Attic24

Springfrost Blanket CAL :: Part 6

There are many (oh, so many) things I love about making crochet blankets, and right up near the top of the list is the gentle way in which they become absorbed into family life as soon as they're big enough. Once a blanket gets past the scarf stage I very rarely seem to store it in my yarn bag - it just gets folded up and left on the table or the arm of the sofa or a chair ready for the next time I want to add a row or two. It's from that point onwards that the blanket belongs to the home - the Little People begin to snuggle under it and the kitty certainly knows how to take advantage of all those lovingly hooked stitches.

It makes me ridiculously happy to have my blankets strewn around the furniture, and to see them being used and enjoyed. Yes, the Springfrost blanket is still a work in progress, and yes for me personally there is also an underlying element of "work" in those carefully thought out stripes. But I do really love to use my blankets during the weeks that I'm actively making them, and I hope that it's the same for you too.

Week six of this gentle crochet-a-long is upon us and it's time to finish up with these soothing, therapeutic rows. As usual, the very last row of the Springfrost blanket brought a heap of mixed feelings down upon my head - yaaaaaaay, the end is in sight! But noooooo, I'm not ready for it to be over! Awwwww, I LOVE crocheting this blanket so much, but oooooh I can already feel the itch inside my creative brain with a new design brewing. I mean, we do still have the border to get excited about so the journey's not over quite yet, but we are certainly on the home straight.

This week there are a smaller number of stripes to complete (8 instead of 18) so you can either take your sweet time with them, or knock them out over the weekend. A reminder that the final row (colour Spearmint, shown above) is a simple row of trebles which creates a neat top edge. So when you turn your blanket ready for the final row, chain 3 as usual, and then work 1 treble into each stitch along.

It's delightfully satisfying to crochet that final stripe and see all those neat stitches lining up for the finishing edge.

I have to tell you that I am obsessed with the texture of the Springfrost blanket....

.....oh my, it is SO PLEASING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has just the right amount of bobblesomeness, and such a satisfyingly high squish factor, no wonder the kitty makes a beeline for it whenever she gets the chance.

I really enjoy taking these progress photos each week - I think I mentioned last week that I get a kick out of laying the blanket out so that it's all flat and smooth like a rug, because it's not often I get to enjoy my blankets in such a visual way.

It certainly allows me to appreciate all my hard work creating a "random" colour order - I can tell you that a LOT of thought goes into the colour placement of the stripes each week so that they balance and harmonise as a whole. Have you noticed that the white stripes are all placed an equal distance apart???

Let me show you how the whole of the blanket looks once all 95 stripes are complete.....

......woop-woop!!!!!!! Ninety Five stripes of pretty Springfrost colour to make you smile :)

I'm SO happy with the perfect winter-spring look of these colours. They are like a clear bright day with a real chill in the air.  Fresh, with an uplifting winter-is-over feel. It's exactly what I was thinking about when I first started to work on the colour palette back in the Spring of last year.

I hope these final stripes deliver you some wonderful hooky pleasure, and that you're also looking forward to seeing the edging I've designed.....I'll chat a little bit more about the final CAL instalment in a bit. 

Here is the colour info for Part 6 of the Springfrost Blanket. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

🌸 PART 6 COLOUR WORKSHEET

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

88. Blue Marl

89. Pistachio

90. Cloud Blue

91. Pale Rose

92. Mushroom

93. Duck Egg

94. Meadow

95. Spearmint (remember it's a row of trebles as the very last row)

NOTE : If you are making a larger double/king blanket with two yarn packs and you want to add some extra length, you can add some additional stripes, as follows :

96. Blue Marl

97. Powder Pink

98. Lincoln

99. White

100. Parma Violet

101. Cloud Blue

102. Duck Egg

103. Meadow

104. Pale Rose

105. Pistachio

106. Mushroom

107. Wisteria

108. Baby Blue

109. A Hint of Silver

110. Spearmint

🌸 EXTRA STRIPES WORKSHEET

I'll be giving you Part 7 of the CAL in two weeks time on Friday 24th February - this will be the pattern and tutorial for the Springfrost border.

The border I've designed is going to be made up of narrow rounds, and I've picked out seven colours :

1. Parma Violet (the cold ground)
2. Baby Blue (a clear sky)
3. Lincoln (frosty leaves)
4. Pistachio (fresh spring buds)
5. Powder Pink (early blossom)
6. A Hint of Silver (a chill in the air)
7. White (a frosty finish!)

You are of course free to pick out your own colour sequence, especially if any of the colours listed above aren't your favourites. You might also decide to work less than 7 rounds, although I do hope that you'll choose white as your frosty finish, because it's going to look wonderful (!)

A little reminder that you'll need approximately 20g of each border colour, and the easiest way to check is by using digital scales, either kitchen ones, or these pocket scales which are brilliant (find them on Amazon here).

Next Friday is given as a "catch up" week in the CAL, which means you can carry on hooking if you're taking the slower approach, or take the opportunity to darn in your ends and get your blanket ready for the border to begin. I'll most likely still be popping onto the Attic to share a chatty blog post with you next week, but I hope you are OK to wait a little longer for the final part of the crochet-along.

