Attic24: February 2021

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February 2021

February 26, 2021

Meadow Blanket CAL :: Part 7

It's always a bitter sweet time when we come to the final part of a CAL blanket. On one hand I bet there are many of you who are like me and get ridiculously excited about creating a beautiful border to finish off all your glorious stripes to perfection. But on the other hand, we are facing the end of a truly wonderful few months of creativity and achievement and I know that personally I don't want it to end. It's been so much fun to share this blanket with you over the past 8 weeks, and I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you for being such fantastic meadow companions. I've loved having you with me for this summery jaunt amongst the flowers and grasses - thank you, thank you so much for your company.

I'm going to chat to you all about the border today, I'll keep it quite brief because honestly I'm a bit all over the place and words are not coming easy at the moment. However, at some point there will be a final Meadow hurrah as I'm working on a Ta-dah post to share with you.

I had my usual long-winded deliberation over what exactly to do to the edge of the Meadow blanket, and to tell the truth I changed my mind many times along the way. At first I was going to simply repeat something like the narrow edging I made for the Moorland colour story blanket, a thin ribbon of colour to wind around the stripes. But in the end I felt that the floral element of the Meadow blanket called for something just a little bit more frilly, and so this Mini Bobble edging was born.

The first five rows are worked in the same way as a simple linen stitch, ie the double crochet stitches are worked into the gaps between stitches creating a series of compact rows which work brilliantly to blend and merge the colours. The difference with this variation is that the double crochet stitches are worked in pairs, so it's a bit like a double-linen stitch if you like. There are no chain spaces between the stitches so the rows end up being very compact and neat without the usual stretch that linen stitch has. You might have noticed that the body of the Meadow blanket is very stretchy, so creating a compact border definitely helps the blanket to keep is shape.

But it's the final round that really gives this border it's character - oh, how I LOVE it!!! I didn't want anything too flouncy, but I most certainly wanted something pretty-pretty. The mini bobble edging looks complex, but trust me it is so simple, you won't believe it.

This stitch is made up of repeating treble crochet stitches and slip stitches, one after the other on repeat. Treble, slip stitch, treble, slip stitch. I know!!! How crazy easy is that??!!! The simplicity of it kills me because the resulting weeny bobbles are ridiculously lovely, honestly, I could not love this edging more.

When choosing colours for the border, I decided on the above combination. The first colour of any border should generally be a medium shade, something that will blend in and not stand out too much. The first round of a border can often be a little rough and ready as you work into the ends of the stripe rows, so it's best to use a colour that blends well.

The final round of the border should be a colour that you love, or that speaks well to the general body of the blanket. This outer round will be dominant when the blanket is complete, so it needs to be a colour that makes you feel good.

Creating six rounds, I used approximately 20g of each colour - the wider you go with your border, the more yarn you will need for subsequent rounds but you should certainly have enough left after making your stripes to complete the border of your choice.

I am more than happy for you to choose your own border colours if you wish - I love the ones I selected but you may well have your own preferences. It's also worth mentioning that you can vary the width of your border too - make it just a few rounds and keep it slimline and minimal, or maybe go all out and use all fifteen shades to create a wide colourwash border. It's up to you - this is a wonderful opportunity for some colour play.

I had a little play with my yarn pegs and put together a few alternative colourways for you.....

Duck Egg, Lincoln, Pistachio, Buttermilk, Parchment, Pale Rose

Wisteria, Lavender, Cloud Blue, Lincoln, Duck Egg, Mushroom

Lavender, Cloud Blue, Lincoln, Meadow, Pistachio, Buttermilk

Duck Egg, Cloud Blue, Wisteria, Lavender, Grape, Pale Rose.

Remember you could reverse any of the above suggestions too, so for example in the photo above, you could start out round 1 with Pale Rose and make your mini bobbles with Duck Egg.

I know the first row of any border can be a bit of a chore sometimes, especially as you go about working down those long sides. But it's also very therapeutic in a way, and once that first round is done and dusted, the following rounds will feel easier.

