I started this project because I had a skein of yarn I bought from a craft indie fair almost 3 years ago. I have been on a real crocheting kick for the past 4 months or so. It's just so much faster than knitting. I hate knitting on DPN because I have such a tight stitch that I always have lines where the DPN end. So I found South Bay Shawlette by Lion Brand on ravelry, searching by weight of my yarn and the amount. I decided to give it a go.
The original pattern called for 14 repeats of the lace pattern. But I had a few more yards of yarn than the pattern called for and I wanted to make it a bit larger than the photos on rav showed. I then found a really cute ending pattern by fanalaine on Ravelry. She wrote up her pattern in her notes. Because I didn't quite understand her write up for the last repeat of the "work dc2tog in next hdc, then in same sp. work (ch-3, dc2tog) 4 times", I decided to modify it to "hdc, 3dc, hdc in one space, skip stitch, sc, skip stitch, and repeat".
I have been going through some things in my personal life that has required much faith on God. I needed to trust in Him, to know He would provide everything we (as a family) would need; be it food, shelter, help, etc. We did a study with my mom's group called Experiencing God. There are 7 stages of your relationship with God, number 5 being "A Crisis of Belief." I was there right before I started this shawl. God has called me to trust Him in my life. I won't lie, it's HARD. But I know He will take care of me, of us, and that he loves us.
I figured I could really use a prayer shawl, especially in this time. The funny thing is, the yarn's colorway name is 'Stormy.' My life felt a bit stormy, but one that I knew God would help us weather. The entire time after I began modifying the pattern, I was worried I would run out of yarn. But I kept reminding myself that I needed to trust God. God would provide. That I needed to trust I wouldn't run out of yarn like I needed to trust God wanted the very best for me. I continued to pray and crochet (a funny side note is that I also crocheted while watching a few episodes of Merlin, c'mon, who doesn't love a good folk lore story about King Arthur?). I tried several edgings that were pretty, and I finally found one that I liked. When I finally got about half way through the final row, I started to fudge it and did a few '5 hdc' or '2hdc, dc, 2hdc' in the same stitch instead of the 'hdc, 3dc, hdc' in fear of running out of yarn since I was so close to the end. For those who aren't crochet literate, a dc (double crochet) takes more yarn to make than an hdc (or half double crochet). So I kept thinking I wouldn't be able to make it to the end of the shawl with enough yarn. I didn't have 100% faith. But I finished with enough yarn left over. Sure, I could have gone back to fix my mistakes and made this shawl completely perfect, however, I felt that I needed to leave these stitches in place to remind myself that I'm not perfect.
My walk with God is not perfect. No one's walk is. But I need to remember that mine isn't because I need to not judge others if they're further in their walk or not with Jesus. He loves us all equally. We must do the same, regardless of sin. It's a hard realization. Though, remember that loving others does not mean that we accept mistakes if they are not truly sorry or repent. But we all sin. No one is perfect save Jesus. He is a wonderful role model, and He is mine. So this stormy prayer shawl is perfect for me in this time of my life and walk with Christ. And was completed just in time for Easter and the resurrection of Christ.
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| Back of the shawl |
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| Front of the shawl with tie |