Wishing you a soft and squishy week full of cosy comforts!

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

♥ CAL PART 5 : stripes 70-87

 

 

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

 

 

 

Springfrost Blanket CAL :: Part 4

Isn't it a lovely thing when we can gaze at a simple collection of colours and conjure up another time and place? I've been doing exactly that this past week - using these soft, Springfrost colours to remind myself that we are slowly edging through winter towards a lighter, brighter time of the year. This pretty yarn palette has really has helped lift my spirits, both the colour therapy and the repetitive, soothing rhythm of working those squishy rows to calm my mind.

Last week I journeyed down to Dorset, and as it's a pretty full-on day of travel involving three different trains across seven hours, I always like to have something yarny to pass the time. For this journey I knew without a doubt that I needed to make space in my bag for my rapidly growing Springfrost - it's not an especially portable project, but oh, it's so worth it! As I jigged my way through the southern counties watching the sun slowly sink in the sky, my hands busy creating some slow, spring-coloured stripes, well.....it was a little bit of heaven right there. 

My time in Dorset was such a melting pot of mixed feelings and I'm still attempting to sort through them and recover some equilibrium. As I was there primarily to take care of my Dad, I didn't have much of a chance to get out and about like I normally would. The days were extremely cold but clear and bright with lots of winter-frost covering the landscape. I snapped the above photo walking past the local florist in town one morning, as the flowering pots stacked up outside really caught my eye. The flowers looked so pretty and instantly reminded me of my blanket - cool silvery-white hellebores and the cutest little pots of pale purple and white pansies too. 

I wasn't online much during the week I was away and so I feel  little bit disconnected from you all out there. How are you doing? Are you enjoying the Springfrost colours? Are you taking it gently this month and allowing some drift to happen?

Since I came home a couple days ago, I have managed to do a quick spin through the various social media groups and CAL hashtags and have been utterly delighted with the images you've been sharing - thank you SO MUCH! I feel ridiculously InSpiReD every time I see where my colours are taking you, it really is the most fabulous thing. I don't have much of a theme to my sharing this week, but I hope you enjoy this collection of inspirational Springfrost works-in-progress.....

♥ I shared some of these beautiful squares made by Nikii (@nikiiloops) in week two of the CAL and thought you'd appreciate an update. They really are stunning and the more I see of them, the more I love them. They are made using the tapestry crochet technique and the pattern by Tinna Thórudóttir Thorvaldsdóttir can be found on Ravelry:

(https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/saga-6).

♥ Marion is making hexagons and she's included some darker shades in with my Springfrost palette. I love how she's kept all the centres white so they look like snowflakes - so pretty.

♥ Rain shared this photo on Facebook of her Springtide blanket in progress, and I'm loving how these soft colours are working up with the original Yuletide square pattern.

♥ BK is using the Springfrost yarn pack to make this very striking Clamshell stitch blanket. The pattern is by Sandra Paul and is free on her Cherry Heart blog >>

https://www.cherryheartcrochet.co.uk/2019/07/clamshell-stitch-tutorial.html

♥ Laura (@goslingandplumb) is also using one of Sandra's patterns with her Springfrost colours - this is the start of a Battenberg blanket using white as the main shade, isn't it pretty? You can find this pattern on Sandra's blog too >>

https://www.cherryheart.co.uk/2018/12/battenberg-blanket.html

♥ Kaz (@kaz_at_frockasaurus) - has done it again! Most of you will probably be familiar with Kaz Hall and her collection of Harmony blankets, especially if you are part of the Hooked on Attic24 facebook group. The blanket above is a lovely alternative Springfrost baby blanket, made using the first four rounds of the original Harmony Granny Square and the join as you go method.

If you are a member of the Hooked on Attic24 Facebook group , Kaz has very generously written up a free PDF chart to help you make this baby blanket and you can find it in the group files.

♥ Kay also made a baby Springfrost blanket and designed her own lovely border for it too. But I think you'll agree that the super-cute Springfrost bunny really steals the show!

♥ Jo, WOW, this really caught my eye on Instagram and I am now impatiently waiting to see those stitches grow. As well as crocheting some solid Springfrost squares for a blanket, Jo is STITCHING her Springfrost yarn onto canvas to make a cushion - amazing or what?! This stitching technique is called Bargello Needlepoint and is traditionally made using tapestry wool on canvas, but what a fantastic idea to use up leftovers of yarn instead.

