Sunday 25 March 2012

Spring Abundance



At last Spring is here and along with it some very unseasonally great weather - even for Southwest Scotland!  The landscape is filling with colour as daffodils and rhododendrons appear and there seems to be wildlife scampering and flying around in pairs wherever I look - all very fertile, which is providing some very timely inspiration for me as I need to make a baby blanket for a friend before July.  Actually I want to make 2 baby blankets as I don't know if it's for a boy or a girl, so I need to get cracking.

Now I have a very large stash of yarn; mainly acrylics, in nearly every colour you can think of, but for these projects I wanted to treat myself to new yarn bought specifically for it - something I rarely do as money is not unfortunately no object for me - but I came across a great deal on the net that provided too much temptation to resist.  Kemps wool shop is fantastic; I have used them before and the service they provide is great - quick delivery and everything packaged perfectly.  But the very best thing about them is their clearance wools section - you can get some amazing bargains on there, and I find myself torturing myself looking every week to see what new offers they have added.  And what I thought would be perfect for baby blankets was Twilleys of Stamford Freedom Gorgeous DK - which I am pleased to report that I found on delivery was an aptly named gorgeously soft blend of 75% bamboo and 25% nylon.  It looks quite cottony and has a lovely silky sheen to it which I like very much - it's also a liiiiittle bit splitty, but thankfully not enough to annoy me, with a great colour range and at £1.29 for a 50g ball a bargain.



Now, colour choices...  for a girls blanket I adore various shades of pink with greens and white - but I didn't want it to be too sugary and sweet, so I added purple, dark brown, a natural linen beige colour and a light grey.  I also ordered some lovely light blue which I will use with green and the brown/grey neutrals for a boys blanket.  I eagerly awaited delivery, which was a thankfully short wait, and excitedly opened up my parcel, impatient to start my girly blanket...  .... ...          and felt a little bit disappointed............  just a little bit flat...................................  It was the greens, you see...  they were just a little bit bleurghhhh..............  don't get me wrong, they are not bad colours...  they are just not quite the colours I was seeing in my mind, in my blanket with the lovely shades of pink...  and the strong pink was also a little bit too strong...  again not awful, just not as I had envisaged.  You see I looooooooove green; it is probably my most favourite colour; but I don't love all greens - in fact there are a few greens that I absolutely loath - in particular the greens that you would never see in nature, like that shade that was so popular in the 1980's which they called jade...  I hate it - not like real jade at all, just a most un-natural colour...  my taste in greens really swing more to the more yellowy-green shades rather than the bluey-green shades; the limes, both light and dark - shades that are quite difficult to find in most yarn ranges - particularly the budget lines...  the rowans and debbie bliss ranges have lots of lovely green shades, but they are just a bit out of my price bracket...  Even the stylecraft special dk range that I love has a bit of a disappointing green section...

Anyway, I've meandered off the point; I was a bit disheartened and I played with the different colours, trying to find a combination I was happy with, and decided I would take out the green altogether and just use the pinks and purple along with the neutrals.




Now I started this blanket a week ago, but I took these photographs today, and I have to say that the whole combination, with the greens, has grown on me over the week - the pyramid of yarn photo above appeals to me much more now than it did when I first opened up my package - my mental picture coloured my first impression I think... too late now as I have made quite a bit of progress on my blanket, which is bereft of green, but I am happy with it anyway.

Now pattern...  the reason that I am starting with the girly blanket is because I know what pattern I want to use - my Puffed Daisy Hexagon pattern is perfect for a baby girl.  At this stage I don't know what to do for the boys blanket - nothing I've seen so far really jumps out at me...  I may have to create something new...  but the girly blanket I know what I want, and I'm really pleased with my progress so far...






Every hexagon will contain white, along with a random choice of the other colours.  After starting a few, joining as I go, I am now making lots, production line style, up to round 2 so that they are ready just for the joining, hexagon colour.


I'm unsure what the ideal size for a baby blanket is... any suggestions greatfully appreciated please...

I was about ready to publish when this little lot paraded past my window...





