Crochet: Shawl: Classical Attitude Shawl (Rainbow)

This shawl is completed. Finally! Completed and given away, all done on the same day.

I cannot remember when I started on this crochet project. It could have been Year 2023. Or was it Year 2024? It is easy to lose track of time these days. What I do remember was that I started this project with the intention of gifting it to a Shanghai colleague-friend. At less than halfway through, I somehow hit a road block - at the colour between purple and green - and found myself struggling with each stitch. I put a stop to my miserable by placing the project on hold, and tell myself that I will pick it up and continue with it again when I am ready.

Late August this year, I suddenly decided on a whim that I want to visit Shanghai. I bought air tickets and hotel accommodation for two weeks later. That done, I suddenly found myself very motivated to continue with crocheting this shawl. I put all my energy and poured whatever little pockets of time available here and there into this project. My biggest worry was I couldn't complete it in time for my meet-up with this Shanghai colleague-friend. In the end, all's well that ends well. I made the last stitch in this rainbow shawl and fastened off in the early hours of 15 Sep 2025, just in time for my 11am meeting with my Shanghai colleague-friend on the very same day.

Crocheting a shawl is both fulfilling and rewarding. Not only do I get to enjoy the peace and meditative effect of the process, I get to hold in my hands a beautiful pieace of practical end product which I can choose to keep for myself or make for a memorable gift to a choice recipient.

This Classical Attitude Shawl is a work of art - simple yet elegant. It is brilliantly created by Hobbii and available for free download at their website Classical Attitude shawl. The pattern is designed to provide both familiarity and variety to keep the person working on it relaxed and entertained at the same time. If you are looking to crochet a shawl with a meditative stitch pattern but one that is not so repetitive as to be boring, this is the one for you.

Crochet: Shawl: Classical Attitude Shawl

We all need a break from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Yet, I have not felt the need nor the mood to start a new crochet project in the first half of this year. It was only in late October, due to the state of my mind at that point in time, that I felt I am badly in need of doing something repetitive and meditative. On 22nd October 2023, I picked up my crochet hook, took out my big skein of gradient cotton yarn and embarked on this repetitive meditative journey. A self-healing journey, or so I hope.

Since it has been such a long time I last crochet, I find myself at quite a loss to begin with. For a start, I have difficulty remembering how to do a magic ring. In the end, I turned to YouTube videos to help me get started. The good thing is, once I have the magic ring completed, I find myself picking up momentum and ready to brave through at the speed of a freight train. Oh, scratch that, I exaggerated. But the truth is, I am glad to have decided to crochet again. Crocheting a shawl is both fulfilling and rewarding. Not only do I get to have a beautiful piece of practical end product, I get to enjoy the peace and calm and meditative effect of the process.

I thought it will take me many months - at least three months - to complete this lovely shawl due to the many inevitable interruptions here and there. Yes, I brought this project along with me to Scotland in November for two weeks, hoping to be able to spend some time on it while on vacation. In the end, I hardly crochet while I was there except on my flight to and back. So you can imagine how surprised I am that I managed to complete this pastel colour shawl last night - 18 Dec 2023. All in all, it took me four days shy of two months to complete this project, and before the year is out. I am indeed very pleased with myself.

This Classical Attitude Shawl is a work of art - simple yet elegant. It is brilliantly created by Hobbii and available for free download at their website Classical Attitude shawl. The pattern is designed to provide both familiarity and variety to keep the person working on it relaxed and entertained at the same time. If you are looking to crochet a shawl with a meditative stitch pattern but one that is not so repetitive as to be boring, this is the one for you.

Crochet: Shawl: Sigrid Shawl (Yellow)

Action speaks louder than words. It goes to show how much I adore this Sigrid Shawl pattern that I crochet a shawl with this pattern again. My first Sigrid Shawl of pink gradient was completed in June 2021. Less than two years later, here I am, with a yellow gradient yarn cake doing pretty much everything all over again. The only exception is the tension; I ease up on the tension, and to my delight, I find it makes a whole lot of difference to how much better the shawl turns out to be.

Actually, I never expect myself to crochet with this pattern again because there are so many variations of shawl patterns available out there for me to try my hands on. But this is a really lovely pattern that is not just pleasing to the eyes but one that goes easy on the fingers and memory too as it employs mainly half double crochet and some double crochet. It took me close to eight weeks to complete this project, having started it on 1st November and completed it just today.

This Sigrid Shawl is a work of art. It is brilliantly created by My Crochetory to provide both familiarity and variety to keep the person working on it relaxed and entertained at the same time. If you are looking to crochet a shawl with a meditative stitch pattern but one that is not so repetitive as to be boring, this is the one for you.

