Dahlia Blanket CAL :: Part 3

When I was first thinking about creating a blanket inspired by dahlias I spent a huge amount of time online researching them. I found myself absorbing as much imagery as I could lay my eyes on, literally drinking in the visual beauty of these flowers and all the intricacies of the colours. Feeling creatively inspired is one of life's true pleasures and not something I take for granted I can tell you. I appreciate it so much, and cannot imagine how my days would feel without this constant drive to seek out creative inspiration and in turn to gift it back into the world. It really is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

In addition to my online dahlia searches I also browsed endlessly  through the pages of books, magazines and catalogues. My absolute favourite of these are the seasonal Sarah Raven catalogues - I've ordered from Sarah Raven in the past (I bought my sweet pea plants from there) and so automatically receive the latest catalogues through the post. Of course, you can find all of this information on the website ((here)) but in this digital day and age there is still something very lovely about looking at actual pages made of paper, well I think so anyways. 

The latest Spring catalogue plopped onto my door mat a few weeks ago, and as it's prime dahlia tuber buying season the pages are filled with an abundance of floral colour.

Sarah arranges and groups the huge number of dahlia flower varieties by colour which I thoroughly approve of, and these pages really are a feast for the eyes. I can highly recommend a dreamy flower gazing session (good chocolate and a mug of coffee optional) and you can request a free Spring catalogue to be delivered to you if you live in the UK, or download a copy to browse on your device. Find the info ((here)).

I originally had the idea of grabbing some scissors and cutting up one of the catalogues to create a real-life collage of flowers to help me put together my Dahlia colour wheel. I am a big fan of old-school design methods and scissors, paper and glue always satisfy me way more than an online Pinterest board. As it turned out, I was able to curate a beautiful palette from images stored inside my brain and I think I did a pretty good job. I love the gentle balance of the Dahlia palette very much, there is just the right amount of light and dark and a good balance between flamboyance and subtlety. It makes me SO HAPPY!!!! :) 

For those of you who've decided to jump in and join the CAL, I hope with all my heart that these colours are making you happy too, and that you're enjoying your growing stripes? They really do brighten up the gloom of these short, dull winter days that's for sure. 

I was catching up with my online friend Teresa a few days ago and loved seeing her delight in these colours as much as I do. I know that she loves flowers so it was fun to see that she'd made her floral stripes into her phone background, doesn't it look lovely?

As much as I adore these bright, warm colours, I do appreciate that they aren't for everybody. As you know I love to encourage you to stretch your creative wings and follow your own path if you prefer - the main objective of the CAL is to gather us all together to make something lovely, colourful and yarny, so I thought you might enjoy seeing some beautiful Spike Stitch blankets that have caught my eye as I've been jaunting around the interwebs. These blankets all use the same Spike Stitch pattern that I created especially for the Dahlia colours, but in alternative colourways.....

^^^ Darlene chose to use the Dune colours.

^^^ Jen has gone Coastal with hers.

^^^ Sarah is taking a Woodland walk for her blanket,

.^^^ Tonya is going for the jackpot with not one, not two but THREE small blankets!!! She is using Sweet Pea, Sunny and Dahlia yarn packs and I think they look stunning all together.

^^^ Jenny is creating a Dahlia colourwash, but choosing to soften the whole look by adding silver stripes in between the colours.

^^^ Valerie is taking a similar approach but has chosen a bold blue to contrast with her dahlia shades - I'm really looking forward to seeing this grow, it's already looking very striking.

^^^ Helen has chosen a strong palette of blues and greens for hers....

^^^ Michelle is also using a lovely cool palette of blue tones.

^^^ Heather is going for bold repetition with five colours and I love those pops of orange.

^^^ Denise is making a beautiful rainbow (so happy looking!)

I've also seen some really lovely mixed palettes using up oddments of stash and random happy colours.....

^^^Jo^^^

^^^Kathe^^^

^^^Maria^^^

In contrast to the multi-coloured mixed palettes, Susan is using just three colours to make a baby blanket. I think the simplicity of this approach is very striking with the Spike Stitch, the white really makes the other two colours pop.

Jan finished a baby Dahlia blanket which is great going for just over two weeks and I think it looks amazing.