I made a full photo tutorial for the border - I named it "Mini Bobble Edging" and you can find it in the usual place in the left hand side bar. Click on the following link to go straight there >>

MINI BOBBLE EDGING TUTORIAL

I also made a simple written pattern that you can download/print if you don't need the step by step help and prefer to have a traditional printed pattern to pop in your bag. You can find it by clicking on the following link >>

DOWNLOAD MEADOW BORDER PATTERN

I hope you have fun creating your Meadow border, please do share photos on social media so I can see, either in one of the Attic24 facebook groups, or on Instagram using the #meadowcal hashtag. I'll be back next Friday to share my Meadow Ta-dah post with you all.....I can't wait!

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Here are the CAL links if you need them

🌸 MEADOW YARN PACK

🌸MEADOW STRIPE TUTORIAL

🌸MEADOW PRINTABLE PATTERN

🌸 MEADOW BORDER TUTORIAL

🌸MEADOW PRINTABLE BORDER PATTERN

🌸 BLANKET INTRODUCTION

🌸 CAL PART 1 - stripes 1-15

🌸 CAL PART 2 - stripes 16-30

🌸 CAL PART 3 - stripes 31-45

🌸 CAL PART 4 - stripes 46-60

🌸 CAL PART 5 - stripes 61-75

🌸 CAL PART 6 - stripes 76-90

Posted at 10:12 AM in CAL, Crochet | Permalink | Comments (12)

February 12, 2021

Meadow Blanket CAL :: Part 6

Today marks six weeks since we began our Meadow Blanket journey and I continue to be very thankful for the top notch creative therapy it delivers. Every day when I sit down and pick up my blanket to work a row or two, it gives me the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and quiet my emotions. The calming, soothing nature of repetitive crochet is one of the reasons I love designing stripes using easy patterns - it's like daily meditation and I would be lost without it. As we near the end of the stripes this week I'm already starting to think of my next project as I know I'll miss this blanket terribly once I no longer have it to work on. My hope is that if you are making this blanket along with me, that you're enjoying it just as much.

We've had another full-on winter week here, with more snow and sub zero temperatures. I do really like this kind of weather actually, it feels good for us to be enjoying a truly wintry-winter after a few years of very mild February weather. Having snow and ice all around us feels right somehow - properly, correctly seasonal. I walked through the meadow again earlier in the week after we'd had another small overnight snowfall, and it was magical (in a cold, bleak, icy kind of a way). At the moment I'm working very hard on appreciating each day and finding joy in the season we're in, but it doesn't stop me daydreaming about summer time, I just can't seem to help myself. I will always be a summer-loving soul.

My fireside crochet has become an established part of my daily routine during the past six weeks, and I really enjoy this particular bit of my day. I usually light the fire round 2pm and have a couple hours to sit and hook before I need to start thinking about preparing the evening meal. I find that sitting next to the fire really does help my hands (I wear woollen mitts too), plus I can keep a check on the fire at the same time. Open fires need a bit of tending to when you first set and light them, well that's what I tell the family anyways. I neeeeeeed to sit right here next to the hearth for at least an hour, so nobody better disturb me.

I thought that I would share some blankets with views this week - I love that when I'm sat next to my fire wearing all the layers to keep warm, there are those of you in other parts of the world who are hooking al fresco....

↑↑ Liecia is in New South Wales in Aus and I absolutely love that her Meadow blanket is looking so beautifully summery.

↑↑ Nicky is enjoying a well deserved gin and tonic as she hooks away in Cape Town, South Africa.

↑↑ Rhian shared this wonderful photo of her view as she works on her stripes in New Zealand - so dreamy!

↑↑ This photo really gave me all the happy feels - the meadow next to the sea! It was taken by one of my lovely followers on the island of Jersey, under the hashtag #crochetinthewild. SO beautiful.

↑↑ I've seen some lovely wintry photos of the meadow too - this beautiful image was shared on Instagram by Martina (from Germany I think?) and I LOVE it. Doesn't it make the colours pop?

↑↑ Another beautiful snowy vista from Elaine in Canada, gosh, I bet it's a tad cold there!

↑↑ Rebecca took her meadow blanket out into the snow too, and I really like the contrast between the colourful stripes and the monochrome surroundings.

↑↑ Jane shared this gorgeous photo of her blanket and her dog, both looking beautiful.