Crochet: Shawl: Sigrid Shawl

I am always a litle apprehensive when I am about to embark on a new crochet project, especially one that is totally new to me. There is always the worry that something will go wrong, that I will not be up to it, that I will have difficulty understanding the pattern or instructions, that I will make bad mistakes. You know, the usual things people always worry about whether or not they will actually materialise. But where crochet is concerned, unfortunately, it does happen. To me. I always end up having to undo to redo the first few rows. Scratch that. Few is an understatement. I consider myself lucky if it is only a few rows or so.

The good thing is, once I get past the initial - terrible and tiring but necessary - stage of getting myself familiar with the pattern and repeating work, it is exhilarating. Crocheting a shawl is both fulfilling and rewarding. Not only do I get to have a beautiful piece of practical end product, I get to enjoy the peace and calm and meditative effect of the process.

This Sigrid Shawl is a work of art. It is brilliantly created by My Crochetory to provide both familiarity and variety to keep the person working on it relaxed and entertained at the same time. If you are looking to crochet a shawl with a meditative stitch pattern but one that is not so repetitive as to be boring, this is the one for you.

Crochet: Shawl: Kalinda Wrap

Most of the shawl patterns I have come across start off with a magic ring. As such, I have come to expect the same for this Free Pattern. So, you can imagine my surprise when I realise this shawl, more of a wrap actually, begins with a foundation chain instead. While I understand the reason for the foundation chain, I also know I am signing myself up for a tough challenge when I decide to go ahead with this wrap that begins with a chain 139.

I know I will have less of an issue with the setup row (row after foundation chain) if I am using acrylic yarn which is more bouncy and stretchable as opposed to 100% soft cotton yarn. As it is, 20 stitches into the setup row, I know I have to undo everything to redo the foundation chain. Sadly, after the foundation chain is completed a second time, I still find myself struggling to insert my hook when I reach the setup row. It also did not help that I have chosen to start off with the outer dark colour of the skein of yarn, a deep purple instead of the inner light colour yellow. I find myself getting increasingly frustrated with trying to see and to insert my hook into each stitch. In the end, I tell myself "do not be afraid to start over" and promptly undo everything a third time.

I decide that the way to keep my sanity is to change the hook size from 2.5mm to 3.0mm and to crochet a loosely held foundation chain (more so than my second attempt). I quickly get down to work and am pleased with the changes I have made.  Though I still need to use the pointed end of a stitch marker to pry open each stitch on the foundation chain to insert my hook to crochet a double, it is so much easier now. And of course, everything is a breeze after the setup row.

I will say it is to my advantage for having crochet and completed the Kalinda Shawl prior to this project. The pattern is different yet similar. If I have not done the Kalinda Shawl and skipped right to this Kalinda Wrap, I am sure I will be confused about the stitches and made countless mistakes. The Kalinda Shawl is a good place to start on these Kalinda projects, and as a starter, the creator provides stitch count at the end of each row which gives affirmation on whether that row has been crochet correctly or not. Though no stitch count is given for the Kalinda Wrap, I am familiar enough with the pattern by now and have no issue at all. It is just as well; I am tired of all the counting. The affirmation at the end of each row comes in the form of the number of stitches left after the special pattern is applied.

Besides applying the basic stitches in crochet, namely slip stitch, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet and triple crochet, this pattern also uses the more exotic stitch, sc3tog, dc3tog and BLdc3tog. I gladly welcome these decreasing stitches, and before I know it, am familiar enough with them to crochet without having to refer to the instructions.

I take my time to crochet the Kalinda Wrap and find myself enjoying the repeating stitch pattern. It has a calming and meditative effect. If you are looking to crochet a shawl/wrap with a meditative stitch pattern, this is the one for you.

Crochet: Shawl: Kalinda Shawl

This is a beautiful crochet pattern. The moment I see that it can be available for free at My Crochetory, I know it is definitely one pattern that I will want to try my hands on some day. With this post, we know that the day has arrived.

For a pattern that is as beautiful as it looks, it sure is not easy to complete. By not easy, I do not mean the pattern is complicated or difficult, I mean it requires concentration and a tremendous amount of it, especially so for repeating rows 9 and 10, without which this shawl may just look like any other mediocre ones.

Where crocheting a shawl is concerned, this is the first time I experience two firsts.

First first, this is the first time I make good use of all the basic stitches known in crochet - slip stitch, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet and triple crochet. And that is why I say this Kalinda shawl is a brilliant creation, interesting and cleverly designed, in the sense that it employs all the crochet stitches.

