Woodland Blanket

My journey through the woodland has finished and I'm now wondering if I should have taken longer so I could enjoy it more.

Having missed two weeks while I was on holiday, I worked hard to catch up, setting myself a goal each day and once again working to goals worked for me and I was ready for the final instalment, the edging.   This I completed and the blanket finished.

   

It really was difficult finding the right way to photograph it and if the weather had been better I think it would have been easier to take it outside somewhere but hopefully you can get an idea of the way the colours merge from the wood floor to the sky.

Don't forget to look at Attic 24 for the full story of the blanket - you may be tempted like I was.

Woodland Blanket update

I'm having to work hard on my Woodland Blanket to make up for lost time while we were away!  I try to get four stripes done each day and if I keep it up I should catch up by the end of the month.

This is a photo I took a few days ago so it has grown even more since then and I've got to the start of the blue sky rows.

It's looking fab! 

Woodland Blanket

I have long been a fan of Lucy from Attic24 and if you enjoy crochet, if you have not already found her, do check out her blog which is full of hints, tips and ideas about all things crochet.

Back in November she announced a new CAL (Crochet Along) starting in January and as I planned to finish my Temperature Blanket early in the new year, I decided I would take part.   Added to that, the colours that were going to be used were just up my street, so it was rude not to!   I duly ordered my pack of yarn from Wool Warehouse (along with another pack as a Christmas present for daughter No.2) and sat back with eager anticipation, occasionally squishing the balls of wool when I passed them in my workroom.

This photo of the wool being used doesn't do it justice as the colours are much richer in real life.

January 5th arrived and I was ready to dive in with Part 1.  I've really enjoyed this pattern and although I have made one or two mistakes, I have learnt from them and got on fine.  

I've got a couple of weeks when I know I'm not going to be able to get on with it so I will have a lot of catching up to do.

Little Box Slippers

September's project for Little Box of Crochet was a pair of cosy slippers made in Yarns and Colors Charming which is a cotton and acrylic blend.

Now I haven't got a very good track record when it comes to tension which is why, apart from shawls, I tend not to make garments for myself or anyone else.  But as I always look upon my monthly Box as my monthly challenge, I set to to make this snuggly pair of slippers, ignoring the voice beside me on the sofa saying "what are you going to do with those!"

The first one, true to form, came up so big it was even too big for the voice beside me on the sofa!  I have made the one that fitted a size 7 (my shoe size) so I undid it and made the smallest size - size 4.  This was a good fit and I felt once the trim was worked around the edge, they would fit fine.   The second one was made in exactly the same way but ended up bigger than the first!  Not to be deterred, I made the decorations as instructed but as this did not make any difference to the size, the finished slippers will now be put away, never to be worn.

They look go though!  To give them their full name, they are Bohemian Dreams Slippers designed by Cecile Balladino.

One funny story to finish .... the finished slippers were on my desk when I was wrapping Hope's Blanket ready for her birthday.  However, after  wrapping there was only one slipper left!  I searched all around where I had been but there was no sign of it.   Well you can guess what had happened, and as I wasn't going to unwrap the present, I waited to retrieve it when Hope opened it on her birthday!

Now she's received her blanket, this is what the whole thing looks like.  She loved it!

Temperature Blanket - September update

This is a bit later for September but I ran out of the yarn I needed and it took a while to get to a new supply.  Thankfully I have now caught up, finished September and go up to date with October.

WIPs? What WIPs?

Following on from my last post, I am pleased to say that I stuck to my plans to do a bit of each of my Works in Progress each day resulting in three finished crochet projects!

I'm really pleased with the Maid of Honour Shawl because of the way the colours have blended together.   I did have to fiddle a bit at the end as I wanted to make sure I got to the solid colour for the edge and I didn't want to chance not having enough yarn.

So pleased that I worked out how much to do each day for Hope's Blanket as it means I finished it well before her birthday later this month.

I don't want to post to much about it in case she sees it so here's a sneak preview....

My work on the Temperature Blanket has ground to a halt with seven more rows to finish September off.  I have run out of wool in the required colour so as soon as I have caught up I will post the usual monthly update.

And as everything was up to date or finished I managed a couple of extras!