I've had the pleasure of Tilly's company as I've worked in the final rows of my blanket this past week. Of course she assumes that I'm all set up especially for her pleasure - fireside warmth and a cosy blanket to snuggle into, it's kitty heaven! I try and accommodate her when I can because I love the comfort of having her close, but it's not always easy. Ah, the challenges of working from home!!

So shall we have a little chatter about week six? This is the last chapter of our meadow colour story, and we are up into the wide blue yonder this week. As you may know, I adore the soft cool blues of the sky and crocheting these stripes has been pure joy.

I was looking back at photos I took in the summer meadow last year, and remembering what it felt like to walk in the evenings when it was still so light and warm. The above photos were taken at around 9pm (in July) as I often walked around the meadow at this time with the Little People. You can see that the sky isn't just blue - there is a soft purple tint to the clouds that I absolutely love, and I really wanted to capture this in my meadow blanket.

You'll find a few stripes of Wisteria and Mushroom in amongst the blues this week, and I really hope you enjoy your jaunt up into the summer clouds.

Working the rows of crossed trebles, you should find that your edges have turned out pretty straight on this blanket (always a bonus!) so there isn't any need to straighten out the top edge as such. Having said that, I decided that for the final row of stripe 90, I would leave the crosses behind and work straight trebles instead. This gives a super-neat finish, and also matches the bottom edge of the blanket where we began with a row of straight trebles. If you've made a smaller blanket and already finished your rows, please don't worry if you haven't done this - it won't affect the border at all.

It's such a bitter sweet feeling when you fasten off and darn in the last ends of a blanket that has given you many weeks of hooky pleasure.

There is a huge surge of joy and accomplishment, but underneath that happiness I always experience a slight feeling of loss. It's the oddest combination, but really the overriding feeling is of absolute giddiness. Yippppeeeeee!!!!

One the things I most enjoy about creating colour story blankets is the way that even the simplest of patterns can tell such a beautiful story using colour. I've enjoyed the journey in this blanket so, so much, it's everything I imagined in my mind and a whole lot more.

Adding in the final part of the story will bring about a much needed balance this week, which I hope you enjoy as much as I do. The calm of those blue tones feels so good after the riot of floral colour down below!

Would you like to see how it looks in it's entirety?

The whole ninety stripes of meadow colour?

OK.....

Here it is......

Ta-dah!!!!!!

I love it so much. SO MUCH!!!! The edges look a bit wonky in the above photo (I was obviously too impatient to straighten them neatly for the photo) but in real life they are really fabulously straight I promise you. Also, you have probably discovered that this particular pattern is quite stretchy, so please don't worry too much if your blanket feels a little out of shape once your stripes are done. The border will help to stabilise the edges and contain the stretch a little.

Ahhh.........such beautiful, warm, summery vibes, the stuff of my dreams!

Lets look to see how these soft summer sky colours are working in the final part of our meadow story....

Here is the colour info for Part 6 of the "COLOUR STORY" Meadow Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet.

76. Cloud Blue

77. Duck Egg

78. Cloud Blue

79. Lincoln

INSERT OPTIONAL STRIPE HERE - Wisteria (for double bed size blankets)

INSERT OPTIONAL STRIPE HERE - Duck Egg (for double bed size blankets)

INSERT OPTIONAL STRIPE HERE - Cloud Blue (for double bed size blankets)

80. Parchment

81. Duck Egg

82. Wisteria

83. Cloud Blue

84. Duck Egg

85. Mushroom

86. Duck Egg

87. Cloud Blue

88. Wisteria

89. Duck Egg

90. Cloud Blue

Meadow_mix_graphic

Here is the colour info for Part 6 of the "MIXED STRIPE" Meadow Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet (the mixed stripe is on page 2 of the PDF)

76. Pale Rose

77. Parchment

78. Lincoln

79. Buttermilk

80. Cloud Blue

81. Grape

82. Wisteria

83. Meadow

84. Dandelion

85. Pistachio

86. Duck Egg

87. Sage

88. Mushroom

89. Raspberry

90. Lavender

If you've been following the Mixed Stripe colours and making a large size double blanket, I promised that there would be an extra set of stripes for you to add extra length if you need it. The six parts of the CAL should have given you a length of approximately 6ft / 180cm, so if you need to add an additional 30cm, here are your additional stripes....

