<3 The Yarnish Trap: the tale of two shawls <3

Hello, Yarnies <3

Last week I revisited my childhood and watched the 1998 romantic comedy remake, The Parent Trap. I was certainly feeling all the feels! Mind you, this is not the be confused with the 1961 version (which I would argue, has not aged all that well...)

If you haven't seen this star-studded flick, it has your quintessential 'you-can-tell-its-the-90s' cast, including Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson and so many amazing others. It tells the story of twin sisters, separated at birth following their parent's divorce. They are reunited at a girl's camp where they decide to switch places to meet their other parent. It sounds cooky, and it gets even better! Each twin is played by the same actress, Lindsay Lohan. There's Hallie, who was raised in California, she's 'tom-boyish' and super punky. And there's Annie who was raised in London. She is classy, regal and speaks with a posh accent.  

So what does this have to do with our latest Yarnish Makes??? 

When I saw our beautiful Shelby model our incredible new shawl patterns - designed by two equally as incredible Yarnish Designers - I could not help but giggle! 

The symbolism could not be more perfect: two LoLas, from the same 'Yarnish and Co Family', separated at birth and then reunited as beautiful shawls!! One bold and punky, and the other, regal and classic! Look, I have goosebumps!! 

Welcome to the premiere screening of our new blockbuster Yarnish Film: The Yarnish Trap, the tale of two shawls <3

Starring Shelby Byron and Shelby Byron! 

Our tale begins at Yarnish HQ. Mrs Yarnish asked all Yarnish Designers to create unique Lola colourways. These would become part of the Yarnish and Co. special edition cakes. 

What's a LoLa, you ask? 

I wrote up about our beautiful LoLa's here. Put simply: these stunning cakes are created by Garn Manufaktur in Soßmar, Germany. The LoLas uniquely combine multiple colours together, slowly transitioning from one to the next by only changing one thread at a time. This means that you will experience a soft and gradual change. The LoLa is a fingering weight and is a perfect blend of 50/50 cotton and acrylic. These superior fibers do not scratch and have a fine, silky shine. 

The Mari and the Melody LoLa

The Mari and The Melody are two very different palettes. Each LoLa holds the creative spirit of the designer:

The Mari is bold, punchy and vibrant, which totally fits with her 'Gray Day Crochet' philosophy (as 'crochet brings to even the hard and glum days in our life'). 

The Melody is inspired by the tranquil sunset. With it's soft blues and peaches, this colourway captures the beauty of 'calm'. 

Let's take a closer look at each shawl: 

'The Aster Shawl' by Mari Koeck 

It's no secret that Mari, of Gray Day Crochet, loves vibrancy and colour as well as geometric shapes. However, you may not have known that Mari is also a lover of floral design. 

When chatting to me about her 'Aster Shawl' design, she said: 

"I wanted to make a geometric flower that is as much about the open space as the stitches themselves. I wanted it to be intuitive, attractive and easily scaleable (like a simple ratio that can work at any size)."

Mari said that she has been fiddling with the Aster stitch for a while, but was avoiding committing to it until she found the perfect pattern to fully utilise it. Mari said: 

"Enter my Lola! As soon as I saw it, I knew this was the yarn my little asters were waiting for."

This stunning pattern is totally flirty and thriving! With its seductive colour palette, the use of bold line juxtaposed with the feminine floral pattern, this shawl is one 'for the ladies!' I can see young and old both feeling so comfortable dressing in the Aster Shawl. Its the perfect 'look at me' accessory, whilst also maintaining a strong sense of soft yet stately grandeur. 

I asked Mari, whats was behind the 'Aster' name. She said: 

When working on her shawl, Mari offered the following tips: 

"For beginners, I’d recommend doing a swatch to see how the simple 8 stitch repeat works. Once you’re comfortable with where each of the stitches go for each repeat, the rest is a piece of cake... My tension is fairly loose, but I still had some yarn left at the end, which could be used for tassels, if you want a bit of flair. If you have a tighter tension, you’ll definitely be able to do tassels, or you could end a bit early and do tassels as well."

The 'Day's End' Shawl by Melody Tallon

 Melody, of Artefacts Crochet Design, has created the perfect 'L' shape shawl which radiates classical beauty and elegance. The way it sits on your shoulders so effortlessly is something I have never seen before in a shawl! When chatting to Melody about the inspiration behind her design, she said:  

"I was so pleased to be able to choose my own colours for a self-striping yarn that I wanted to do something a little different with it." 

After the main body was created, Melody said that she thought long and hard about the edging: 

"I knew I needed to think about edging and again, I wanted something different to tassels or a fringe. An internet search helped me come up with the looped popcorns".

This statement piece holds so much interest. Each time I look at it, I find something new. From the beautiful popcorn stitches to the blocks of stitch variation, you will certainly not become bored with this design. 

The edging is something so unique, yet nostalgic. It takes me back to my French Heritage; it feels something that the French Nobels would wear. It also feels very Victorian-esque, with is feminine softness and majestic shape. It is pure perfection! 

 When working on her shawl, Melody offers this cool little variation: 

"If you don't like popcorns, by all means put tassels or a fringe on it! Also, you'll need at least 10g of yarn to make the edging, so if you need to end your work a row early so you have enough to make it, do so - or make a different edging, or none at all!"

Behind the 'Day's End' name

I asked Melody the inspiration behind the 'Day's End' name. She said: 

"Just the colours of the yarn - came from the colour inspo - rather than 'sunset' or 'dusk', which are already used as names on Ravelry, I came up with 'Day's End', which is really peaceful and calm, like the colours, and it's the perfect time to wear a shawl/wrap." 

The Aster and Day's End patterns are now available at Yarnish

The Aster Shawl, by Mari Koeck PDF available here. 

The Day's End Shawl, by Melody Tallon PDF available here. 

Yarnish and Co. LoLas available here. 

*does the Annie & Martin handshake*

Happy Yarning! 

Renee

xxx