♥ Lynn (@silverypaws) always has something creative and beautiful on the go, and her Springfrost project is an absolute stunner. She's making a cushion cover using a beautiful design by Jen Tyler (The Floral Hook on Ravelry), and I absolutely adore it. I think this circular design will now very cleverly be turned into a square. You can find the pattern on Ravelry if you feel inspired to create your own, it's called the Moonflower cushion block >>

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/moonflower-11

♥ Nini (@nini.pippilotta) is a huge fan of my Aria blanket design and if you follow her on Instagram you will probably have seen her amazing collection. Let me share with you her Springfrost Aria.....I think in the above photo there is still one more round of squares to be added around the outer edge, but you can already see the radiating Aria colour effect. Nini is using an alternative square pattern (the Fat Flower Granny Square by the very talented David Abel). Similar to Kaz, David is an integral part of the Hooked on Attic24 Facebook group and has shared his square as a free pattern which you can find in the group files (files are displayed in date order, you'll find this one in January 2021)

I have to tell you that at first I was confused by the warm yellow centre of this blanket as I deliberately kept my Springfrost colour palette on the cool side. Nini said she used yellow to represent the Winter Aconite flower which she sees at this time of year in Germany where she lives....

....and when I saw her inspiration collage above, it all made perfect sense. Beautiful!

I hope you enjoyed seeing the creativity and design ideas shared in the Attic24 online community, it makes me so deep-down happy to see you sharing and inspiring as we enjoy crocheting along together, so thank you xxx

Here we are then, more than half way through the Springfrost CAL, and part four this week will add another 18 stripes to your growing blanket. I'm working just one week ahead of you all, so I was busy hooking up part four last week when I was down in Dorset. It was a very welcome way to pass the time, those soothing stitches giving me some much needed comfort at times. 

These soft colours continue to bring some gentle calm into my days and I am very grateful for that I have to say. Calm is good!

Cosy is good too, especially as we've been gripped in a freeeeeezing spell of winter frost and ice this week. I've appreciated having a blanket on my lap very much - it was pretty shivery-cold down in Dorset and there wasn't a mammoth pile of crochet blankets to reach for like I'm used to here at home. How do people manage without crochet blankets??!

Part 4 of Springfrost......ta-dah! I apologise for the weird lighting which makes the bottom half the blanket look a little on the yellow side - I was limited with space at my Dad's house and didn't have good light to work with. In the end, I decided to brave the freeze and take my Springfrost out into the garden.....

....ahh, that's better! This gives you a much better look at the colours in bright natural daylight, but please do me a favour and pretend you can't see the rough fence backdrop? 

At the end of part four, you'll have 69 stripes and your blanket should be looking and behaving in a very pleasing blankety manner. Oh, I do so love growing a blanket, don't you?! It's just so bloomin' satisfying!

Yummy. These Springfrost colours are veeeeery yummy.

Here is the colour info for Part 4 of the Springfrost Blanket. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

🌸 PART 4 COLOUR WORKSHEET

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

52. Spearmint 

53. White

54. Pale Rose

55. Mushroom

56. Blue Marl

57. Powder Pink

58. Duck Egg

59. Meadow

60. Baby Blue

61. Pistachio

62. A Hint of Silver

63. Parma Violet

64. Wisteria

65. Lincoln

66. Powder Pink

67. Pale Rose

68. White

69. Spearmint

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 4 COLOUR WORKSHEET

I'm sending you calm and cosy vibes, I hope these yummy stripes bring you some contented moments this week.

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

 

 

Springfrost Blanket CAL :: Part 3

Hellooo! I'm really happy to be here chatting blankety things with you this morning, and I hope you're all doing OK out there in whatever weather the planet is dishing up to you. It's been a very chilly week here, and I've wondered (not for the first time) how non-hooky folks cope without a pile of crochet blankets to tuck into when the temperature falls? In my house, my blankets are piled on every piece of furniture, so if you're sitting or sleeping then you'll have a handmade blanket to cosy under. They feel like such an essential part of home life, and with each passing year I appreciate them more and more.

We are also blessed to have an open fire to see us through the cold half of the year, and lighting it is a daily ritual which fills me with a deep sense of gratitude. Lighting up time is usually around 3pm on weekdays as I like to sit down right next to it and enjoy an afternoon cuppa when Little B comes home from school. It's one of my favourite times of day, that lull between 3 and 4 when I often sit and chat to the Little People before I need to start thinking about getting started on making dinner.

My three o'clock sit-down is also the perfect time to have my crochet in my lap so I can add a few rows to my growing blanket while I chat with the fam. It's such a pleasure, a time to unwind and relax while also managing to feel just weeeeny bit smugly productive! Its a great combination - relaxing productivity - and gives me the happy feels right deep down into my soul. I hope that if you're crocheting along with me this season, that you feel the same way, it's such a blessing.

I know that many of you who join in with this crochet along aren't in the northern hemisphere at all, and you're dealing with rising temperatures instead of falling ones. It must be strange for you to try and imagine the sub-zero freeze that we're experiencing here, just as I honestly can't imagine feeling the heat right now?!

We are in the grip of a very cold Winterfrost in the UK, and as pretty as it is, I'm still really looking forward to a little more warmth and colour. I find myself looking for colour everywhere I go, searching out signs of seasonal growth....

....and every so often I'm lucky enough to find it. What a delight! I often walk past these trees on my way home from town, and right now they are bravely flowering with the prettiest, "Powder Pink" winter blossom. It honestly doesn't look real - so delicate and fragile in this harsh weather, but oh, so very beautiful. 

