Welcome to the first Mystery Crochet-Along, hosted by me, Lorraine! The nature of a Mystery-Crochet-Along is just that, mysterious & unknown – not knowing what you will be making. Clues will be revealed along with weekly prompts to enhance your well-being. The prompts are designed to help us live a more peaceful life, inspired by the calming effect of Chamomile Tea, hence the name of the CAL. While calming, it is also an exciting and fun project, but here is a little information on this CAL that will hopefully help you decide if you would like to take part in this adventure!

Have a read before you sign up…

• We will be making a shawl - shape undisclosed - to be worn draped neatly over the shoulders. There is also an optional, extra way of wearing that will be explained in the Bonus content a week after the final clue is revealed.
• The shawl has a feminine quality to it, however your yarn choices will determine whether or not your finished object will appear either fun, romantic, woodsy, classic, elegant or even gothic if that’s your thing.
• There will be 2 options of color placement. They will be referred to as Team A & Team B.
• Approx. measurements are (blocked): 110cms (43¼“) at it’s widest point, 45cms (17¾“) deep, 130cms (51¼”) tip to tip.
• You will require fingering weight yarn in 4 colours: 1 x 100g (400mtrs) skein and 3 x 20g (80mtrs each) mini skeins in contrasting colors. For the 100g skein I personally recommend either solid, tonal or speckles!
• Gauge before blocking for a 10x10cms (4x4”) square, is: 20 US Double Crochet stitches and 10 rows.
• There are 8 clues to be revealed every Thursday over the course of 8 weeks, commencing August 17th (see below for further clue-release date information) plus a Bonus week.
• It is a relatively simple design, comprising of 4 stitches, and their increasing/decreasing counterparts. So, if you can chain, single crochet, half double crochet and double crochet, then you will be able to follow this pattern. Any additional steps, I will walk you through.
• The first clues are not time-consuming. The work load will increase with the next few clues, before tapering off to less work at the end, to hopefully avoid a rush to finish.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Our online community is all about sharing our creations, and you’ll still be able to do this, via Instagram and Ravelry. We will be using 2 hasthags in social media: #chamomilecal and #chamomilemysterycal . I will provide a ‘Chamomile CAL’ image for you to save and use as a ‘Spoiler Alert’ picture. That way, you can share multiple photos on Instagram, while giving others the choice to see your shawl photos. I ask you kindly to also use the ‘Chamomile CAL’ image as your main photo in your Ravelry project page. (alternatively use any other image, even if it is a picture of your cat!).

In the Lorraine Pugh Designs Ravelry group, there will be a conversation thread (linked here: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/lorrainepughdesigns/3653541/ ), where you can share your thoughts on yarn choices, however to respect those who don’t want to see the clues as they are worked up by others before them, there will also be a ‘Chamomile CAL Spoiler’ thread, where you can share such photos.

CLUES
There are 8 clues to be revealed every Thursday over the course of 8 weeks, plus a Bonus week. Release dates are as follows:
Clue 1 - August 17th
Clue 2 – August 24th
Clue 3 – August 31st
Clue 4 – September 7th
Clue 5 – September 14th
Clue 6 – September 21st
Clue 7 – September 28th
Clue 8 – October 5th
Bonus - October 12th

The shawl will be revealed and published as a whole pattern on October 19th.
The final price of the pattern will be 43% higher (€5).

MATERIALS
Yarn: Fingering weight in 4 colours: 1 x 100g (400mtrs) skein and 3 x 20g (80mtrs each) mini skeins in contrasting colors. For the 100g skein I personally recommend either solid, tonal or speckles!
Hook: 3.5mm or other to achieve gauge (see below).
Blocking: Lots of pins for blocking as this a crucial step to achieve the drape and overall appearance of the shawl.

GAUGE
Before Blocking in US Double Crochet: 20 sts and 10 rows, in a 10x10cms (4x4”) square.