91. Cloud Blue

92. Lincoln

93. Pale Rose

94. Grape

95. Pistachio

96. Buttermilk

97. Duck Egg

98. Meadow

99. Dandelion

100. Parchment

101. Wisteria

102. Raspberry

103. Sage

104. Mushroom

105. Lavender

Interestingly, I haven't seen many repeating stripe blankets on social media (or mixed stripes) as I think the majority of you have chosen to follow me with the Meadow colour story this year. I would LOVE to see more though, so if you've been making a repeating stripe or mixed stripe, please shout out and let me know? The above photo was shared this week by my bloggy friend Teresa, who always takes the most delicious photos of her blankets. You can see she is part way through her second repeat and I think it is just stunning.

Before we go, there are a couple things to talk about as we come towards the end of our stripes. Firstly, I thought it would be useful to have a check on yarn quantities. The above photo shows what I have left at the end of six repeats. You can see that the balls still appear quite full, but the best way to judge is by using digital kitchen scales to weigh.

My balls varied (as you would expect) but I had at least 30g of each ball left. That means that six stripes used up approx 70g of yarn from a full 100g ball.

I'm still working on the border design so I'm so sorry that I can't tell you yet what colours we'll be using just yet, but it's a good idea to make sure you have at least 20g of each ball left. I'll pop in next week to tell you more about the border so that you can make your preparations.

Next week I have deliberately scheduled in a "catch up" week. This will give you chance to catch up if you've fallen behind with your rows, and to make sure you have darned in all your ends ready for the border. I wonder how many of you have got your ends still dangling????!! I always advise to do them as you go along, but each to their own.....I know it would make me spitting mad to sit and darn in ends from 180 rows, but who am I to judge??!!!! If you've left yours to do at the end, I hope you find some kind of therapeutic calm in dealing with them all. HAHA!!!

Well, I hope you have loads of fun in the sky this week, and I'll bob by next Friday to catch up a bit and tell you a weeny bit more about border preps. Part 7 (the border pattern) will be released on Friday 26th February.

Have a great week......

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Here are some links for you, should you need them....

🌸 PART 6 PRINTABLE WORKSHEET

🌸 MEADOW YARN PACK

🌸MEADOW STRIPE TUTORIAL

🌸MEADOW PRINTABLE PATTERN

🌸 MEADOW BLANKET INTRODUCTION

🌸 MEADOW CAL PART 1 - stripes 1-15

🌸 MEADOW CAL PART 2 - stripes 16-30

🌸 MEADOW CAL PART 3 - stripes 31-45

🌸 MEADOW CAL PART 4 - stripes 46-60

🌸 MEADOW CAL PART 5 - stripes 61-75

Posted at 09:58 AM in CAL, Crochet | Permalink | Comments (32)

February 05, 2021

Meadow Blanket CAL :: Part 5

Hello my lovelies, thank you as always for calling by to visit with me, I hope you know how much I appreciate it. It's been another long, slow, plodding sort of a week here and I've continued to stay home and safe in the current lockdown. I venture out most days for a daily walk with J, and sometimes an additional "exercise walk" with the Little People once their home school learning has finished for the day. It's been quiet and mundane, but that's no bad thing for this time of year I don't think. If I tell myself that it's hibernating season then I find I am more content to spend such long extended hours within the home.

The Meadow blanket continues to bring me so much happiness and I honestly think I would feel very differently about this time of year if I didn't have this blanket in my hands. It really is the best kind of therapy, and I am so, so thankful for it.

As you would expect, as I sit quietly and crochet my stripes my mind is often filled with summery meadow memories. The solace that I found in this special place last year is something that I crave during these lockdown days that we are living through. I am very much looking forward to being there again this year, I mean, I can go there now if I wished to, but the winter meadow is pretty subdued (and helluva muddy) and very different to it's summertime show.

I did walk through the meadow on Tuesday though, in six inches of snow!! It was magical actually, so still and peaceful, and bitingly cold, perfect February weather I'd say.