Seeing the blossom made me think again about my Springfrost colours, and how surprising it is that I'm loving such pale, delicate shades.

I'm usually all about the bright colours as you know, and this colour palette really is an unexpected delight I have to say! 

This week I've gathered together some really lovely photos for you from my travels through the online Attic community, and I'm sure they'll spark some inspiration. They feature Springfrost blankets which use alternative colour palettes - you know I'm always in support of you using my patterns and joining in with the CAL with whatever colours make you happy. Creativity is to be celebrated, and it's a genuine joy to see you taking my patterns and making them your own.

♥ Becka is using the Fireside yarn pack for her blanket, and as you can see it already has the all important Kitty Stamp of Approval. If the Fireside stripes appeal to you, you can find a suggested colour order on my blog ((here)).

♥ Mary-Joyce has taken her stripes on a coastal journey and is using the Coast yarn pack for her blanket.

♥ Christine decided the Hydrangea yarn pack would work well with this pattern and I agree, it looks wonderful. The spike stitches really help to blend the colours which is especially effective when there are quite strong contrasts.

♥ Jo is taking the Cosy route with her blanket and it looks scrumptious! The Cosy yarn pack is available from Wool Warehouse if you love the look of these colours together.

♥ Rebekah has chosen a Woodland theme for her blanket and has put together a warm, earthy colour palette which works ever so well.

♥ Anja has been hooking along and busting her stash, creating a wonderful blanket with a vintage vibe.

♥ Lisa has chosen a cool palette of blues, greens and purples, adding in some pops of bright pink to bring it to life. It's a gorgeous collection of colours and the blanket is already looking fabulous.

♥ Sandra has also chosen her own cool colours - such beautiful harmony with a real wintry feel to it.

♥ Joke is embracing the random approach using yarn from her stash, and the result is an absolute delight - so joyful, I love it.

♥ Samantha - ahhhhh, this photo made my heart leap!! A gorgeous sweep of rainbow brights, and now I'm ItcHiNg to see the greens swell into the blues...it's going to be LUSH!

♥ Wendy has chosen to use yarn she already had, the majority of it being 4ply. She is holding two strands together to achieve the thickness of DK weight, and the result is absolutely beautiful - those multicoloured strands mixed in with the solid shades make the colours look rich and jewel-like.

x

THANK YOU so, so much for sharing your photos on social media via the Facebook groups and on Instagram (using the hashtag #springfrostcal enables us all to find them on insta). Being able to see your newly fledged blankets is such a hugely enjoyable part of the crochet-along experience for me, it really makes me incredibly happy. Keep taking photos, and keep sharing them, it really is appreciated by so many.

Now lets take a little look at this weeks addition to the Springfrost and see what Part 3 adds to the mix. As you work your way through this middle section of stripes, you'll begin to notice your crochet really turn into something blankety. It starts to drape and fold as you work on it, covering your lap in the most deliciously cosy way as you gently hook more rows.

The more blankety your blanket becomes, the more you may notice it attracting attention from family members. Who can resist a set of soft stripes which promise comfort and warmth??!

In part three, the colours continue to blend and harmonise, and the delicate shades work together so beautifully....

....I particularly swooned over this little bit where part 2 joins with the start of part 3 (stripes 31 - 37), oh, those pretty, pretty colours!! 

By the time you swing into part 3, you should be finding the pattern has embedded itself into your grey matter so that you are free to hook away without too much concentration needed. It's the perfect pattern for relaxation and a spot of yarn therapy, and I hope it's bringing you comfort if you are in need. Also....can we take a moment to appreciate how very cosy these stripes are - oh, they are so hugely squishable, and once you come through part 3 this week then you'll have enough of a blanket to deliver some warmth if you need it too.

↑↑ This is how the Springfrost will look once you've completed part 3. We'll be adding on an additional 18 stripes again this week which will take you to around about the half way mark.

Here is the colour info for Part 3 of the Springfrost Blanket. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

🌸 PART 3 COLOUR WORKSHEET

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

34. A Hint of Silver

35. Pale Rose

36. Pistachio

37. Lincoln

38. White

39. Cloud Blue

40. Meadow

41. Blue Marl

42. Powder Pink

43. Duck Egg

44. Parma Violet

45. Spearmint

46. Wisteria

47. Lincoln

48. A Hint of Silver

49. Cloud Blue

50. Parma Violet

51. Pistachio

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 3 COLOUR WORKSHEET

I'm wishing you a wonderfully peaceful and gentle week - remember January is made for a slow pace, and a little bit of hibernation (with your crochet) at this time of year is to be embraced. Enjoy the drift of your days!

x

♥ SPRINGFROST BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK 

♥ SPRINGFROST STRIPE TUTORIAL

♥ SPRINGFROST PDF PATTERN

♥ CAL PART 1 : stripes 1-15

♥ CAL PART 2 : stripe 16-33

 

 

Springfrost Blanket CAL :: Part 2

It's been very grey and dismal here in my part of the world and we've had a huge amount of rainfall during the past week. The little beck is close to overflowing, the fields on the outskirts of town are flooded and footpaths are soggy and muddy. It's the kind of weather I know to expect in winter but still, I can't help myself longing for some bright, sunny cold frosty days instead of the endless shades of dim grey. Yesterday afternoon I happened to look out of the window just as a huge arc of a rainbow was gently fading away above the rooftops, and it really made me smile in that moment. A tiny little glimmer of colour in a day that was wild and stormy from start to finish.

