I will go through the rest of my
Pembrokeshire photos as promised, but I have run out of time for today.
The reason I have run out of time
is that I started another new crochet project today… This is WiP number 4,
which I think is pushing it a bit, so I reckon I will have to rest my Cuddly Hexagons for now, as that one is a project for myself. Glastonbury Blanket is
coming along nicely though, so hopefully it will not be a WiP for much longer…
On to the NEW project: While I was staying with my mum
during last week, I asked if she would like a blanket, and she said ‘yes’ so
immediately and seemed so excited about it that I knew this one would be a
special one!
We spent an evening with me
showing her pictures I came across on Pinterest, and there were a few options
that she liked. Then on Wednesday she asked if I would come to her knitting
group with her. She had taken some of my crochet gifts to her into the group
before, and she wanted me to come along to meet the ladies and show them my
crochet. Very daunting, but they were all so lovely and friendly that you
couldn’t feel uncomfortable for long!
While there, one of the ladies
was showing off a magazine she had newly discovered; it was issue 2 of Prima
Makes magazine.
Did you spot the crochet project
down in the corner? Here it is in more detail inside the magazine, it comes with a pattern of course if you want to seek it out:
I really liked the look of this
throw, and something clicked in my mind about how my mum’s blanket would look. Back
at her house, I put aside the Glastonbury squares for a while, and played
around with my mum's yarn stash trying to make my own 3 dimensional flower square.
By midnight I had come up with
this, which still required some work but was well on the way I thought!
I couldn’t wait to get the yarn. I
was looking forward to the day when I could get into Boyes and go through the
Stylecraft Life. I would have liked to use an Aran so the crochet came out
bigger, but the colours I wanted were only available in the DK range. I don’t
think this will be a problem though :)
Well, after days of anticipation today
I finally got into Boyes and knew immediately which colours I wanted:
 |
| L-R: Cream, Fern, Cascade, Fuchsia, Clover (and Cream again). |
I wanted to challenge myself a bit to use a smaller colour-palette to improve my colour skills
(after simply choosing every vaguely suitable colour I could for the Mumbles and
Glastonbury blankets!), and this blanket seemed a
great opportunity to work with a colour scheme of a more limited palette - just 5 colours in total.
Colours bought, I was itching to
get started! When we got back to my in-laws house, where we are living for the
next few months, I got started immediately. I made the slight changes I’d
identified for my flower square, and found that I was really happy with how it turned out! I also found that it was too complicated to
contemplate using for every single square!! If I had more time to complete this blanket it might not be a problem, but of course I have 3 blankets to finish before we emigrate... EEEK!!!! I therefore looked for another
complimentary design I could use along with my own square. I found this pattern at TillieTulip, and thought it was perfect!
So here are the 2 different
flower styles – I love how they look in the lovely Life yarn! Still in love
with Life ;)
Not sure what was going on with
the light at this point though, the colours came out very oddly! Fuchsia is the centre
colour, with the outer colour being Clover.
Then see how great they look as
you add the green (Fern) border. My photographing space was now full of jars my
parents-in-law had brought back for an upcoming culinary project, but at least the light was much
better by this point!
I think the squares are coming
along beautifully, I’m so happy with them! And I’m so excited to see how they will look
crocheted up, and then with the next part of the colour pattern brought into
play. I can't wait to show you how it progresses!!
I know I have lots of crochet
on-the-go at the moment, but I think I have a new favourite!
Okay, if it makes you feel better, like the good catholic girl I am ;) , I'll confess now to having six WIP's at the moment [Daisy, Granny Stripe, Ripple, Willow blankets, a garland I've still to finish and now these mandala's, two finished, third on the hook and NONE blocked ahem]. So, now we've got that out of the way . . . .
ReplyDeleteI'm just loving the new blanket squares and the colours are right up my alley. Just divine. Do you prefer the SC Life DK to the SC Special DK?? If so, why? I've not used the Life yet but am interested to see that you really like it and I'm always open to change.
I hope you're settling in okay and not feeling too 'displaced' [in the nicest possible way]?
Sending love and sunshine [showery here with occasional glimpses of sun].
Sharon xx
Ooops! Your WiP list reminds me of the Bright Willow picnic blanket I also started... Tee Hee!! I think we both have a very similar approach to our crochet projects!!
DeleteThe Life versus the Special DK... That's a little tricky to answer as I guess they cater to different 'needs' - the Special has such an extensive range of colours, which makes it better for plenty of things. Life doesn't have the same range of colours, but it does have a bigger range of natural/neutral colours. The colours of each range have slightly different qualities too, with Life having sort of softer colouring, and a few kind of 'heathery' options, while of course there are good vibrant colours in the Special range.
I quite like the heathery colours, so I enjoyed choosing those for the Cuddly Hexagon Blanket. I went for more solid colours for this blanket, but they are still softer than equivalent colours in the Special range.
I like the texture of the Life, it feels a bit 'bouncier' than the acrylic because of the wool content, and I suppose I also like knowing that it does have wool in it, rather than being 100% acrylic. I guess not everyone would like the woolly feel - it's not a silky wool feel like pure Merino, but then it is so much cheaper! I don't know how useful this info is!!
Thank you for the comments about this new blanket - I'm very excited with it so far! I think this is one that I will miss lots when I give it away - maybe I will make another for myself in the future ;) (I actually popped onto your blog to have a go at your daisies for some of the squares, but I couldn't get the hang of the French knot and I gave up...)
Displaced is actually an excellent description of how I'm feeling right now, but I'm sure that will settle soon enough. With the donkeys and lambs out the back it will be hard not to cheer up!!
Love and sunshine greatly appreciated!! Sending some back to you too :)
Debbie xx
The French Knots are a challenge, I'm actually tempted to replace them with something else, possibly a bead or button of some sort. It's not the knot itself so much as being able to bury the ends effectively. All a bit fiddly. The usual rule is to wrap the wool around the needle twice but I did three times to make them big enough not to pull through, still a faff tho...xxx
DeleteThe info the the SC DK's is very useful indeed, thank you xx. I shall buy some 'Life' for any future projects I think...which obviously will be absolutely eons away yet due to pressure of existing WIP's [not sure who I think I'm kidding here lol]. I like the wool content idea as it happens.
Hoping the crochet grounds you as you attempt to settle. Stick with those small, familiar things that bring comfort. Thanks for the sun, it arrived at about 5oc ~ perfect!!
Sharon xx