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