One of my co-workers, Alice announced earlier this year that she will be marrying her American boyfriend in her native Germany (rumor has it a castle will be figuring into the wedding somehow) in early September.
Alice just loves my crochet and was one of the first people I actually made something for (a cancer hat for her mother). So, of course, I wanted to make an extra special gift for her wedding. She has a wonderful sense of fashion and accessorizes often with cowls and scarves. So the logical step was to make a lacy cowl. While the idea was percolating in my mind, I came across an Annie's crochet catalog and there, in the pattern section was a pretty hooded cowl. Now I honestly didn't want to purchase and have shipped a pattern -- especially since I didn't particularly like the stitch pattern used. But I really liked the look and drape of the cowl, so I made up my mind to create my own.
If you look in one of my previous posts, you will see a crocodile stitched shawl that I made my older sister. I used Patons Lace yarn which is acrylic/wool/mohair and has a nice halo effect. It is a mid-range priced yarn and I actually bought more than I needed, so I had 2 skeins left. The color is called Midas but is actually a self-striping yarn in white, beige, walnut, sage, deep purple colors. Perfect colors for Alice!
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| Lacy Cowl |
I created the cowl in a half double crochet openwork (one row of half double crochets, one row of half double, chain one, skip next stitch, half double across, then a row of half double crochets again). I created a rectangle 46" long by 20" wide, starting with a foundation half double crochet row (160 stitches), using a size "J" hook. Joining the 2 narrow sides, I created the cowl which hangs nicely down the front. The 20" width allows the lacy cowl to be drawn up as a delicate head covering, yet leave a nice collar on the back of the neck. I love the way it turned out. I think Alice will love it, too!
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| Delicate Lacy Hood |
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| Lacy Hood with Collar |
Then a couple of weeks ago, my youngest son and his fiancée announced that they're going to get married this fall -- at our house! OMG! Another wedding gift to prepare (and house to clean and yard to fix . . .)
I loved the look of this stitch pattern and the way it turned out with the Patons Lace, so I decided to make my daughter-in-law a shawl (she doesn't wear hats or cowls). As they are planning an Autumn wedding, complete with pumpkins, cornstalks and hay bales, I chose the Patons Lace Bonfire. But when I went to Joanns to purchase it, alas, they didn't carry this particular color. But what they did have was Patons Lace Sequins in black. PERFECT! My daughter-in-law just loves black! So I purchased 4 skeins and have started the shawl with a half double crochet grid pattern. So far it looks wonderful -- the sequins are very small, so the sparkle is subtle and quite charming. I think she will love this! More later . . .
