Dahlia Blanket CAL :: Part 6

So tell me, how has your week been? Has it been mellow and cosy and full of glorious colour in amongst the routine of everyday life? In the middle of winter I do so appreciate the utter comfort of having so many colourful crochet blankets to cosy up in, it's one of my greatest pleasures. It's even better when you can indulge in a colourful sofa snuggle and be engaged in some therapeutic hooky rows at the same time, it ticks so many of my pleasure boxes all at once.

Week six of the Crochet-A-Long and it's a little bittersweet as we come to the final colours and rows of the dahlia blanket. I've been crocheting along in real time myself this past week as I still had four stripes left to make on my mixed stripe blanket. Sadly my hands are really not in the best shape at the moment so crochet has to happen in slow intense bursts followed by a lot of rest. But oh, I have so enjoyed creating the final stripes of what has been a joyous  blanket journey. I managed to crochet a little at the café on Tuesday afternoon which is something I love to do - social crochet is such a beautiful way to spend time and I cannot imagine my life without it. 

As a result of the very popular Facebook group "Hooked on Attic24", I have been delighted to see this online community spread to encompass real life get togethers all over the world. It makes me incredibly happy to think about this, it's such a wonderful extension of the joy and friendship that I see every day in the online world. 

^^ I had the pleasure of joining in with the Dorset group back in the Autumn, and last weekend there was another meet up at my old stomping ground at West Bay. Sadly I couldn't make it, but I was certainly there in spirit. What a lovely photo, it looks a tad breezy?!

^^ This photo made me so happy, it's a group who call themselves the Ya-Ya-Yarners, and they meet up all the way across the pond in Alabama, USA. Heellllloooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am waving to you from my Attic window and wishing I could meet you all in person, wouldn't that be fun?! One day, maybe I'll trip around the world with my blankets and visit all of you who follow along from afar.

I continue to find a lot of happiness in our online groups, with both Facebook and Instagram gifting me a daily dose of dahlia friendship. Diane shared her dahlia tuber purchase, and it made me wonder how many of you might be considering growing some of these glorious flowers this year? The promise of all that living floral colour is hard to resist, no?!

This past week I asked if anybody was joining in with the fun and quirky #crochetinthewild hashtag....I find it fascinating to think of us all connected by colourful stripes all over the world, and I love to imagine what our different views might look like.

Would you like to see?

Here in the UK we are of course slap bang in the middle of winter, but there is still beauty to be found outdoors.

^^Kaz posted this stunning photo of her blanket enjoying some outdoor time - dahlias and snowdrops (oooo, and mossy-moss too) looking beautiful together.

^^ Sue @cotefleurie on Instagram took her dahlia blanket outside for us, doesn't it look stunning? She lives on Jersey in the Channel Islands, and you might remember she shared a very similar view with her Sweet Pea blanket last year. Love love love it, thank you so much Sue.

^^ This lovely dahlia blanket went on a road trip to the coast of Ireland (thank you @lifedownthelane)

^^ And this dahlia blanket is soaking up a stunning view by the looks of it. I don't know where in the world it is, but it looks inviting!

^^ Jan popped her dahlia blanket outside to share with us - did you spot the tantalising little hint of lemons hanging from the tree? Jan is in Cyprus and the Dahlia looks very at home in the sunny Mediterranean climate.

^^Mary is all the way across on the California coast, gosh I am quite envious of all the sun these blankets are getting!

^^ Jennifer is in Australia where of course it is mid Summer and I understand that it's veeeeeery hot there right now. I absolutely can't imagine what heat feels like at the moment, it's been so chilly here of late, even my bones have felt cold!

^^Marnie is also in Australia and her dahlia is co-ordinating beautifully with the flowers.

^^ Kerry is also down under and took her blanket out into the beautiful wildness just outside her garden. It looks so lush!

^^ This stunning photo was taken by my friend Teresa and I absolutely LOVE it. It's so beautiful! She took her dahlia on a little trip especially so she could show us her stunning local scenery - the spectacular Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, USA. Thank you so much Teresa.

^^ Another gorgeous view, this time all the way across the world in New Zealand. Heather, thank you very much for sharing your delicious crochet spot, I am more than a tad envious of your beautiful sea view.

The CAL plods along at a steady pace week after week, and it's absolutely wonderful to see so many of you having fun on this journey. I've seen a good many dahlia blankets just getting off the starting blocks this week which is fantastic - it's never to late to join in the fun! A gentle reminder that this isn't a race, and that all pattern and colour info will remain on my blog indefinitely for you to dip into whenever you wish, even if that's a year from now.

