf, or even wrap, I hope they'll put it on in the evenings when there's a chill in the air or when the lonelies set in or when life just feels a bit tough. Perhaps in those moments they will feel that love surround them and remember they are not alone.

Can a shawl really do that? I think it can.

Variegated yarn is really fun to work with when using this pattern. It gives it a bit more of the typical granny square look. Mochi Plus is my current favorite (you've seen peeks of me using it on Instagram lately). I also like the Liberty Wool Print yarns (Ellie's shawl is "Cupcake"). Yarn used in my shawl is Malabrigo Rios. I couldn't find a source for my color way, which is Indiecita, but etsy and ebay can be good sources.

Photos of Ellie and me by Vanessa Simpson (we might have used that one of Ellie for our holiday card because do you see that face? oh my goodness that kid.)

*The second time I went back to the yarn shop, they were having a class and didn't have time to wind my yarn.

This is the part where I could say, "Note to self: Never leave the yarn shop with skeins that aren't wound into balls." But luckily I know how to wind them at home without a winder.

And I made a tutorial for you in case you need to know too right over here.

Still, note to self: Don't leave the yarn shop without getting them wound honey.