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

Granny Bobble Stripe

Did I ever mention that I like bobbles? ...  perhaps? ... once or twice? ...

Despite feeling sure that there are many now bellowing at their computer, "Karen, will you change the record, give us something different PLEASE...", I must return to an old favourite for just one more tweak.

I was inspired this week by the phrase "I think I can, I think I can" which I came across while blog surfing on MAD MAD ME blog - http://032ad8a.netsolhost.com/madmad/  Charissa used the phrase while blogging her progress on creating her own Almond Blossom Bag (or Bohemian Purse).  Take a look over there; she has a great, humorous style of writing that I personally love... (course,     ahem,  she was very complimentary about me, but that's not why I urge you to take a look honestly ...  she genuinely is really good!)

Anyway, it took me back to when I was working on my Granny Bobble Blanket and while looking at the rounds of colourful bobbles develop it struck me one day how great it would look in stripes rather than rounds.

With usual abandon I flung my granny bobble blanket aside and set about turning the pattern into flat stripes instead of rounds, and to my frustration found that I couldn't...  You see the problem was that the bobbles are only ever worked on the front side of the work, the work is never turned.  Working only on the front side, from right to left, on each row is fine on rounds, but worked flat and never turning can cause the crochet to gradually skew to one side, making your lovely crocheted rectangle turn into the leaning tower of Crochet!  I think this is due to the chain loops at the top of the stitches (the bits that you work your next stitch in) just sitting to the right to the rest of the stitch below, so each subsequent row is slightly to the right. (or could be left don't quote me!)  I tried various ways to get my stripes right, before admitting "I don't think I can"...  and that was that... until I read Charissa's blog this week.  It made me want to look at it again; I knew there must be a way and...  wait for it....  wait for it.....   de dat de dat de dat de daaaaaah..................................  there wasn't!! 

Naaaaaaaaah....  sorry couldn't help myself, there was really....  it was nearly a blog post to nothing there...

I found that where I had been going wrong was in starting my new rows by working my first stitches of the row directly into the stitches of the row below; that doesn't work and sends you squewy.  What does work is to work into the spaces created by the stitches below, that keeps you nice and straight. 

So, do you want the pattern?  Okey dokey...

Granny Bobble Stripe


I NOW HAVE A NEW WEBSITE AND THIS PATTERN CAN BE FOUND AT -

http://psicrochet.com/portfolio-items/granny-bobble-stripe/

I knew I could!!! 

Now, I have a few ends to sew in....

Happy crocheting...
xx