Under wraps

I have had to keep this one under wraps for a while as it is for a new baby.

Made in Drops Extra fine merino in blush (45), desert rose (46) powder pink (40) and off white (01). The stitch is linen stitch (which seems to be a favourite at the moment) made on a 5mm hook. The blanket is 110 stitches wide and 132 rows long, which gave me a blanket of 55 x 68cm, using 330g of wool. That was 2 balls each of the pinks and 3 balls of cream.

The cream stripes are 6 rows wide and the coloured stripes are 12 rows wide; the overall arrangement of stripes worked out quite nicely with the darker ‘blush’ stripes forming the beginning and end of the blanket. This one was a commission based on a colour combination by MJ’s Off the Hook here, so thanks for the inspiration, and welcome to the world baby Eilidh.

Good in patches

Time for a bit of stash-busting:

The colours I used are: Scheepjes softfun Snow (2412), Orchid (2657), Lavender (2658), Glacial mist (2646), Arctic (2630) and Green Tea (2639), Drops cotton merino Powder Pink (05) and King Cole Drifter for baby Fairy Dust (3355). Some of these were 20g balls from the Scheepjes Softfun pastel pack of mini-balls.

The solid Granny squares are an Attic 24 pattern, and mine are four rounds each. I was able to make four squares from each 20g mini-ball using a 4.5mm hook. The blanket is 30 squares overall and I made up some extra squares from the variegated yarn.

I used this tutorial by ‘Hooked by Robin’ for a continuous tight join as you go. It involves removing your hook after each stitch in order to pull the loop through the adjacent square, and is actually quite quick once you get the hang of it. I used this diagram from ‘Wool thread paint’ to remind me of the joining sequence.

On the plus side this was a good way of using up mini-balls of yarn, and I do think that the colours are pleasing together. On the minus side I am not sure that the cotton-acrylic mix of Softfun is ideally suited to this project. Some of my squares ended up as slightly different sizes, and my tension definitely varied during the join-as-you go stage, and the yarn is not very forgiving of this. The Drops cotton merino has a bit more give in it, and I think would make a better blanket overall.

Any way I have learned something new, and it was all done with yarn from my stash so that’s a win!

More rippling

Isn’t it often the case when you complete a project, that it leads to you making more of something similar?

These are variations on a theme:

The blankets are my version of a ‘West Yorkshire ripple’, which is based on a West Yorkshire Spinners knitting pattern but is actually crocheted, and made in King Cole Majestic yarn. My colours were Duck egg (2650), Grey (2649) and White (2641). I used three balls of duck egg and two each of white and grey.

The pink version is made in Sirdar Country Classic Rose Pink (855) and King Cole Majestic Grey (2649) and White (2641).

Both are made on a 4.5mm hook; start with a chain of 101 stitches and are 25 wide ripples long. In the West Yorkshire ripple blanket the blue (or pink) stripes are three rows wide, while the grey and white stripes are two rows wide. It’s a small change but very effective in ‘lifting’ the pattern, which can otherwise look a bit repetitive.

One of these is already spoken for!

Rippling along

A friend who has just become a granny for the second time requested a blanket, so I made a few for her to choose from!

The top one is made in Scheepjes Softfun Lace (2426), Orchid (2657), Lavender (2658) and Periwinkle (2619) on a 4.5mm hook. It took 50g each of the pale colours and 100g of Periwinkle, including the border.

I call the bottom one my ‘Modern Ripple’ blanket. It is also made in Scheepjes Softfun, but this time in Snow (2412), Cloud (2530), Blossom (2618) and Flamingo (2653).

I also have a blue version of the Modern Ripple – made using Scheepjes Softfun, in Snow (2412), Cloud (2530), Light blue (2432) and Sky (2613)

The ripple pattern is Attic 24’s neat ripple. The blankets are 7 ripples wide (so have a starting chain of 102) and 19 wide ripples long.

Now, I wonder which one she will choose?

Mellow mauve Bertie

I have been on the look-out for a new colour combination for the Bertie Baby Blanket for a while, and this is what I have come up with:

It’s made in Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino Lilac (10), Pale lilac (608) and Silver (12) plus Scheepjes merino soft Raphael (602) and Michelangelo (603).

Mine was made on a 4.5mm hook, weighs 290g, measures 69 x 50 cm and took one ball each of the colours, plus 3 balls of cream.

Overall I think the colours are pleasantly mellow, and hopefully a new mum somewhere will think so too.

Bertie goes to sea

I do seem to have been on a roll with baby blankets lately – and I am particularly pleased with the colour combinations in this one:

Made in Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino Duck egg (026) and Silver (012), Elle Rae cashmerino sport Icicle (29) and Scheepjes merino soft Michelangelo (603) and Raphael (602). Made on a 4.5mm hook it took 3 balls of cream, two of the duck egg, and one each of the other colours. It is of course a Bertie baby blanket.

