Finish-Or-Frog-It #1: Westmont Shawl
First up on my WIP list is the Westmont Shawl. This is a lightweight Tunisian Crochet Shawl by Toni Lipsey of TLYarnCrafts, using fingering weight yarn. The original version of the pattern used a single color, and the pattern was later extended to include a colorblocked version. Living in Florida, a lightweight shawl is ideal. And this pattern is lovely.
The yarn I picked for this project was purchased on a trip back to NJ to visit my parents. We were there to celebrate my Dad’s 90th birthday, but it was also the first time visiting my Mom in the memory care facility where she’s now living due to Alzheimers. The marked decline in both of my parents since my prior visit was difficult. It was the first time that my Mom didn’t know who I was. The visit was emotionally exhausting. While we were there, I visited a new local yarn store, doing a bit of retail therapy, I suppose. That’s where I bought the yarn that I used for this pattern.
The store was Biscotte Yarns and the yarn is all their Bis-Sock yarn. I chose a self-striping yarn called Dear Diary, which has shades of lavender, sage, peach, and teal. To coordinate with that, I found solids in each of those shades also from the Bis-Sock line. I don’t remember if I already had the Westmont Shawl in mind, or was just choosing yarns that would coordinate when I bought them.
I started the Westmont Shawl in October 2024, using the multicolored yarns for the “solid” sections and the solids for the mesh sections. I was pretty happy with how the first 2 solids (sage and lavender) worked with the multi, but as I got to the remaining solids, I realized how far outside my comfort zone they really are. I think that’s part of why this went into hibernation for a few months. That Canteloupe color especially is just a lot for me.
Honestly, if it was not for the emotional attachment that I have to the yarn, I would probably frog this. I don’t ever see myself wearing this out anywhere. And I very well may end up making another one using a different yarn from my stash. But I’ve decided to finish this. It’s not on my “finish it now” list, but I’m going to finish it at some point. I may never wear it, or I may wear it around the house when I’m struggling with the realities of caring for aging parents from a thousand miles away. It captures a moment in my life, so it stays.
Do you have any projects or yarns that have a particular emotional attachment for you?
Talk soon, Eileen