Don't they look fat and full of lambs...


I thought he'll be lucky to get this lot around the corner, and not straight ahead towards my flat!



But then I saw the trusty sheepdog at the back, expertly directing them...


Fantastic!!  Have a great week everyone!

Happy crocheting!!

Karen
xx

22 comments:

  1. Love the colors. The sheep stampeded is great too.

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  2. Your puffed daisies are looking so pretty - nice colors for a little baby girl.

    Wow - can you imagine all the yarn that will come off of those sheep? :)

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  3. I cannot imagine looking out and seeing that! It's amazing and daydream worthy for me! Love your work, can't wait to start on a Puffed Daisy Hexagon quilt for next Winter.

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  4. I love your puffed daisy hexagons!! And the sheep....gorgeous!
    xxx Alessandra

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  5. Happy Sunday Mrs . Karen ....love all the pictures but the Sheep ones are beautiful ...cute and white.....I can´t see that in here . Love nature .All the yarns are so cute,lovely colors and the hexagons too.Nice Post.

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  6. I love the colours and the crochet pattern...I am a knitter but am trying to learn to crochet so I can make such a lovely blanket too!!

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  7. Hello from a lurker.
    This link might help you with the size you need for a blanket.
    http://www.scarletdash.co.uk/blog/crochet-the-long-the-short-and-the-medium-size-of-it
    Warm greetings from Ireland, Jeannette

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  8. I love the colours of your baby girl blanket - just beautiful and so soft..and thanks for sharing the photos of the sheep - yes they do look so full!! Maggie xx

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  9. i looked around and it seems the standard size for a baby blanket is about 90 cm by 130 cm (or 36 in x 52 in)...
    the photos of the sheep are just so awesome! living in a fairly large city i don't have a sheep parade handy!

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  10. es fantastico me guto las fotos hermoso
    feliz semana beso

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  11. I love the colors for the girl blanket. I am not sure about the size for a baby blanket. The ones I have made have been crib sized (not sure the dimensions). The sheep look lovely. One day I will get to Scotland.

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  12. Beautiful colours, a really subtle and delicate choice for a baby blanket.

    Fleur xx

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  13. Ooh, your blanket is gorgeous--I love the colors. I'm with you on the greens, totally. A nice yellowy lime or olive green is the only way to go.

    The sheep are fabulous. I want some, and a sweet sheepdog to go with them!

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  14. Your blanket is going to be beautiful. And I love your sheep pictures -- almost like time lapse photography:) Amazing that you can see this just by looking out your window!

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  15. I love all your work, it is so happy and colourful! By the way I am doing a bit of blog-loving-sharing this week so I am linking to your blog among others. Maybe come see the post sometime? http://cheekyhandmades.blogspot.com

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  16. Seeing your pictures of the sheep going down the road brings back memories of living in Ireland and having my parents pulling over on the side of the road to wait for sheep to cross the road. :)

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  17. OH!! Walking sweaters :D
    Blanket is going to be wonderful!!! Greetings :)

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  18. Hi Karen,
    Thanks for popping over to 'visit' me.

    I so much admire your work - so very very lovely.

    We have quite a few things in common it seems.
    Like, my favouritist colour has always been green. and not that yucky 80's green , you are quite right about that. Yellowish greens are my preference too.
    And I am also Scottish (but live in Australia).

    I enjoyed the sheep parade.

    cheers
    Fi

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  19. Oooops.
    Sorry Karen.
    I mixed up to blog comments then!

    lol.

    End-of-week-itis I think! Just take all the bits that apply to you, and ignore the rest....... ;)

    cheers
    Fi

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  20. Hi karen, i first saw your blog on the flowerbed blog. Love the lilypad hexys! I had a try last night and on the 2nd try finnally got it right! They are quite quick to do too. Thanks for the pattern. I like the puffed daisy pattern too so will give it a go as well. I know how to join-as-you-go so saves alot of time. sue~nz

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  21. Wow, if that's the view from your window, can I please come and move in! Suzy

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  22. Olá! Que imagem linda, são tão fofos!

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