Earlier this year (2023) I attempted my first virus shawl. Here's a link to the pattern I found and used. As I often do, I did a prototype using yarn from my stash to make sure I got the pattern down before embarking on higher end yarn. When I saw the merino blend in the colorway "Sweet Tart" at my local yarn shop, I knew what my first virus shawl project was going to be.
Once I got the hang of it with this gray yarn, I embarked on my more formal piece with the colorful merino wool yarn - hand-dyed here in Pittsburgh. It quickly became not only my favorite project, but a near obsession as the multi-colored yarn came together so beautifully in the pattern.
After completing this, I had the opportunity to enter the piece in a Creative Arts Expo for local Veterans. The expo was sponsored by the local VA facility where, as a US Navy Veteran, I receive my healthcare services. I have found fiber arts, and specifically knitting and crochet, to be especially helpful as a therapeutic tool. These activities provide support and benefits similar to a meditation practice when dealing with life's stressors, and I was thrilled to be able to share this with the larger Veteran community.
I want to pause here and note that as I prepared to submit my piece for the Expo, I wanted to submit it "display ready". I decided to search for inspiration at the local Center for Creative Reuse here in Pittsburgh and found a heavy-duty cardboard core (think giant paper towel core), some thick, black yarn and a wooden letter "U". I painted the letter in a color that coordinated with the shawl, and wrapped the cardboard tube with the thick, black yarn, including around the sideways "U" which I planned to use as an artistic "hook" for hanging. This display option was not only very affordable, it used recycled craft items, AND it allowed my shawl to be displayed in a beautiful way.
The thick, somewhat fuzzy black yarn helped my shawl hang draped without slipping off as it would have from a typical hanger, and the width of the covered cardboard tube allowed for maximum breadth of the shawl to be displayed. I was VERY pleased with the supplies from the Center for Creative Reuse and will go there again for similar project supplies!
I was happy to have had the opportunity to participate, loved seeing my piece on display and realized that it wasn't just me that admired the splash of color in the shawl when people stopped me to comment on it as I walked through the building to deliver it to the Expo sponsors.
I also received a number of positive comments and feedback after the local event took place, but imagine my surprise when I received notification that my piece will be considered to be included as a piece in the National Veteran's Creative Arts Festival in May 2024, to be held in Denver, Colorado!
Regardless of how my entry fares, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to highlight and promote the healing that comes with the act of knitting and/or crocheting. It is particularly fitting that I have this piece in a competition for Veterans, as I remember a First Class Petty Officer (HM1 Mike Anderson) who loved crocheting and could often be found crocheting when things slowed down on weekend duty shifts.
Having learned to crochet from my grandmother as a young girl, I felt a special bond with Mike, and have never forgotten his quick smile, sense of humor, dedication to his family and service to our country. He was also one of the nicest and most cool senior Hospital Corpsmen in the laboratory at Naval Hospital San Diego ;-)
Sometimes, life opens doors and invites us to step through them without revealing what all may lie on the the other side. I look forward to seeing where this journey will take me and what doors will open for me via my colorful virus shawl!
What doors have you stepped through due to (or with) your fiber arts creativity?
(C) 2023 Stitch 'n Dish
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