Back in December at the start of the winter season, we had a week or two of very cold weather where the temperatures fell well below zero and pretty much everything that stood still for long enough was covered in a delicate layer of ice. Even on those days when we walked through a freezing murky fog, it was enchanting to see how the trees and hedgerows were transformed into beautiful white icy sculptures. 

I know that signs of Spring will slowly, slowly creep in as the weeks unfold now, and I'm looking forward to going in search of it....I guess it won't be too much longer before the first snowdrops appear and I'm all for it. 

I've spent a lot of time on social media this past week and  from all the photos I've seen I know there are a good many of you joining me on this blanket journey and I hope that you've enjoyed getting started with your stripes. I would like to thank you all so much for sharing your progress online and for all the heart warming friendship and support you've freely given to our online groups, it's been absolutely wonderful to see.

If you aren't already a part of the Attic24 Facebook community, I can highly recommend it if you're looking for some friendly banter and to join up with hundreds of other hooksters all over the world. You can share photos of your blanket progress, pick up lots of handy hints and tips and chat to your hearts content. There are three groups on Facebook to look out for :

Hooked on Attic24

Attic24 and Lots More - UK

Just Attic24 Friends

These groups are very active and friendly, and you'd be made so welcome if you wanted to join in (please do make sure you answer all questions when you submit your joining request as the admins won't be able to accept you into the group if you don't). I'd like to say a massive heart-felt thank you to the fabulous folks who administrate these groups and take care of the day to day running of them, I am so grateful to them.

I love the excitement that surrounds the start of a new blanket and it's always a wonderful experience for me to see what you make of my colours and designs. I know that so many of you look forward to this annual crochet along as a way to start the new year with some gentle creativity and I'm really happy that I can help you with that! As soon as my yarn packs go on sale in November, the buzz on social media is tangible - the Attic24 community really is something very special. 

I hope that after the first week of the CAL that you are all well underway and enjoying these soft, winter-spring colours that I've drawn together for you. I've enjoyed seeing you gather in your supplies and setting off on your Springfrost journey, and the various ways in which you are keeping your colours in check (thank you to Michele for the above image) have made me smile. 

As you know, I do like to include some of your photos each week in celebration of our crochet community and the fabulous sharing across Facebook and Instagram which makes the crochet-along experience extra special. Today I want to inspire you with some images which show the Springfrost colour palette being used in some very creative ways - stripes obviously aren't for everybody!!

I've seen quite a few Yuletide blankets being given the Springfrost treatment, and Jane's photo above gives you a taste of how absurdly pretty this combination is going to be. I think we are collectively calling this blanket "Springtide" which is absolutely brilliant.

Chris is also making some Springtide squares, crocheting the first nine rounds of the Yuletide pattern for hers. She has a really inspirational Instagram account (@krafty_kris3) which is definitely worth a follow.

Sandra is also going the square route and making her Springfrost colours into an Aria blanket. I'm really excited for this as she is taking on the Aria colour story and working from the centre outwards (think pale pink shades in the centre, radiating out through the frosty purples, greens and blues).

Nikii (@nikiiloops) stopped me in my tracks with these square beauties on Instagram, wow, aren't they amazing?! They are made using the tapestry crochet technique and the pattern by Tinna Thórudóttir Thorvaldsdóttir can be found on Ravelry:

(https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/saga-6).

Beautiful work Nikii.

Aside from the square variations, I've also spotted some alternative stripes and they really do look lovely in the soft Springfrost shades. Helen is making a Seaside Stashbuster blanket designed by Eleanora of Coastal Crochet - you can find the pattern ((here))

Sharon is going miniature and making beautiful, tiny rows of moss stitch. I think she said this is going to be a baby blanket because there will be an awful lot of rows.....it's going to look unbelievably pretty.

And finally, not stripes, not squares, but something in the round caught my eye - the start of a Mandala Madness blanket. Hayley is using a fabulous pattern by Helen Shrimpton (pattern details can be found here) and I think "Springfrost Madness" sounds like a lot of fun!

Seeing your photos and all the creativity flowing is always a huge part of the CAL for me, I LOVE to see what you make of my designs and how many of you have the confidence to grow your ideas and make your own unique blankets come to life. Oh, I almost forgot, I really want to show you this image..........

....I saw this on Facebook and was really struck by the simple beauty of it - Lydia is taking inspiration from the sky and has put together her own "Winterfrost" colour palette.

Next week I'll be sharing more alternative colour palettes, I've seen some wonderful stash-bust colours coming together with the Springfrost stitch pattern. More next week.

So lets take a look at the next part of the Springfrost blanket - we're going to be working 18 stripes this week. 