Another version now made in Rowan baby merino silk: Teal (677), Iceberg (699), Cloud (693) and Frosty (702). Plus Drops merino extra fine in Off White (01).

Bertie sings the blues

There is something really quite soothing about making a Bertie baby blanket – just the right amount of repetition, and a satisfying rhythm…

This one is made in: Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino Teal (203), and silver (012), Scheepjes merino soft Michelangelo (603) and Raphael (602)., and Ella Rae cashmerino sport Icicle (29) and Fern (14). It took 3 balls of cream, two of teal and one each of the other blues and greys.

It is 9 pattern repeats wide so I started with a chain of 92, to make a 91stitch wide blanket. Mine was made on a 4.5mm hook and is cm wide and cm long. It weighs…

Flying (back) to New Zealand

Some of you will remember the original ‘Flying to New Zealand‘ blanket, which I made for my first great-nephew. The blanket has stood the test of time, but sadly the yarn that it was made in (Sirdar simply recycled) was discontinued some time ago.

I have been looking for a replacement for those lovely chalky colours and natural cottony feel, and have come up with this:

Made in Scheepjes Softfun Denim (2489), Slate Blue (2602), Cloud (2530). Mist (2627) and Lace (2426) on a 4.5mm hook. The pattern is Attic 24’s Neat ripple pattern, and my blanket is 7 ripples wide. It took two balls of Denim and one ball each of the other colours.

Rainbow ripple blanket no. 3

And now – a pale pastel version of my Rainbow Ripple blanket.

This one is made using colours from the Scheepjes Softfun Pastel colour pack, plus a couple of extras to complete the palette: Light rose (2513), Starfish (2620), Banana (2496), Mint (2640), Sky (2613, not in pack), Orchid (2657) and Flamingo (2653, not in pack) plus Snow (2412) as the background colour.

Rainbow ripple blanket no. 2

As promised – a pastel version of my Rainbow Ripple blanket.

This one is made using the softer tones from the Scheepjes Softfun Rainbow colour pack, plus a couple of extras to complete the palette: Rose (2514, not in pack), Soft Coral (2636), Canary (2518, not in pack), Apple (2516), Cool blue (2603), Violet (2519) and Pink (2480), plus Snow (2412) as the background colour.

Little squares blanket no. 3

This has been in my WIP pile for a while, and I am so pleased that I have finally found some time to finish it.

Made in Stylecraft Batik Pistachio (1910), Rose (1916), Sage (1908), Old gold (1902) and Silver (1917) and Drops Merino Extra Fine Off White (01). See my original little squares blanket post for links to the inspirational blanket by Little Dove, and a really useful tutorial on continuous join-as-you-go corner-to-corner crochet!

This one was made on a 4.5mm hook, measures 66cm x 55cm and weighs 330g. It took one ball of each of the Batik colours and four balls of the off-white.

Rainbow ripple blanket no. 1

I have been having fun with a Scheepjes Softfun Rainbow colour pack, and this is what I I have come up with:

I used just the bright rainbow colours for this one – Candy Apple (2410), Pumpkin (2651), Bumblebee (2634), Emerald (2605), Dark Turquoise (2511), Deep Violet (2515), and Hot Pink (2495) plus Cobalt (2626) for the background blue. It took 20g each of the rainbow colours plus 150g of Cobalt.

The pattern is Attic 24’s neat ripple pattern and is 7 ripples wide and 44 ripples long. This is split into 21 rows of rainbow ripples, a block of 18 plain ripples in Cobalt in the middle section, then 21 rows of rainbow ripples in the reverse colour order. I made it on a 4.5mm hook, it measures 72 x 54cm with the border and weighs 250g.

I am thinking about doing a pastel version next…

Little squares blanket no. 2

I have had another go at a Little Squares blanket, this time in a sport weight yarn:

Made in Scheepjes Stonewashed Moonstone (801), Crystal quartz (814), New Jade (819), Amazonite (813), Green agate (815) and Smokey quartz (802) om a 4mm hook. It is 63 x 50cm in size and weighs 285g. I suspect that was 1 ball of each of the five colours, plus 2 balls of Moonstone. I made the border by doing 3 (UK) double crochets into each cluster (so 12 per square) and finished off with a round of (UK) half treble crochet. 

I am not always the biggest fan of thinner yarns, but this grew very quickly and I think the stonewashed palette suits the blanket well.  