                                              Photo Credit : Felix & Felicity     

I thought it was worth reminding you that my CALs are always very relaxed, and all patterns and colour info will remain free on my blog indefinitely for you to dip into as and when you are ready. There really is no rush, so please remember to find the joy in the journey no matter how fast or slow. You will have excellent company along the way (especially if you are a part of the "Hooked on Attic24" Facebook group) so I hope nobody ever feels like they are being left behind. There will always be somebody following after you, even if others are streaking ahead!

This week is part 3 of the blanket stripes, and this will take you just past the half way mark. It's a really lovely point to reach when making a blanket as the essence of the design should be fully coming into play. It's the time when a piece of crochet begins to actually look and feel like a blankety thing, and that is always worth celebrating!

I know from what I've been seeing on social media this week that so many of you take joy in photographing and documenting your blanket journey, and that makes me really happy. If you get a moment, you can take a scroll through the #dahliacal posts on instagram ((HERE)) to see what I mean, it's just so glorious!

As well as it's dashing good looks, I hope you're also enjoying the feel of your Dahlia blanket? Isn't it just so super-squishy??! The texture of this stitch is very lovely and creates such a cosy crochet fabric, it makes the DK yarn feel thicker and more cuddlesome somehow.

^^^ So full of summer feel-good!

Here is the colour info for Part 3 of the "MIXED STRIPE" Dahlia Blanket, we're making 18 stripes in total this week.

After a couple of requests I've added in a reference to the pattern row for each stripe this week, to help you keep a track of where you're at.

So the numbers in brackets indicate which rows of the pattern you need to refer to.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet.

34. Lemon : (pattern rows 3 & 4)

35. Blush : (5 & 6)

36. Boysenberry : (3 & 4)

37. Magenta : (5 & 6)

38. Tomato : (3 & 4)

39. Saffron : (5 & 6)

40. Powder Pink : (3 & 4)

41. Fuchsia Purple : (5 & 6)

42. Shrimp : (3 & 4)

43. Claret : (5 & 6)

44. Fondant : (3 & 4)

45. Lipstick : (5 & 6)

46. Spice : (3 & 4)

47. Lemon : (5 & 6)

48. Pomegranate : (3 & 4)

49. Boysenberry : (5 & 6)

50. Blush : (3 & 4)

51. Lipstick : (5 & 6)

If you are making the Colourwash version of the Dahlia blanket, this week you will be needing five colours in total.

You'll be rounding off the yellows (Saffron and Lemon) and introducing the soft pink tones (helllloooooo Powder Pink and Apricot). Blush comes in for the very last stripe, ready to lead the darker pinks next week.

These soft floral colours work amazingly well together and are extremely harmonious. 

I really hope you enjoy their light playfulness after the hefty heat of the reds and oranges at the start.

Isn't it looking delicious? Tilly seems to think so......

....and I honestly love how the stripes are playing along together as we gently shift from dark to light.

Photo Credit : Floret Flowers

^^^ I had to share another one of Erin's gorgeous Dahlia photos with you (such a lot of love for the Floret Insta feed!), I just adore the colour play so much. Totally inspirational, and a very yummy way to drink in the beauty of Dahlias.

So here is the colour info for Part 3 of the "COLOURWASH" Dahlia Blanket, we're making 18 stripes in total this week.

Remember there are 2 crochet rows for every stripe.

The numbers in brackets refer to the pattern rows, to help you keep a track of the pattern repeats and how each rows starts and ends.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet (please note that the colourwash list is on page 2).

34. Lemon : (pattern rows 3 & 4)

35. Saffron : (5 & 6)

36. Lemon : (3 & 4)

37. Apricot : (5 & 6)

38. Lemon : (3 & 4)

39. Apricot : (5 & 6)

40. Lemon : (3 & 4)

41. Apricot : (5 & 6)

42. Lemon : (3 & 4)

43. Apricot : (5 & 6)

44. Powder Pink : (3 & 4)

45. Apricot : (5 & 6)

46. Powder Pink : (3 & 4)

47. Apricot : (5 & 6)

48. Powder Pink : (3 & 4)

49. Apricot : (5 & 6)

50. Powder Pink : (3 & 4)

51. Blush : (5 & 6)

^^^ Finally, I wanted to show you Ingrid's blanket as it totally stopped me in my tracks yesterday when I saw it on Facebook. Ingrid is following the Repeating colour order, working the colours in a "mirror repeat" and I can't tell you how much I love it. She has completed three repeats so far and I think it looks absolutely stunning.