I hope that you've all settled into the pattern and are loving the easy, soothing stripes as they gently grow in your hands. I've read that a lot of you are really appreciating the therapeutic nature of this simple pattern, and I totally get it - me too! I'm working my own blanket just a week ahead of you so am joining in with the CAL each week and it's bringing me so much comfort.

Week two continues with the soft, cool spring colours gently growing. I have to confess that this is a deceptively complex colour palette to balance and I've worked hard to put these fifteen colours into a very soothing, harmonious order. I think looking at it all spread out - so far, so good!

I still can't get over the insanely satisfying texture of this stitch, it really is lush. I can tell you the kitty definitely approves of the squishiness and I've lost count of the times I've found her sitting on my stripes. She's a good blanket tester, followed closely by Little B who is constantly wrapped up in crochet whenever he is sitting downstairs.

Here is the colour info for Part 2 of the Springfrost Blanket. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

🌸 PART 2 COLOUR WORKSHEET

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

16. Wisteria 

17. Cloud Blue

18. Pale Rose

19. Lincoln

20. Baby Blue

21. A Hint of Silver

22. Duck Egg

23. White

24. Mushroom

25. Pistachio

26. Spearmint

27. Blue Marl

28. Powder Pink

29. Parma Violet

30. Meadow

31. Baby Blue

32. Wisteria

33. Mushroom

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 2 COLOUR WORKSHEET

I hope you have a really peaceful and gentle week ahead and that these comforting stripes bring you some happy moments. Enjoy the hooky therapy!

x

♥ SPRINGFROST BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK 

♥ SPRINGFROST STRIPE TUTORIAL

♥ SPRINGFROST PDF PATTERN

♥ CAL PART 1 : stripes 1-15

 

 

Springfrost Blanket CAL :: Part 1

Gooooood Mooooorning my lovelies, Happy New Year, and happy CAL day!!!!! It seems like an age since I first started chatting to you about my inspiration and ideas for this years blanket, and I'm so happy that we're starting the year with some pretty colours and gentle creativity, just what the soul needs in January. Just in case you missed my introductory blog post, you can find it by clicking the following link >>

🌸 SPRINGFROST BLANKET INTRODUCTION

My hope is that you'll enjoy these weekly instalments even if you're not a crocheter and not into making blankets (hmm....are there really any non-blanketeers visiting the Attic?!). I will be sharing lots of gentle colours and seasonal inspiration as we plod our way slowly through January and February and I hope it'll make your heart happy. 

This colour palette is very different to my usual jaunty brights and I am absolutely loving the delicate, soft, gentle feel of it. It's like turning your face into the low winter sun and feeling a welcome warmth even when the air is still freezing. Its refreshing and soothing, and very uplifting too - a weeny glimmer of Spring in the depths of our cold winter season.

As is usual for my blankets, I've chose fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK for my Springfrost blanket

Top row :

♥ Lincoln ♥  Duck Egg ♥  White ♥  A Hint of Silver ♥  Mushroom ♥

Middle row :

♥ Pistachio ♥ Spearmint ♥ Blue Marl* ♥ Parma Violet ♥ Powder Pink ♥

Bottom row :

♥ Meadow ♥ Cloud Blue ♥  Baby Blue* ♥ Wisteria ♥ Pale Rose ♥

You can find the Springfrost yarn pack in my shop at Wool Warehouse, click on the following link...

🌸 SPRINGFROST YARN PACK 

A little reminder for you to make a note of the colours so that you don't have any mix-ups, the colour names are written on the ball bands. In the Springfrost colour palette, some of the paler shades can look very similar especially in artificial light (eg Parma Violet and Mushroom can be easy to mix up).

I really love using these wooden shade cards to keep a note of the colours, they are very photogenic too! My lovely friend Veronica makes and sells them via her Etsy shop, you can find them ((HERE)). She has cards for many of my other yarn packs too, so you could collect them if you wish.

I use my trusty wooden yarn pegs to keep a check on my colours, I keep them in a little drawstring bag with my yarn balls so that I've always got them to refer to if I need them. 

For those of you who have made CAL blankets with me before then you will be familiar with the schedule. If this is your first time, here is a quick rundown of the weeks....

Today you have access to the pattern which remains free and accessible here on my blog for ever so that you can use it whenever you like. Each week I'll be giving you a list of stripes so that you can work on a portion of the blanket, and we aim to make 15-18 stripes a week. Don't worry if this isn't do-able for you, you can absolutely work at your own pace and take a decade to do it if you need to! 

🌸 PART 1 : stripes 1-15 - that's what we're going to look at today

🌸 PART 2 : stripes 16 - 33 (13th Jan)

🌸 PART 3 : stripes 34 - 51 (20th Jan)

🌸 PART 4 : stripes 52 - 69 (27th Jan)

🌸 PART 5 : stripes 70 - 87 (3rd Feb)

🌸 PART 6 : stripes 88 - 105 (10th Feb)

🌸 PART 7 : catch up (darn in those ends!) (17th Feb)

🌸 PART 8 : the border (24th Feb)

As always, I've created my usual photo-heavy tutorial to help you crochet your tension sample and learn how to create the Springfrost stripe. You can find it by clicking on the following link >>

🌸 SPRINGFROST STRIPE TUTORIAL 

I've 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 >>

🌸 SPRINGFROST PDF PATTERN 

I know that some of you may find the thought of crocheting and counting a looooooong wiggly chain and then crocheting that first row a bit daunting. Here are a few tips to help you get off to an easy start...

