Glimpses of Autumn is here at last!
This is my most complex crochet design so far, and I must admit I’m quite proud of how it came out. (I tore my hair out designing it…see the things I do for y’all.) It’s a level up from something like Pyrifolia; the stitch patterns aren’t much more complicated, but Glimpses of Autumn has more shaping and requires some intermediate techniques like tapestry crochet and carrying your yarn up the side of the work. There’s a mix of solid fabric, lace, and stripes (both color stripes and texture stripes). The kite shape is quite popular among knitters, but I’ve only seen a handful of crochet patterns in it. It’s the perfect way to show off a gradient yarn, as in this sample.
Most of the headache of designing this came from calculating how much yarn I needed for each section of the shawl, and trying to fit the tapestry crochet leaf motifs into the increase/decrease scheme for the kite shape. For some reason, the math of incorporating crochet increases and decreases still throws me for a loop. Let’s just say I played a lot of yarn chicken and did a lot of frogging…but everything worked out, and now instead of loathing the whole idea I’m actually chuffed about it.
I used SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock for my sample, in Peacock, a solid color and Old Flame, a gradient. At first I was concerned that the fabric would work up too heavy and stiff, but post-blocking, the fabric has a lovely weight and drape while being sturdy as well. These colors are wildly out of my wheelhouse—and I absolutely love them. The transition from deep wine red to golden yellow is gradual when worked up, but the two ends of the gradient are incredibly striking next to each other. I used a little more than one skein of Peacock along with one Old Flame sock blank. This would also be a great project to show off a mini-skein set, like these Party of Five sets, also from SweetGeorgia.
Glimpses of Autumn is available on Ravelry and Payhip, and it’s 10% off until Saturday, November 20, with the code Autumn10.
I hope y’all will enjoy making and wearing this shawl! The color play options are endless and I can’t wait to see all of your versions popping up in the world. As for my sample, I think it just might be my Thanksgiving shawl for this year…
