“True contentment is not having everything, but in being satisfied with everything you have.” ~Oscar Wilde

Welcome to Stacey Namaste Designs. This shawl is part of my Finding Joy series. ”Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments - often ordinary moments. Sometimes we miss out on the bursts of joy because we’re too busy chasing down the extraordinary moments.” ~Brené Brown. This series was inspired in order to help us recognize the joy in the little things and ordinary moments that too often pass us by.

I named this shawl after my beloved grandmother, Josephine “Jay,” who I was very close to growing up. She came from a poor immigrant Sicilian Italian American family, and she was an AMAZING cook. She always had delectable sweets like sherry wine cake or cuccidati (fig cookies) along with delicious fried eggplant or cardoni (cardoon) ready for us to eat when we visited, and cooking for her family brought her such joy. She was adept at “making do” - those meals using up whatever she had on hand are some of my favorite memories. As a young woman, she worked in the family restaurant to help support her family. Her culinary creativity and use of what is on hand were models of frugality and contentedness that I strive for. Also, her name is the feminine for Joseph, and this shawl resembles a coat-of-many-colors for sure!

Like most yarn addicts. I am always excited about buying new yarns to design patterns, knit beautiful gifts, and escape into the joyfulness of knitting. Also, like most yarn addicts. I keep a drawer of “leftover” stash yarns that I never do anything with. I decided, in preparing for holiday knit gifts, to find contentment and creativity and use my stash yarn to design a stashbuster shawl. It was really fun to knit the shawl, as I was reminded of lovely past projects. Also, the simple 2-row pattern repeat meant I could curl up under a blanket and watch my favorite shows pretty comfortably while making a holiday gift. This asymmetrical triangle shawl is designed to provide the maker agency, choice, and variation - you can use any yarns, any sizes, any color schemes. For tips on styling, visit this site: 10 ways to style an asymmetrical shawl