Mornin'!!! How are you all doing, have you had a good week? All is grand here in the Attic and I've been enjoying the gentle rhythm of my days very much. Nothing really momentous has happened this week, but I've felt calmly energised and have managed a pretty good balance between doing the tedious but necessary worky things (annual accounts, I'm looking at you!) and the sweet, sweet creative things (sweet pea, I'm swooning over you!). It's just been a lovely week, in a very normal and ordinary kind of way.
We were forecast snow for this week but as of yet (dare I say it?) it's remained dry and we've just had freezing temperatures instead. I love it when it's properly cold though, I enjoy seasonal weather when it's behaving and doing what it should be doing for the time of year. Below zero temperatures are good, cos it's January and I'm OK with winter weather happening, bring it on! When J and I are both working from home we sometimes light the fire during the afternoon and I do so appreciate the luxury of it. The warmth and light draws me to sit as close as I can get, and crocheting beside the hearth on a cold winters day is one of my greatest pleasures.
As is usual for me during one of my CALs, I've spent another full week immersed in the land of social media, absorbing all the Sweet Pea comings and goings and attempting to keep up as best as I can. The fabulous "Attic24 Moorland and More" Facebook group now has more then 8,600 members, and there are hundreds and hundreds of photos on Instagram with the #sweetpeacal hashtag. To be honest it kind of blows my mind a little, but in a really super-duper good way. It's amazing! All the beautiful connections and friendships, all the happy joy over a shared passion, all the colour and yarny love, it's just incredible and I adore being a part of it.
The above photo was shared on Facebook this week when this gorgeous group of ladies met up in Perth, Western Australia with their Sweet Pea blankets. Oh my goodness, I was moved to tears by the very notion of this happening, and I know there are many more little groups planning on meeting up in various UK locations too. Thank you, to every single one of you hooking this journey with me, you make me so happy!
Before we come to Part Three of the CAL, I want to share some of the blankets that I've come across during my online travels. This week I'm going to show you some blankets that are all using my Trellis Stripe pattern, but with a good many colour variations. I often get asked if I mind that folks use their own colours instead of following my carefully selected CAL colour palette, and the answer is honestly a big resounding No! How can I possibly mind?? My main aim with my CAL is to inspire some happy hooky creativity and for us all to feel connected as we make a blanket (or two) together. I really love to see new ideas and excited sparks of inspiration flying, so let me show you what I mean.......
Helen is using the Summer yarn pack.....
Jo is using the Cottage yarn pack....
Jo B is using the Coast yarn pack....
Vikki is using the Sunny yarn pack (minus Citron and Lipstick)....
...and Lesley is using the Hydrangea yarn pack.
I honestly love every single one of the above blankets and think they all look really great.
There are also plenty of folk who are taking this opportunity to use up yarn they already have, and the Trellis Stripe makes a perfect stash buster blanket. If you know that each stripe is going to need roughly 12g of yarn, you can dig into your stash and use up even the smallest odds and ends left over from other projects.
Let me show you how lovely these stash busting blankets are turning out....
Aline ^^^
Laura ^^^
Gaye ^^^
Diane ^^^
Lynne ^^^
Sandra S ^^^
Aren't they all fabulous? Each blanket has such a unique character and personality and I absolutely love the charm of them all.
I've also spotted some beautiful blankets created with their very own colour palettes, and I find this so inspiring. It's actually not an easy thing to do - if you've attempted to put together a colour palette for yourself, you will know that it takes a certain amount of creative vision to achieve a harmonious overall look and feel.
Yvonne is using a collection of blue shades arranged in a perfect colourwash....
Nia has chosen a serene palette of subtle greens for her blanket.....
Sandra has selected five pastel shades which she's spacing out with cream stripes - this is a very effective way to harmonise colours and create a soft feel perfect for baby blankets.
Karen has selected a stunning rainbow palette for her Trellis stripe, it really sings JOY to me!
B Kae is making THREE trellis stripe blankets for her children using her own colour palettes and I love them all. The one on the left is based on the Sweet Pea palette but with some additional deeper colours added at the end. B is actually making her blankets chunkier by holding two strands of DK yarn together and using a larger hook - this suits the wider bands of colour beautifully.
Jan has carefully selected a colour palette to match her rug which is such a creative idea - I think she's done a terrific job of it too.
I've also noticed a couple of Trellis Stripe blankets being made using the ever popular "cakes" of yarn - I wasn't sure how these built-in colour changes would work, but they are very effective and I imagine they make for a super-breezy crochet experience.....
Carissa is using Caron Cake "Turkish Delight"....
....and Nina is using Caron Cake "Bumbleberry".
One last variation that I honestly didn't see coming, and that is the idea to use all one colour. Teresa is making a Sweet Pea posy blanket, but at the same time she decided to crochet up an all-white baby blanket. Isn't the simplicity appealing? I do love the way the stitch pattern shows up so beautifully. I've also seen an all-grey variation - it's a lovely idea that you can keep just one ball of yarn and a hook in the car or in your bag and you will instantly have an easy crochet project to work on whenever you need it.
I hope you've enjoyed seeing all the beautiful Trellis Stripe blankets.....shall we get back to the business of the Sweet Pea stripe now???
Here we are with week three, and at the end of this week you will be just over half way. Your blanket should be gaining roughly 30cm in height each week, so week three will see you with almost a metre of gorgeous summery colour to drape over your knees as you continue on your journey.
The more this blanket grows, the deeper in love I fall. The sweet medley of pretty pastels and brights just makes me swoon!