Second first, this is also my first time working on 100% soft cotton yarn and a 12-ply at that. And because the texture of this yarn is 12 super fine cotton threads, I have difficulty doing the stitches every now and then as one or two or more of these thin cotton threads can get caught in the loop over and I will need to undo to redo that same stitch, sometimes even undo to redo a few times to get it right. The good thing is that it does get better as I crochet along as the saying goes "practice makes perfect".

I follow the free Kalinda pattern closely from row 1 all the way to row 63. After that, I continue to crochet by applying similar pattern as I deem fit as the thread is still unravelling from my skein of yarn. In the end, I manage to crochet 11 more rows before my thread runs out. Though the end product of my shawl is somewhat different from the original Kalinda design, I am real pleased with myself.

Crochet: Shawl: Wrap Me in Ice-cream Shawl (v2)

I cannot tell you how much a relief it is the moment I made up my mind to continue with the second skein of this Lion Brand Yarns with colours that remind me of my favourite childhood ice-cream - Walls Paddle Pop rainbow swirl ice-Cream.

Stitch by stitch, row by row, Wrap Me in Ice-cream shawl version 2 is finally done. I have used 2 skeins of Lion Brand Yarns: Mandala, Thunderbird [525-207] which is a total of 1080m. I am extremely pleased with the end product. It is perfect.

In case you are wondering what I am talking about, here is my earlier post.

Crochet: Shawl: Wrap Me in Ice-cream Shawl

Today is the last day of Year 2020. I am wrapping up the year with Wrap Me in Ice-cream shawl.

I love the blend of colours in this skein of Lion Brand Yarns. The yellow and orange are not only luxurious in its richness and vibrancy, they provide a good constrast against the darker tones of the green, blue, grey and brown. The colours remind me of my favourite childhood ice-cream too - the Walls Paddle Pop rainbow swirl ice-Cream. Perhaps that is where the creater of this Free Pattern gets the idea of naming this shawl from.

I bought 2 skeins of this yarn. What you see of my completed project here is actually that of 1 skein and then a bit more of the 2nd skein, to wrap up the darker tones of orangy brown so that the final row can blend well. Though I have weaved in the excess yarn and wrapped up my project as completed, I am still thinking if I should continue with more of the 2nd skein. While the size of the current shawl is fine, I feel that a bigger one may be even better. What do you think?

Review: Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

5 stars for Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

This book comes highly recommended to me by CL, a book buddy of mine, more than three years ago. Well, I am not at all sorry that I read this book now. In fact, I think it is really good that I read it now, at this time.

There is always a reason for everything. Because of this story, I am back to the craft of crocheting. Actually, I have been thinking of crocheting of late, just that this book acts as the final catalyst to deviate me from my reading and propel me back into the world of crocheting. Because the mama and grandmama and other women in the story - yes, you guess it right - crochet. The story mentions more than a few times about the women who crochet. And I think to myself. Why not? I am, after all, not a complete beginner to this craft having crochet a scarf many years ago. Though not totally new to crocheting, I am certainly no expert either. I consider myself still very much of a novice. With that, I start spending time researching and reading up to refresh my memory and learning more on stitches and patterns and hooks. That is also how I come to invest in a lovely set of crochet hooks, the Tulip crochet hooks.

Long story short, this book is the reason I crochet again and also my excuse for taking so long to finish reading the book, and taking even longer to write and post my review. Nevertheless, here it is. Now.

Esperanza Rising is a story about survival, of hopes and dreams and future. Interestingly, esperanza means “hope” in Spanish. It is an excellent story for readers of all ages. I feel it is especially suitable for young children as it educates and provides good knowledge. It teaches us to be kind to others, even to those who are not our equals. Because you reap what you sow.

The story of Esperanza Rising is loosely based on the life of the author's grandmother, Esperanza Ortega who is the inspiration for the book. According to the author's note, a series of circumstances, including her father's death, eventually forced the author's grandmother who is born and raised in Aguascalientes, Mexico to immigrate to the United States to a company-owned farm labour camp in Arvin, California.

Esperanza Rising is a frictional story that parallels the life of the author's grandmother in more ways than one. Set in 1930, initially in Aguascalientes, Mexico and later on, California, USA, the story revolves around 13-year old Esperanza Ortega and tells of how her family goes from riches to rags.

One thing which I like and which makes my reading very enjoyable is that after each sentence of Spanish - where there are, and no, this book is not written in Spanish but English - comes the English translation of the same meaning. I am spared the trouble of turning to Google translate every now and then. Thank you very much!

Finally.. with my 'newfound' interest in crocheting, I will be reading very slowly, as in really really slow, at a snail's pace, never before slow. The thing is, I may read slow or even stop reading for weeks, months, years but I will always come back to reading, no matter what. What this translates to is that my book review post may be slow in coming or even stop, but I will be back.

P/S: I am sharing some of my completed crochet projects at the bottom of this same post.