1. use a bigger hook size to make your chain, then switch down again to work your first row. You can go up two half-sizes to open up the chains a little (eg if you're going to use a 4mm hook for the blanket, make the chain using a 5mm).
2. take your time, and plan to make this first row when you can sit quietly and be completely undisturbed as you count and concentrate on the pattern.
3. make sure you have good light to start your blanket.
4. use stitch markers. You will need to have an accurate chain count for this to work, there is no room for errors. Make your chains slowly, evenly, and place stitch markers at regular intervals, say every 25 chains. This way, if your mind suddenly goes blank (it happens), or the cat distracts you and you lose count (also a distinct possibility in my house), you only have to go back as far as your last stitch marker.

Once your first few rows are out the way, I'm confident that you'll be sailing along these pretty rows and enjoying every minute of it. The pattern is easy to learn with very little counting, and once the initial pattern is set then every stripe is the same. All you need to do is change colours every alternate row and enjoy the hooky rhythm.

By the way, I'd be interested to hear what you make of the white in this blanket?! It's the first time I've ever included it in one of my blankets and I'm still getting used to it, but it does bring a beautifully cool, frosty winter's touch to the whole colour palette.

One thing I LOVE about the Springfrost stitch pattern is the beautiful texture it creates, it really is one of the most squishy and cosy blankets I've ever made.

The spike stitches do a great job of blending and harmonising the stripes, and the delicate shades I've put together have a very calm and soothing effect. But also --- just LOOK at how beautifully bobbly and lush the texture is!! Love love love it.

In part 1 of the CAL we are using all the colours and crocheting up the first fifteen stripes. 

Here is the colour info for Part 1 of the Springfrost Blanket. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

🌸 PART 1 COLOUR WORKSHEET

1. Cloud Blue (Foundation chain & rows 1 & 2)

2. Parma Violet (rows 3 & 4)

3. Blue Marl (rows 5 & 6)

4. Spearmint (rows 7 & 8)

5. Wisteria (rows 9 & 10)

6. Mushroom (rows 11 & 12)

7. Duck Egg (rows 13 & 14)

8. White (rows 15 & 16)

9. Lincoln (rows 17 & 18)

10. Pale Rose (rows 19 & 20)

11. Powder Pink (rows 21 & 22)

12. Pistachio (rows 23 & 24)

13. A Hint of Silver (rows 25 & 26)

14. Baby Blue (rows 27 & 28)

15. Meadow (rows 29 & 30)

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

This year, after much deliberation and an awful lot of frustrated sampling, I decided not to create a Colourwash version for the Springfrost colour palette. The reason being, I just couldn't find a way to make it work harmoniously. With white added into the mix it's a tricky palette to balance and nothing I worked on felt right. I hope you trust me in this - I just didn't feel comfortable giving you something that I wasn't 110% delighted with. 

I know there were those of you hoping for a colourwash blanket and I hate to disappoint you - I'm so sorry it didn't work out. If you really like the idea of a colourwash sweep, then one option is to create a repeating pattern with the Springfrost colours, as in my sample above. If this appeals, then you should work the colours in the following order (from top to bottom in the above image)

Wisteria : Parma Violet : A Hint of Silver : Mushroom : Pale Rose : Powder Pink : White : Blue Marl : Baby Blue : Cloud Blue : Duck Egg : Spearmint : Lincoln : Pistachio : Meadow

Once you've crocheted up all fifteen colours, simply repeat them in the same order so that you end up with wide, repeating bands of stripes, does this make sense?

I really hope you enjoy starting out on this journey with me, I honestly can't think of a better way to begin a new year.

Please do share your photos on social media as I'd love to see how you get on - you can share on my Facebook page, or use the hashtag #springfrostcal on Instagram so I can find you.

Wishing you a week full of happy moments with hook and yarn!

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♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK 

♥ SPRINGFROST STRIPE TUTORIAL

♥ SPRINGFROST PDF PATTERN

♥ SPRINGFROST BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ PART 1 COLOUR WORK SHEET

 

 

Springfrost Blanket :: Introduction

Good morning!! If by any chance you've come to the Attic looking for the new Springfrost yarn pack, click on the following link to go straight there :

♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK ♥

I always really look forward to these posts where I introduce you to a new blanket because it means I can finally share what's been taking up so much space in my head of late. It's a huge relief for me actually as I'm a very open person when it comes to creativity and I find it really, really hard keeping things under wraps. So ((yay)) for today, when I can spill the creative beans!