I also really, really love the way the stitch pattern is looking too. The bigger the blanket grows, the more it gently stretches out the Trellis pattern so that you can see the subtle vertical texture running through the stripes. It's very quickly become one of my all time favourite patterns to make, and to look at too.
Right then, here is the colour info you need for this week............
SWEET PEA BLANKET CAL PART 3
🌸 POSY 🌸
#teamposy #sweetpeacal
So your last stripe from Posy Part 2 should be Pistachio - that was stripe number 30.
And here is the colour information for Part 3 : stripes 31-45, working from the bottom upwards.
Remember each stripe is worked in two rows, so 15 stripes = 30 rows of crochet.
SWEET PEA POSY Part 3
31. Wisteria
32. Violet.
33. Soft Peach
34. Clematis
35. Cypress
36. Fuchsia Purple
37. Magenta
38. Blush
39. Candyfloss
40. Meadow
41. Plum
42. Pomegranate
43. Lavender
44. Cream
45. Pistachio
I hope you continue to enjoy these colours as you work through week three, they really are a visual pleasure.
Now lets take a look at Part 3 of the Colourwash version............
This week we'll be heading through the palest part of the colourwash which marks the centre of the blanket.
These pale coloured sweet pea flowers are so delicate and subtle, and I adore the softness of them. Truthfully they aren't my best favourite (the deep pinks and rich purples have my heart), but they are extremely pretty.
As well as the cream, I chose three shades to represent the subtle pinks, and we'll be using all three of these colours in part 3 of the colourwash blanket this week.
You'll be continuing with Clematis, and adding in Cream, Candyfloss and Soft Peach.
You may find that you don't instinctively adore these pale colours all sitting together, and I know some of you find Candyfloss especially tricky to get on board with. Please remember that the remaining half of the blanket contains all the rich pinks and purples, and that this paler middle section provides a very necessary balance to all that is to come. I hope you can trust me on this!!
Ah Tilly, always front and centre when I'm attempting to do my thing!!! She spent ages rolling around on my blanket, looking as if she was truly enjoying the experience - she was very cross when I turfed her off!
I've been so lucky in having a small group of pattern testers to help me with the Sweet Pea colourwash blanket. I'm still in the midst of making it myself as I'm making it pretty much in real time along with you all, just one week ahead which is slightly stressful but I'm managing. So it's been invaluable for me to see in advance how the blanket will look as it grows each week. My testers did such a fantastic job photographing their blankets for me too, so I'm going to share a few of them with you......
This is Dawn's blanket ^^^
and Darlene's ^^^
and Heather's ^^^.
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Right, on with the all important colour info for this week's stripes...............
SWEET PEA BLANKET CAL PART 3
🌸 COLOURWASH 🌸
#teamcolourwash #sweetpeacal
So your last stripe from Colourwash Part 2 should be Wisteria - that was stripe number 30.
And here is the colour information for Part 3 : stripes 31-45, working from the bottom upwards.
Remember each stripe is worked in two rows, so 15 stripes = 30 rows of crochet.
SWEET PEA COLOURWASH Part 3
Note that throughout the colourwash blanket there are some double width stripes (4 crochet rows of the same colour). I've marked these in red so that they stand out for you. Remember you don't need to fasten off between the double rows.
31. Clematis
32. Clematis
33. Cream
34. Clematis
35. Cream
36. Clematis
37. Cream
38. Cream
39. Candyfloss
40. Cream
41. Candyfloss
42. Cream
43. Candyfloss
44. Candyfloss
45. Soft Peach
The two blankets {posy} and {colourwash} do look very different at this stage don't you think? I love them both, I honestly do.
I've enjoyed seeing some beautiful Repeating Sweet Pea blankets this week too.......
Tamsin is #teamrepeat and has completed four repeats so far.....
....and Dawn is #teammirror, which is looking fantastic the bigger it grows.
Wonderful work ladies, I've loved seeing all the love and admiration for these blankets on Facebook too.
I'm wishing you all a marvelous seven days ahead as you continue to jaunt along with your Trellis Stripes - ENJOY every minute!!!!
I'll be back with Part 4 on Friday 25th January.....until then, here are the links you might need this week ::
🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET INTRODUCTION
🌸 SWEET PEA BLANKET PREPARATION (includes a sneak peek of the Posy and Colourwash blankets)
🌸 SWEET PEA CAL PART 1 (colour info for stripes 1-15)
🌸 SWEET PEA CAL PART 2 (colour info for stripes 16-30)
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Harikasınız. Sizi dünyanın bir ucundan takip etmek ne güzel <3
Posted by: Ecehan | January 18, 2019 at 08:38 AM
Such a beautiful post Lucy, inspirational every time, enjoying all the variations. Thank you for all your hard work in sharing with us. You bring a creative community together and it is a true pleasure to be crocheting along with everyone especially amidst the cold and greyness outside.
Posted by: Helen Craddock | January 18, 2019 at 08:21 AM
What a happy, joyful post full of so much crochet community colour and happiness. Mmmmm!
Just a little reminder of the Sweet Pea Gathering happening in West Bay, Nr Bridport, Dorset UK on 3rd February at 10.15am. Coffee, crochet and cakes! All Attic24 fans welcome. You can contact me via the Attic24 Moorland FB group, link in Lucy's post or via my blog: https://daffodilwild.wordpress.com/2019/01/10/theres-a-whole-lot-of-crochet-going-on/
About 10/12 have said they are coming so far, the more the merrier!
Posted by: sandra dorey | January 18, 2019 at 08:19 AM
Ooh, how exciting - time for a few more rows, but not before I finish the ironing! Thanks Lucy - hope the snow stays away!
Posted by: Amanda | January 18, 2019 at 08:03 AM