Hi friends!
October has been a busy month here at Straight Hooked Headquarters, and today I am so excited to share the THIRD pattern release of the month with you!
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I was at the Walmart one day picking up some boring groceries and couldn’t help but to wander into the yarn aisle just to fondle the pretty yarns. I genuinely had no intention of purchasing any yarn, but then I spotted the Red Heart Ombre yarn in a colorway I had either never seen before or previously ignored because brown is rarely a color that excites me. For some reason though, that day I simply HAD to have a couple of skeins because I knew immediately that it would make a gorgeous fall shawl and the Fireside Comforts Blog Hop was coming up!
You may have read in previous posts about my design process and how sometimes I will spend weeks trying stitches and frogging until I get into a rhythm of something I actually like. This time was just a bit different. I had already come up with the stitch pattern I wanted to use, but I had tried it with two different yarns already and wasn’t loving the way it looked in those colors. The Cocoa Ombre was exactly the yarn I needed for this design, and I was so excited that I almost forgot to continue my grocery shopping because I was so eager to get home, settle in on my couch and work this shawl up!
I knew I would be releasing this pattern as part of the Fireside Comforts Blog Hop and Bundle Sale, so I already had a fall vibe going on. As the rows began to work up and the shades of brown began to vary, I saw that my design concept resembled falling leaves. Ah, I love it when my design names itself! Sometimes I think that naming a pattern is even more challenging than the whole design process itself, so when the project just tells me its name I do a little bit of a happy dance.
While I was working on this shawl design, I was thinking about how many design samples are gently folded and stored in my closet. After 80 pattern designs, the stock of completed (okay, I never weaved in the ends on most of them) projects continues to grow, and it doesn’t feel right to me that I put so much love into designing them, yet once they had their photoshoots they were tossed aside to rarely be thought of again.
I don’t often sell my design samples because it wouldn’t feel right to charge my normal rate, but I also don’t want to sell them at such a discount that it hurts my friends whose business models are focused on product sales. So they sit in the closet, sad as can be. I was praying about this while working on this shawl, and not 15 minutes later I decided to take a break and scroll the internet.
I immediately stumbled upon a ministry that spoke to my heart and I will be donating over 10 shawls to them in the coming weeks. In a later post I will tell you all about this ministry- who they are, what they do, why they need shawls and how you can help if you are feel led to do so!
I really had fun working this shawl up, and I know that you will too. The series of repeats is just complex enough to keep you from being bored, yet easy enough to work on while you have distractions in the background- be it coworkers on a Zoom meeting, children arguing for the 79th time that day, or a spouse who only has something to say to you when you are actively counting!
The Fireside Comforts Bundle has all 31 patterns featured in the blog hop ready for you in one convenient PDF! You can use my affiliate link below if you would like:
You can grab a copy of the Falling Leaves Shawl PDF below.
On October 27, you can celebrate the release of the Falling Leaves Shawl pattern with me and get a copy for 50% off when you use the discount code you will find in the Fireside Comforts Blog Hop main post
Once you find the code, pop back here and add the pattern to your cart, then enter the code when prompted at checkout
I have (at least) 2 more patterns coming out in November, so be sure you have subscribed to the Straight Awesome Newsletter so you can be among the first to know about pattern releases, special events and more. Plus, you’ll receive exclusive discounts and freebies along the way!
Until next time,
Happy Hooking!
~Malena
