Springfrost Blanket CAL :: Part 5

This week has been a busy one for me, a week of catching up. A mixture of happy social times spent catching up with friends as well as some very time consuming and brain numbing hours spent catching up with my accounts and taxes. It's the usual merry jumble of January and I do quite enjoy the fullness of my days when they run like this. Even when I'm spending hours at my laptop crunching numbers into a spreadsheet, it reminds me how amazingly grateful I am to be making a living out of something I love so much.

One of the friends I had coffee with this week is someone I've not had a chance to catch up with since before the pandemic at the start of 2020 - it's hard to get my head around the fact that this was almost three years ago. Crazy, eh? We were chatting a lot about our shared passion for yarn, designing and creating, and the ups and downs of working from home. She asked about my studio which sadly I don't have any more, and I told her that I mostly work from the dining table, the fireside or the sofa these days. I do miss my studio a lot (you can read more about it in this post), but working from home has some huge benefits too.

I took the above photo for Instagram, a quick snap of the sofa earlier in the week where I had been sat crocheting my Springfrost blanket. I don't know how many of you reading here also use Instagram? I love it for the visuals and the inspiration, and of course the wonderful crochet community on there, but sometimes it can be a bit of a strange platform for sharing photos.

As you've probably guessed by now, I love the idea of sharing images that inspire and look good, but I'm a very in-the-moment person and I much prefer the authentic, un-edited, un-filtered, more spontaneous approach to taking photographs. There is a LOT of "styling" on Instagram, it's creative faffing taken to a whole new level, and honestly I just don't often have the patience for it. So the above photo for example is completely un-styled, and shows my sofa exactly as it was when I got up and plopped my blanket down with the hook still stuck in my uncompleted row. I happened to turn round and thought how lovely it all looked in that moment, and decided to snap the scene with my phone ready to be used a few days later on Instagram. It's far from perfect, but then that's real life for you and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Seeing a snapshot of my "working from home life" described in a photo honestly makes me so full of gratitude I feel like I could burst wide open with it. When I find myself craving more space, or pining for my old studio, I quickly remind myself how bloomin' lucky I am that I get to be at home with J and the Little People and crochet blankets for a living. Lucky, lucky me.

I had to show you the above photo - this was just moments after I'd snapped my square image for Insta, and the kitty obviously assumed that the blankety sofa was being prepared especially for her. My blankets are like a magnet for her and she can't resist their special brand of cosy. I know many of you share your crochet blankets with your furry friends (or rather, the four legged members of the family insist on inserting themselves whenever crochet is about), so I thought it would be fun to share a few cutesome furry photos this week with you.

♥ Kathy had to stop hooking mid row (don't you just hate it when that happens?!) because her kitty decided that the Springfrost made the perfect bed.

♥ Oh Charlie, just look at your contented face! Helen had obviously laid the blanket out especially for your pleasure!

♥ This sweet kitty is also appreciating the cosiness of a crochet blanket - Kate has chosen a gorgeous palette of "peacock feather colours" and I think it looks amazing.

♥ Christine also has a kitty who has stopped her hooky time mid-row...I mean, how could you possibly think that this blanket could be moved? The cat's in charge!

♥ Sheelagh's kitty made me smile, I mean, how perfect is that crochet-lined basket for a quick little cat-nap?!

♥ Nicola, oh my goodness, this photo made me hoot with laughter, so funny!! There's no way you could ignore that cheeky face, is there?

It's not just the cats that appreciate a fine crochet blanket, there are plenty of dogs who intervene when it's hooky time......

♥ Lynsay's dog doesn't seem to mind that the blanket is all wrapped up, it makes the perfect pillow, thank you!

♥ Oh, just look at those puppy-dog eyes! Sue's gorgeous blanket is already well loved by the looks of it.

♥ Denise's Springfrost is also getting a lot of love and you can just see the crochet blanket appreciation in that sweet face.

♥ Clare is generously sharing her Springfrost with the gorgeous Luther, what a photogenic pair they are!

♥ And lastly, I know this is Fireside rather than Springfrost, but I really had to share it with you. Lynette's kitty is an absolute beauty and a natural in front of the camera - I mean, the blanket looks stunning but the kitty really steals the show hands down. I love it!