Of course, some of you have been making smaller lap blankets, baby blankets and throws and so the ending has arrived more quickly. It's been a delight to see some dahlia blankets already finished - the above blanket was shared by Jo and I think it looks stunning.

^^ David is a talented crocheter from Canada and he decided to use the dahlia colours to work up a Neat Ripple blanket. He then opted to use the "Skinny Block Stitch" border from my Summer Harmony blanket (find the pattern for that HERE) and I think it's gorgeous! I can't wait to see it finished.

^^ Mandy finished her dahlia blanket using my "Spot On" edging (find the pattern HERE) which looks lovely with the little pops of yellow shining through. Oh, and just look at those luscious pom poms on the corners, don't they look wonderful? They really do remind me of the perfectly round pompom type dahlia flowers that I saw growing in the summer. 

So - week six is all about finishing up the last of the stripes, and there are just twelve to make this week. 

When you come to your final row of your final stripe, the pattern will change very slightly. 

Chain-2 to start the row as usual, then simply work 1 treble into each stitch across (no chain spaces, and no skipped stitches). This will give you a nice flat edge to end your blanket, ready for the border.

I wonder how you will feel when you fasten off the last row, will you be overjoyed, or will you feel a little bereft?

This has been such a colour-filled journey from start to finish, and I really, really hope it's brought you much happiness and pleasure. I know I've certainly felt uplifted by the memories of summer flowers and warm golden days as I've crocheted my stripes, a real mood lifter for sure.

Ninety-nine stripes complete, and I absolutely adore this blanket.

I LOVE it!

Here is the colour info for Part 6 of the "MIXED STRIPE" Dahlia Blanket, we're making the final 12 stripes this week.

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

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet.

88. Spice : (pattern rows 3 & 4)

89. Apricot : (5 & 6)

90. Lemon : (3 & 4)

91. Shrimp : (5 & 6)

92. Magenta : (3 & 4)

93. Claret : (5 & 6)

94. Fuchsia Purple : (3 & 4)

95. Fondant : (5 & 6)

96. Powder Pink : (3 & 4)

97. Saffron : (5 & 6)

98. Tomato : (3 & 4)

99. Lipstick : (5 & 6)** Remember to crochet the final row without any chain spaces!**

For those of you who are making larger double or king size blankets, you might wish to add an additional set of stripes on at the end to make your blanket slightly longer. This is optional of course, and you can stop at any point when you are happy with with the overall length of your blanket. 

>>Optional stripes for larger double/king blankets (using two yarn packs)<<

100. Blush

101, Fuchsia Purple

102. Spice

103. Lemon

104. Powder Pink

105. Fondant

106. Magenta

107. Claret

108. Shrimp

109. Saffron

110. Pomegranate

111. Apricot

112. Tomato

113. Boysenberry

114.Lipstick **Remember to crochet the final row without any chain spaces!**

If you are making the Colourwash version of the Dahlia blanket, the final part will use three colours - Fuchsia Purple, Magenta and Boysenberry. I absolutely love the rich pinky-purple hues and these are some of my favourite dahlia colours of all.

I wonder if you have a favourite part of the colourwash blanket? Do you prefer the paler, more subtle shades, or the rich pinky-purples? Or do you crave the sunshine yellows and firey reds and oranges from the beginning section?

The final stripes provide quite a contrast to the pale centre section of the colour wash, but they balance out the start of the blanket beautifully.

Take a look..................

...........isn't it lovely to look at? I really enjoy running my eyes up and down those bands of colour, reminding myself of that glorious flower field in early September. Such happy memories.

I'm super happy with how the Dahlia colourwash turned out, and it's definitely one of my favourite blankets to date. If you've made the colourwash version, are you happy with it, is it what you expected? Do let me know what you think, I'd love to hear!

Here is the colour info for Part 6 of the "COLOURWASH" Dahlia Blanket, we're making 12 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).

88. Fuchsia Purple : (pattern rows 3 & 4)

89. Magenta : (5 & 6)

90. Fuchsia Purple : (3 & 4)

91. Magenta : (5 & 6)

92. Fuchsia Purple : (3 & 4)

93. Boysenberry : (5 & 6)

94. Fuchsia Purple : (3 & 4)

95. Boysenberry : (5 & 6)

96. Fuchsia Purple : (3 & 4)

97. Boysenberry : (5 & 6)

98. Fuchsia Purple : (3 & 4)

99. Boysenberry : (5 & 6)** Remember to crochet the final row without any chain spaces!**

It's a huge amount of creative fun making two versions of the same blanket, and I've really enjoyed seeing the similarities and differences as they have grown.

It's been a lot of work, but so so worth it. I've absolutely loved my Dahlia journey so far, and I'm really looking forward to seeing these stripes with a finishing border added.