I finally got a chance to start on the August Little Box of Crochet but I must confess I wasn't happy with my efforts.   It was a pattern for a little crochet purse worked in two halves and then joined and sewn in to a frame.  I worked the first side and felt I was struggling so put it to one side.   Once I had time I watched some lovely help videos that went with it and found that my initial attempt was actually okay so I did the second side and finished it last night.

I think this is going to fall into the category of "nice to do but I won't be rushing to do more just yet".

A little extra in the box was some cross-stitch which I did enjoy doing - always find cross stitch calming as it satisfies the mathematical part of my brain.

So, as I've caught up I have been able to add so projects to my list!

Last Dance on the Beach Blanket finished

Very pleased to say my Last Dance on the Beach blanket is all finished.   This is the first blanket I have made and I have really enjoyed it and learnt a lot on the way.

My main reason for making it was to learn new stitches and techniques as I felt I was very stuck in only basic doubles and trebles in my crochet projects but I now know there is another crochet world out there and although stitches are generally based on doubles and trebles, it is how you use them that counts.

I even got through the piecing together and the border - not my favourite part of any project whether it's patchwork, quilting or crochet.   I think what helped was that I have far too many crochet projects on the go at the moment with several more waiting in the wings so each day I set myself goals with the WIPs so that I can get them all finished and once the target was met I could move on to the next one.  This always works for me as I do love ticking things off on a list!

I now want to use this new knowledge to experiment with some freeform crochet, but not until I've finished a few more WIPs.

Last Dance squares all finished!

The last four sets of squares for my Last Dance on the Beach blanket are all finished and all I have to do now is put them together!  Sounds so easy but it's not a task I look forward to.

The ninth square was a particular favourite of mine.  It had a cable skip in it, something I've never done before so yet again I've learnt something new.

The next one was probably my least favourite mainly because I found it physically difficult to do as every other row had to be worked in the loop behind the back loop.   By the fourth square I was getting the hand of it but I don't think I made a particularly good job of it so I hope it looks okay once it is together with the other blocks.

Week 11 was one of my favourites too, probably because it worked up very quickly and I got them done quickly.   Another new stitch so another learning experience.

The final set also made up quite quickly - maybe I was just eager to get them finished!   Loved this one too although it took me a time to be able to know where I was in the pattern and had to resort to keeping count on paper!

To give me an idea of what the finished blanket will look like, I've laid the blocks out on our spare bed.  The photo is not brilliant but it does give an you an idea.

Last Dance Update

The next four sets of squares for my Last Dance on the Beach blanket are complete and these have been some of my favourites so far.

This one has little bird like footprints - love it!

This was my first time of working corner to corner and I will definitely be doing this again.

Love learning how to make bobbles.

This is also a favourite and so quick to do too.

My main reason for doing this blanket was to learn new stitches and it has certainly fulfilled that.

Crochet update

I continue with my Temperature Blanket, finishing the month of June so it's half done and I can get an idea of the finished size.

June in the south of England has seen extremes of temperature with some places seeing a drop of 20 deg C in just a week.  It hasn't been that bad in Ferndown with a range of just 16 deg to 30 deg C.  This means a nice range of colours - the single green row is the 16 deg (Thursday just gone) and the two dark red rows are 29/30 deg from Monday/Tuesday the week before.

I have also started a new crochet blanket!   This one was a Crochet Along (CAL) issued last year (done by my daughter Karen at the time) called  Last Dance on the Beach .  Do have a look at the website as it has a story behind it.

I am doing the Dance in the Sea colourway (obviously, because I love the sea!)  It is made of 48 squares - 4 each of 12 designs - each of which are introducing me to patterns and techniques I have never used before.  That was my main reason for doing it as I felt I needed to challenge my Crochet abilities beyond rows of doubles and trebles.  There have been moments when I could easily have changed my mind but fortunately there are wonderful videos that have got me out of trouble.

I have completed four patterns - the first two have been washed and blocked and the second two still need to be done.

    

   

To give you idea of the complete colour palette here is a photo of all the wool I will be using.

My last project for the coming month is my first subscription to Amanda Bloom's Little Box of Crochet.

Each month I will receive a little box of crochet loveliness that will hopefully delight and challenge me.  This first month certainly has and I have to be disciplined before I dive in.

I will report back!