I hope you have fantabulous week with hook and yarn, and that the joy of these summery colours lifts your spirits and makes you smile. Have lots of spikey fun!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

🌸 DAHLIA YARN PACK

🌸DAHLIA SPIKE STITCH TUTORIAL

🌸DAHLIA PRINTABLE PATTERN

🌸 DAHLIA BLANKET INTRODUCTION

🌸 SNEAK PEEK of BLANKETS

🌸 CAL PART 1 

🌸 CAL PART 2

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[LIZ CASEY]

Bought the yarn from Wool Warehouse to do this project whilst waiting for an operation. Now back home and its the perfect thing for me to do whilst recuperating. Absolutely love your patterns Lucy. I am making the lap blanket size and will donate the finished article to our local hospital. They have put a shout out for knitted or crocheted lap blankets that can be machine washed. Want to make the coastal one next.

[Jennifer K.]

Dear Lucy,
I have always enjoyed your crochet creations and color celebrations on your blog, but I think you have truly outdone yourself with this Dahlia colour collection and the spike stitch pattern that captures the spirit of these flowers. This is the first CAL I have ever wanted to participate in and it required a Herculean effort to not order my own Dahlia pack immediately. (Truly the only thing that stopped me is the three bundles of yarn for the three afghans I dreamed in the heady days of shopping the Christmas sales!) Thank you so much for sharing everyone else's lovely adventures with your beautiful palette. Once I finish my three afghans, I intend to be one of the "late bloomers" in this pattern. --Jennifer K.

[Jennifer Litts]

Really enjoying this CAL - this is my first project but won’t be my last - thank you Lucy

[Sierra]

Your color pairings make me so happy! I love love love looking at what you come up with!

[barb]

I'm not a knitter nor a crocheter(?) but I wanted to know where You found the neat large-ring handled basket tote(?) in the very last picture in this article. I like Dahlias and have some in my flowerbed - They are one of my fav flowers and I always consider getting more!! :) b

[Helen]

You continue to come up with new, fresh, exciting color combinations. Love your work and I'm enjoying my dahlia blanket.

[Teresa Kasner]

Hello my dear friend Lucy!! I enjoyed your blog today and was so pleased and surprised to see you added my iPhone wallpaper photo.. I had so much fun doing that. And this Dahlia blanket is making my winter so happy and bright! You simply are a crochet rock star and I'm so glad I found you. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

[Susannah]

Hi Lucy, I am so enjoying working on my Dahlia blanket! I knew I would never "keep up" but that doesn't matter at all. I'm just finishing Part One and I am so excited for the pale yellows :). And the spike stitch is wonderful - I love it. Thanks for sharing all the gorgeous blankets people are making and, as always, thank you for all your work and beautiful photos.

[Charlotte]

As I don’t live in the UK I regret that I cannot order and probably use the beautiful seed catalog. Each week is a great delight to brighten the Winter days. The colors make me happy. An afterthought last week we had you sweet and sour vegetables with sausage. It is my go to recipe when I am rushed and don;t know what to cook. Thanks for the blanket and also the recipe.

[Miss Daisy]

You know Deirdre there's one in every crowd - group. I've truly enjoyed the beauty of this CAL. Each CAL gets better and better , it's obvious that you put a lot of thought , time and love into them. Amazingly Beautiful !!!!

[CJ]

I really love seeing everyone's interpretations, it must be such a thrill for you to see as well. I adore the texture of crochet as well, it's such a tactile thing. Dahlias are wonderful aren't they, I always dream about growing a lot more of them. Time to get out that catalogue... CJ xx

[Deirdre McPartlin]

Thank you for sharing other’s interpretation of your designs. Could you please explain to Angela that this is perfectly acceptable and not a breach of copyright. She has caused great upset and offence in Friends of Attic 24.

[Jane]

So enjoying the cal Lucy, the colours are gorgeous and as you say bringing much brightness in these gloomy days and relaxing crochet to wind down. Thank you for all the work you put into this for us to enjoy. Love Jane x