Thank you again for taking time to share your blanket journey with us all on social media, the Facebook groups are buzzing with happy Springfrost vibes and the #springfrostcal hashtag on Instagram is a true feast for the eyes. The Attic24 online community is something very special, so thank you for being a part of it xx

Is it just me, or do you also think that the weeks are flying by? January is behind us now and we're at week 5 of the CAL already......I just can't get my head around it! They do say time flies when you're having fun, so lets just put it down to that - lots of blankety fun.

Week five of the Springfrost CAL will bring your blanket pretty close to completion as we'll be crocheting another 18 stripes this week. 

I hope that you're still enjoying the soothing rhythm of crocheting this lovely stitch? I'm love love loving it and think it's one of the most relaxing patterns I've ever worked on. I had some lovely friends visiting me last weekend who you might know - a well known sock designer and a talented crochet author - so we spent a lot of time chatting and yarning together. It's one of the things I adore about making striped blankets with a simple pattern repeat, it makes for the perfect social project. My Springfrost rows happily grew all day in the café and then later with a glass or two of vino in the bar, and then into the next day over morning coffee.

Mostly when I'm working on a blanket, it stays folded up in my yarn bag or else it's strewn across the furniture with a child under it or a kitty snuggled into it. So when I need to take my weekly photographs for these CAL blog posts, it always takes me a little bit by surprise to see it all laid out neat and flat. It's not often my blankets ever get to be horizontal and smoothed out in real life as they are very, very well used household items that are more often folded, piled or in some sort of nest-shape. 

I do admit I get a genuine thrill each and every week when I stand above my blanket all laid out on the floor and get to see it in it's entirety - it makes me SO HAPPY!!!!!!

So the above image is after week 5 has been completed, which is 87 stripes in total. I would say that this is a good length for a blanket (it's measuring around 160cm long at this point), and the proportions look good too. I shall leave it up to you, but if you wish to stop after part 5 and wait for the border instructions then you absolutely can do that.

I'll be adding the final set of stripes next week in part 6, but it won't be the full 18....I'll explain more in a bit.

Aww Tilly....I love how much you love my blankets!!

Right, lets get the next set of stripes under way........

Here is the colour info for Part 5 of the Springfrost Blanket. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

🌸 PART 5 COLOUR WORKSHEET

Remember that this list of colours refers to the stripes, so crochet two rows of each colour.

70. Baby Blue

71. Mushroom

72. Duck Egg

73. Blue Marl

74. Cloud Blue

75. Meadow

76. Parma Violet

77. Lincoln

78. Pale Rose

79. Duck Egg

80. A Hint of Silver

81. Baby Blue

82. Spearmint

83. White

84. Meadow

85. Mushroom

86. Powder pink

87. Wisteria

NOTE : If you are making a larger double/king blanket with two yarn packs, there will be an extra set of stripes given in part 6 for you to add on if you wish.

🌸 PART 5 COLOUR WORKSHEET

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT YARN QUANTITIES

As you start to work through part 5 of your blanket, it's a good idea to take stock of where you're at in terms of the size of your blanket and the yarn that you're using. Hopefully most of you took my advice and made a tension sample before you began, so your measurements shouldn't be too wildly different from mine.

I use digital scales to check how my yarn is being used as I work through my blanket - ordinary digital kitchen scales work just fine for this as you only need a general measurement in grams. I can also highly recommend these pocket scales too - they are small enough to tuck in your yarn bag and work a treat for weighing yarn. You can find the ones I have on Amazon ((here)).

Each stripe should be using approximately 12g of yarn.

As you work through part five, most of the colours will have been crocheted into six stripes in total - this means you should have used around 75g of yarn, and have 25g left.

When we work the border, we will need approximately 20g of each border colour.

Please, please use your own judgement with your yarn quantities - spread your blanket out, measure the length of it and decide how long you're happy with. Keep in mind that this is a squishy, stretchy crochet pattern, and your blanket will stretch slightly with use. Weigh your yarn balls, and please do feel free to stop working your stripes if your blanket is long enough, or your yarn is running low! I really want you to have enough yarn to work a cute border to finish off your stripes.