Sophie’s brother Seumas

I have been asked to make a couple of Sophie La Giraffe baby blankets since my original post, but this is one has a little twist in the colour combination which I am really quite pleased with:

I have decided to give it a boy’s name, and as I live in a Gaelic speaking part of the world I have chosen Seumas – pronounced Shay-mus if you are interested!

It is made in Rico essentials soft merino aran, the colours are Petrol (25) , Natural (60) and Silver Grey (90). It is 100 stitches wide and made on a 6mm hook.

Little squares blanket

One of the things I really care about is matching the right yarn with the right project, and to my mind this blanket does exactly that. Inspired by the 121 little squares blanket by Little Dove Crochet I have made my own rectangular version:

The blanket has the potential to be quite difficult technically, and I used a really helpful tutorial by the Patchwork heart to get the right orientation of squares for the join-as-you-go method. Each square is a 4 x 4 corner-to-corner block and my blanket is 9 squares wide by 11 squares long. Overall it measures 68 x 57cm and weighs 280g.

I chose a slightly pared-down colour scheme compared to the Little Dove original as follows: Stylecraft Batik Cream (1900), Sage (1908), Heather (1906), Old Gold (1902), Rose (1916) and Pistachio (1910) on a 4.5mm hook. I used 30g of each of the 5 ‘colours’ and 200g of cream. The border is two rows of (UK) double crochet followed by a row of half trebles.

The layout I used is here, but if you are feeling put off by the whole planning ahead thing then don’t be, as once the foundation row is set the other rows can be arranged as you go, ensuring that you don’t have any colour overlap.

Finally a big thank you to Faye at Little Dove designs, who was generous enough to share her colour recipe, and the link to the Patchwork heart tutorial. I love it when we crocheters can work together.

Sophie La Giraffe baby blanket

This was a request from a family friend, for a baby blanket with mustard in it, and I was sent the picture here as an inspiration

The stitch has quite a few names – I have seen it called moss stitch, linen stitch and woven stitch in various places, and an Internet search tells me it is also called seed stitch and granite stitch too! Despite the complexities of naming it, it is very simple to do, and there is a good tutorial, and chart, on the ‘Look at What I Made’ blog here. It is stitch number 18 In Sarah Hazell’s book 200 crochet stitches, for those of you who have it.

Made in Rico essentials soft merino Aran, colours silver grey (096), saffron (066) and cream (061) on a 6mm hook. Mine is 70 x 55cm, it weighs 310g. It is 100 stitches wide and 16 stripes long, each stripe is 8 rows. it used 3 balls each of grey and cream, and one ball of mustard, with a bit of each left over… I would happily make another one. Commissions anyone?

Quiet but not idle

It seems to have been a while since I have blogged, but I have not been idle! I have reverted to my old friend the granny rectangle, and have been busy making (lots of) baby blankets:

These ones have been safely received by pramdepot and will soon be part of their magnificent baby boxes which are put together from new, recycled and gifted items to support vulnerable mothers.

For these blankets I start with a chain of 21, which gives me a 5 granny cluster mini-rectangle, then build up 28-30 rounds of granny clusters to make a blanket of roughly 60 x 50cm.

The octopus is a little extra – pattern from crochetforbabies here.

Back to basics

I am developing a bit of a yarn crush for James C Brett Stonewash. The yarn itself is not lovely (100% acrylic) but the colours are very pleasantly subtle, and when mixed with other yarns it makes a nice blanket overall. You might remember these Granny rectangle blankets from a while ago, well I have now made them in two new colourways:

Made in James C Brett Stonewash SW14 with Sublime extra fine merino wool 448 (organza) and Drops merino extra fine 01 (off white); and James C Brett Stonewash SW11 with King Cole Majestic DK 2649 (grey) and Drops merino extra fine 01 (off white).

Sea greens and sea pinks baby blankets

Since I discovered the Scheepjes merino soft, Ella Rae baby cashmerino and Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino could be substituted for one another, pretty much metre for metre, I have been playing around with their combined colour range to see if I can make some rather more subtle combinations than is possible with a single brand. These are my most recent efforts:

Made in Scheepjes merino soft Ernst (653) Pissaro (651) and Raphael (602) with Ella Rae baby cashmerino Icicle (29). The pink version is in Scheepjes merino soft Copely(634) Waterhouse (649) and Titian (647) and Raphael (602), but to be honest I am not so pleased with that as a colour combination. Why do I find pinks so difficult?

When life gives you lemons

Make a lemon and lime baby blanket!

Made in Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino Apple (002) and Citrus (018), Ella Rae cashmerino sport Goldenrod (06) and Steel (04), and Scheepjes merino soft Michelangelo (603) and Raphael (602) on a 4.5mm hook.
It is (of course) a Bertie baby blanket. This one weighs 300g and measures 69 x 53cm