Virus Shawl

In March, my LYS Nature's Yarns (http://www.naturesyarnsinc.com and http://www.ravelry.com/groups/natures-yarns) newsletter advertised an upcoming class to create a "Virus Shawl".

The pattern seemed simple enough. I had this gradated blue color-way cotton originally used for a partially-completed knit mini-poncho. Unfortunately, the poncho had a major error that was best dealt with by ripping the stitches back to zero. A new project suitable for the yarn made that ripping a bit less painful.

I couldn't find much information about the pattern beyond what's listed on Ravelry and the originating site: http://woolpedia.de/english/crochet-tutorials/shawl/ (scroll down to find the Virus pattern). Woolpedia's authors claim the design has been floating around the internet for years and no one seems to know why the pattern is named "Virus". Some speculate it's because of the pattern's recent surge in popularity. To me, the pattern motif looks reminiscent of bedspread and doily patterns from the last century. Maybe somewhere around the middle. Might be worth a little digging to find out.

The whole thing took about two months, working on it off and on. The pattern is fairly easy and mindless enough to do while sitting through other activities. The Woolpedia site has links to YouTube videos explaining how to work the pattern. You basically repeat the pattern until you reach the size you want or you run out of yarn. I ran out of yarn. The shawl isn't quite as long as I would like, but it's long enough to wear as a warm-weather scarf. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the finished shawl.

05-06-2016 Update: I found the label to the fiber used. The fiber is 100% cotton, 480 yds (438 m) and 100 g. It's made by Wolle's Yarn Creations and the colorway is titled "Unique Blue". I bought it from a vendor at the Shenandoah Fiber Festival a couple of years ago.