I hope you have a lovely week and find pockets of time to really unwind and enjoy some top notch crochet therapy.

x

♥ SPRINGFROST BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK 

♥ SPRINGFROST STRIPE TUTORIAL

♥ SPRINGFROST PDF PATTERN

♥ CAL PART 1 : stripes 1-15

♥ CAL PART 2 : stripes 16-33

♥ CAL PART 3 : stripes 34-51

♥ CAL PART 4 : stripes 52-69

 

 

 

Comments

[Bev Kinsley]

Such a pretty blanket! Looking forward to the border this week. Also, I am hoping someday that you will publish the cushion pictured in this post. It’s a project I would love to make.
Thanks for sharing your passion for crochet!

[Angela]

I’m loving the spring frost blanket Lucy, I think it’s one of my favourites to be honest! My cat Sushi loves my crochet blankets so much that if I’ve just started crocheting one and I’ve only done two rows for example he won’t settle until I drape it over him! 🤣😂

[سعر الفحم في مصر]

I love your 'life as it is in the moment'photos,they are always so real and genuine.

[فحم الجازورين]

Thank you for this relaxing, beautiful pattern!

[Beverley]

I love your 'life as it is in the moment'photos,they are always so real and genuine.
Thank you for sharing such cute furry friends and their blankets. They made me very happy to see them.

[Annamaria Kelly]

Absolutely loving the blanket. Although it’s really hot in South Africa, I crochet when I can with the aircon on. Well done on sharing such a lovely blanket to inspire us all.

[Robyn Bowman]

Could anyone suggest a border that I can start now. The baby is born so I raced ahead to finish a blanket in whatever colours I had on hand.

[Fiona T]

Oh the pet pics are precious. Honestly Im bored with the super posed crochet pics on Insta. Way too 'samey' and uninteresting now.

[Susan]

Thank you for a lovely post and all the cutest pet photos. I don't do IG or FB, so the snaps are fun to see and I remember my 2 cats (both gone now)either sitting on a quilt laid out on the floor or playing with the loose blocks and they loved it when my DD or I knitted or crocheted when the kids were still at home. Although I'm not doing the above blankie, my Dune rug is shaping up well as I hook of a night while watching some mindless TV. Thanks again Lucy for being inspirational Take care & hugs from down under.

[Rainbow Junkie]

As a bit of feedback. I made a tension square before I started and have been using almost exactly 10g per two row stripe right from the beginning. The blanket is between 46 and 48ins wide depending on how much you stretch it. I am only up to stripe 60 but should have plenty of yarn for lots more. It measures about 100cm long at present so it won't be as long as yours. Probably because I am making sure the stripes are bubbly, which I love. Thank you for a great pattern and beautiful set of colours.

[Kate Burton]

Thank you for this relaxing, beautiful pattern! I'm thoroughly enjoying watching my blanket grow. And delighted to see my cat feature in the pictures above, sitting on my peacock coloured blanket! 🦚❤️

[Lynn Hind]

This is my first attic24 CAL ....I've loved everything about it, the colours especially are beautiful, I've swapped the baby blue and blue marl for daffodil yellow and forget-me-not as my lovely gentle late dad adored spring and its beauty his birthday was February, so I've put him in there ❤️ the worksheet is so handy to print and work from thank you 😊

[Anne]

How many border colors Do i need?

[Jill]

Thankyou for the journey back to your studio. So inspiring and lots of ideas for my newly vacated tiny bedroom. At last a space for me and my wool. As for my blanket, well it's almost my favourite,but nothing will ever surpass my first blanket journey when I nervously started the best blanket ever. The Moorland Blanket. I still get a thrill when I look at it and can't believe it's mine. Made by me. So that aside and many blankets later this is a joy to hook and deliciously squishy. Thankyou Lucy Xx

[Mariëlle W.]

Thank you so much,Lucy, for this lovely blanket. I'm not often crocheting, but this blanket is so a challenge and every Friday I'm looking for the new part.
I just payed you a coffee for this weekend, because it's so gently from you to give and explain this beautiful Springfrost blanket.