At the end of part 6, you will have 99 stripes, and it's time to take stock a little and prepare for the border. You will need to darn in all your ends - darn  them neatly into your crochet rows, making sure to leave the stitches at the end of each row free from any darning so that you can easily work into them when you start the border.

It's also a good time to take stock of your yarn - rewind your balls if they've become a little bird-nesty, and if you have kitchen scales you can weigh what's left to make sure you'll have enough to crochet the border.

If you followed the Mixed Stripe, most of the colours should have been used 7 times in total. However, there will be six colours that only appeared 6 times - Claret, Boysenberry, Magenta, Pomegranate, Blush and Powder Pink. I ended up with approximately 35-40g left of these colours which I know will be plenty for the border rounds.

If you followed the Colourwash, it'll be Boysenberry and Claret that you have most left at the end, although you should have approximately 25-30g of all the other colours.

I'll be sharing the pattern for the border in two weeks time on Friday 21st February.

Until then, enjoy your blankets and make sure you find some time for a bit of a cosy snuggle!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

🌸 DAHLIA YARN PACK

🌸DAHLIA SPIKE STITCH TUTORIAL

🌸DAHLIA PRINTABLE PATTERN

🌸 DAHLIA BLANKET INTRODUCTION

🌸 SNEAK PEEK of BLANKETS

🌸 CAL PART 1 

🌸 CAL PART 2

🌸 CAL PART 3

🌸 CAL PART 4

🌸 CAL PART 5

 

 

Comments

[Jess]

Hi, does anyone know where I can find the pattern/ post about the granny square blanket in the back of these pictures? I’m quiet new to crocheting and that is exactly what I want to attempt. Thank you

[Susan Jackson]

Working on colorwash, just started with the saffron. What gorgeousness!! Thank you for this pattern, it's lovely.

[Emily Kelly]

What a surprise to pop into the Attic and see an Oregon scene. I have many pictures from that same spot as it is one of my favorite drives and areas to hike.

[Elizabeth Jessop]

What beautiful blankets all you people have made I am doing the one provided by Lucy as I am not as quick as other people at crocheting I have just completed colour change 50. I am loving doing it and hope to finish it eventually. Thank you Lucy for yet again another masterpiece.

[Charlotte]

Another beautiful blanket and another great post. It is very exciting to see the weather and blankets around the world. I too have hand issues so i crochet for about 30 minutes in the morning and maybe again later in the day. If i try to do more my hands get so sore that i need to skip a coupe days.

[marie jo]

hello my name is marie jo i really like your work and it is the first time that i send this kind of message. keep up the good work it's a treat

[Jennifer Keast]

Ha - had to laugh Lucy - I’m sat in the exact same spot with Dahlia on my knee when I paused to read this blog post! Still sunny!!

[Caz]

Hi Lucy, I’m the one right in the back of the middle at WestBay. And it was really breezy. The waves were crashing but the sun shone.
Thanks for bringing us all together.

[Teresa Kasner]

Hello Lucy! I totally enjoyed all the "into the wild" photos in this post and I'm so honored to be a part of it! Thank you! I have loved working on this blanket. I'm making it afghan sized so I only have 9 or so rows to complete before I'm ready for the border. I am looking forward to that pattern! Do take care of your hands as they are your golden goose.. lol! Sending love across the pond and over the hills to you.
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

[CJ]

Oh my goodness, all of those blankets outside in beautiful locations, wonderful. My favourite ever round of crochet along photos of other blankets I think, there is something so enticing about sitting outside with a lovely view, stitching away. Sorry your hands aren't great at the moment, I hope they improve very soon. And yes, I am indeed thinking about growing more dahlias this year. Just yesterday I was looking at pictures of them all and trying to make a choice. I couldn't decide at all, there are so many gorgeous ones. And then I got sidetracked into roses and then I was in flower overwhelm and I had to go and have a sit down. But I am thinking about being bold and maybe doing with an orange or two. And definitely something bee-friendly. CJ xx

[MummaP]

There seems to be a problem with the images? Lots of fuzzy lines coming across the www??

[Miss Daisy]

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING ! If I could afford the yarn I would make everything you have created , not just the blankets. All the beauties you have made. Love your cup. Have a Blessed weekend. Wish it was cold here.

[Sandra]

Fabulous post. The Dahlia colours look so good in the wild. Always a thrill to see our West Bay Group mentioned! :-)
The thought of travelling round the world visiting other groups sounds WONDERFUL - that's a trip I'd love to make.

[Betty]

Hi Lucy - lovely post as usual. So sorry to hear you're having problems with your hands though. Do hope it's just temporary and that you're making good progress!
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.