I continue my fight against the chill of the winter, and have been making full use of the many, many blankets that are always within arms reach. Even though the Meadow blanket is now big enough to be very cosy as I sit and crochet, I have felt cold enough to need multiple yarny layers. Pile 'em on I say!

The other night I was snuggled on the sofa adding my final stripe for the day when the kitty decided that I had provided her with the perfect snoozing place. She is pretty good in that she doesn't often claw my blankets, she kind of turns round in circles a few times, then flops down into an immediate sleeping position. It's all very comforting for us both and I absolutely love to feel her warmth and weight as I lose myself in my stitches.

Over the past weeks as I've tiptoed through social media (in the Facebook groups, and the #meadowcal hashtag on Instagram), I've come across lots of delightful photos of your pets sharing your meadow journey. It really makes me happy to see how much your crochet blankets are being loved and appreciated.

Shall we take a look at some of your furry (and feathered) friends?

↑↑ Sharon shared this wonderful photo of her kitty, Evil Edna, which made me laugh as I'm old enough to remember Willo the Wisp!

↑↑ This is Nicole working on her meadow stripes with a very cosy little lap warmer tucked away under her blanket.

↑↑ Hollie shared this photo of her beautiful white kitty looking very contented indeed.

↑↑ This gorgeous cat belongs to Cailin and I love the look of ownership - we know who the meadow blanket belongs to!

↑↑ Angela's kitty has found a super-comfy bed to cosy up in, perfectly placed for a light catnap.

Of course it wasn't just cats who were taking advantage of the cosy meadow vibes, there were plenty of dogs too......

↑↑ Awwwww, just look at that face!! Lynda's super-cute dog is irresistible!

↑↑ Oh, would you look at that attitude! Lorraine's little cutie is most obviously in charge of the Meadow.

↑↑ Emma is hooking away with a very contended and sleepy companion.

↑↑ Gabriella's gorgeous little dog has most definitely decided who the meadow blanket really belongs to.

↑↑ Oh, this melted my heart, the cuteness is too much! Carolanne, thank you for such a heart-warming photo.

So many of us share our homes (and our crochet blankets) with cats and dogs, but I was delighted to see some other pets enjoying the crochet life too.......

↑↑ Say hello to Dexter! Jakki shared this photo of her pet degu and I love how chilled out he looks.

↑↑ This little cutie is Hermione the Russian dwarf hamster, enjoying Karen's meadow blanket. Such a sweet little face!

↑↑ Oh my goodness, I couldn't believe my eyes when this photo appeared, I don't think we've ever had a chicken join the CAL before?! This feathered beauty is called Poppet and she belongs to Carrie who has taken her meadow blanket al fresco.

↑↑ Lorraine made me smile when she shared some photos of her beautiful knitted rabbits enjoying her meadow blanket.

↑↑ This handsome chappy is Sid the Squirrel, isn't he wonderful? He was made by Emma as a gift for a friend, but he looks like he's loving the Meadow life.

↑↑ And finally, please say hello to Unicorn Kitty with her colourful Meadow tufts!!! Louise made me laugh out loud with this photo, definitely an inspired moment.

I've really loved all the photos from this week, such a lot of comfort and humour.

Right then, would you like to see how week five of the Meadow CAL is looking?

In week five, we'll be looking out across the tops of the tall dried summer grasses to the distant hills and sky beyond. The meadow where I walk is a hilly place and the far reaching rural views are wonderful.

I wanted the top part of the colour story to capture the serenity of these views - these colours are soft and calming and remind me so much of summertime.

We'll be introducing the final two colours this week - hellllloooooooooo blue sky!!!! Oh, it's a glorious moment when the first glimpses of summer sky appear in the blanket I can tell you, I was sooooooooo excited to break out the Duck Egg!!

Part five is mostly about the dried grasses and distant hills, but the little peeks of Cloud Blue and Duck Egg give a hint of the summer sky above.

As you work your stripes this week you will really get a feel of the colour story working its magic. It's not always easy to transition gently from strong brights to soft pastels, but I think I've managed to do it. I know that my heart is happy when I look at these beautiful stripes and that's usually a good indicator that all is well.

Shall we take a proper look?

I am so happy with it! I can't tell you how much I love the colours and the way they are playing out my summer memories. It really does feel like magic.