Crochet Fortune's Shawlette (with link to pattern)

Starting a new job and having a busy life does not make for blogging and craft time, which makes me sad as it is a hobby that keeps me happy. Now that I have a bit of time tonight I am determined to blog!

I haven't made an awful lot of stuff recently. I have made a second Crochet Sorting Hat as a request. Also due to having less time to craft, I am being more organised and have started making Christmas gifts already. I think this is the most organised I have ever been. 

I love Pinterest for finding crochet patterns etc I think it's amazing that people can find and share amazing finds in one place. It was whilst browsing Pinterest that I came across Fortune's Shawlette and thought it was so pretty and something that I would actually wear. I have never made a shawl before, I haven't actually made that many items of clothing before so this was a new challenge for me. To be on the safe side I decided to use the exact yarn that was used in the pattern and I am so glad I did. Hawthorne Fingering Kettle Dye Yarn is so nice the subtle colour changes all the way through add a new dimension and subtle interest to the shawl and the weight and fall of the shawl when it has been blocked is brilliant.

I am making three shawls, one for my Mother and one for each of my Grandparents. If I decide I like them enough I may end up making one for myself and maybe my (soon to be) sister in law, but we shall see. Here is the first shawl I made in purple (my Mum's favourite colour) I am disappointed to say that the photo does not give the colour of the yarn its rightful justice but it will have to do:

The pattern for this shawl is awesome, see below for link. There is a written pattern and the designer has made videos for each step which are extremely helpful even if it's just to make sure that what your doing is correct. I did, however, have two issues whilst making this shawl. The first issue was that when I started the pattern I checked the gauge and what I made was in line with the gauge given in the pattern yet the shawl was looking really small, too small, so instead of carrying on and being annoyed that I'd wasted more time I decided to start again with a bigger hook and looser work. Even after doing this the shawl still looked small:

(compare this picture to the finished shawl above, you can see that blocking has made the shawl a lot bigger, the gaps within the shawl here are not very noticeable compared to after blocking, blocking makes the patter pop!)

In hindsight restarting the work was a mistake because at the end I ran out of yarn before I could finish the edging, luckily the shawl looks OK as it is. I did not realise how much blocking increased the size of the work. Live and learn for the next shawl.

Carrying on from the first hitch the next issue is not technically an issue it's more of a slight annoyance to those of us who are lazy... the pattern needs blocking, I have never really done blocking before, definitely not on anything this big. To be honest it's really easy to do but I am a little concerned that every time the shawl gets washed by the 'giftees' it will need re-blocking or perhaps hanging in a way that lets it stretch out. Experimentation needs doing before I gift them so watch this space (update: click Here for my rather boring experimentation with blocking).

Other than these two hitches, which to be honest are just a matter of opinion/inexperience on my part, The Pattern is great and I would recommend it to anyone. 

To block my work all I did was soak the shawl in water, place a clean towel on my carpet, stretch the shawl and pin it to my carpet:

It was dry within 24 hours. Here it is ready for gift wrapping:

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