Most of you probably already know about my annual crochet-along (CAL) which takes place at the start of January every year - this will be my ninth CAL blanket. Last year I wrote a blog post about all my crochet along blankets, so if you'd like to see what previous years have looked like, that post is ((here)). If you are new to the Attic and are wondering what on earth I'm going on about, I'll give more specific details about how the CAL works at the end of this post.

The idea for this colour palette started to form back in March when I was working on my Winter Garland. Do you remember it? The garland was a collection of crochet flowers and leaves in soft, muted winter shades with a touch of spring warmth and I fell head over heels in love with the colours.

As you know, I'm hugely inspired by nature and the seasons, and although I'm a summer-loving soul I can always find the beauty in every season and every type of weather (well, mostly. Drizzle and low cloud is a challenge). 

I actually love the winter months when temperatures fall below zero and we have a heavy frost, it can be incredibly beautiful and inspiring.

Here in Atticland our winters are very long. Take the above photo for example - May this year and even though the spring flowers were blooming we were still getting hard winter frosts. It remained soooooo cold with nights falling below zero and it felt like Spring never really had much of a chance to get going this year. It was very pretty out there, but brrrrrrrr, not really what you would expect spring to feel like.

Because our spring arrives very late, the arrival of the first early flowers is a real cause for celebration. Snowdrops are the first, bravely showing up in February when the weather is still doing crazy winter things. 

Then we look forward to the very early blossom. You can see in the above photo that sometimes these sweet little flowers have to brave a bit of snow and ice, but they don't seem to mind.

Early spring blossom is just the loveliest thing, so delicate and uplifting, it never fails to make me happy.

The colours of the land and sky at this time of year are amazingly  beautiful. The freezing cold weather covers the grass in sparkly frost and the morning sun glows soft and golden.

The early morning skies are often tinged with pink, and I really enjoy getting outside to walk and breathe it all in.

I hope from my photographs that you can get a feeling for how this colour palette came together in my mind. I began to imagine pale pinks, soft blues and frosty greens, with an undertone of cool white and silvery grey. A blend of winter and spring when the weather is still oh-so-cold but nature is gifting us the first flowers of the changing season. It's a quietly joyful colour palette, celebrating the first signs of spring after a long, cold winter.

As with all my colour palettes, I do a huge amount of faffing and deliberation when putting together a collection of colours which will eventually become a blanket. It's a lengthy design process for me, but it's one of my most favourite things to do. Quite simply, I get a massive amount of joy from creating with colour, oooodles of happiness!

The Springfrost colour palette is obviously much paler than my usual choices (it couldn't be more different from last year's Harbour palette) but I love the sweet gentleness of it. You might also be amused to know that this is the very first time I've ever used white in a blanket, and I'm mostly over the internal struggle of it (! if you know, you know !)

As is usual for my blankets, I've chose fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK for my Springfrost blanket

Top row :

♥ Lincoln ♥  Duck Egg ♥  White ♥  A Hint of Silver ♥  Mushroom ♥

Middle row :

♥ Pistachio ♥ Spearmint ♥ Blue Marl* ♥ Parma Violet ♥ Powder Pink ♥

Bottom row :

♥ Meadow ♥ Cloud Blue ♥  Baby Blue* ♥ Wisteria ♥ Pale Rose ♥

You can find the Springfrost yarn pack in my shop at Wool Warehouse, click on the following link...

♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK ♥

* a little note about two of the colours I've chosen - on the left is Baby Blue, and on the right is Blue Marl. You might not be familiar with these shades as they are from the Stylecraft "Special for Babies" range. This yarn is compatible with the usual Special DK and crochets up in exactly the same way....and for this particular colour palette, the pale wintry shades are absolute perfection.

During the course of the past four months or so, I've been working on stitch pattern ideas for the Springfrost blanket. Endless samples have flown off my hook, ideas worked and re-worked, tweaked, frogged, modified and abandoned. When I sample stitch ideas, I don't look in books or at patterns that already exist (well very rarely) - my method is to sit with my hook and "doodle" with the yarn to see what comes up. Sometimes I might have an idea of something already in my head, other times I start with a basic stitch that I already know and attempt to grow it into something new. It's a fun process, a bit frustrating perhaps, but with my years of design experience I know that if I just keep going, eventually something will bloom and feel just right.

I deliberately keep my patterns simple because one of my true passions in life is to inspire crochet beginners to embark on a blanket journey. I use the most basic of stitches, put together in a way that creates something interesting but also very easy to learn and create. For those who are experienced hooksters, my stripe patterns gift you with a whole load of mindful therapy - you're welcome! Personally, I love love love to get lost in a stitch pattern, to allow my mind to quiet while my hands work familiar, repetitive, rhythmic stitches. Absolute bliss.

The Springfrost stripe is a very simple two row repeat which is easy to learn (prefect for beginners) and is worked using UK treble crochet. The resulting surface texture is absolutely delicious - just look at those soft, pouffy, bobbly, squishy lines! This blanket feels beautifully cosy and I can tell you that it's almost impossible to resist stroking it.

Of course I'm reaaaally excited for this crochet-a-long, it's such a lovely thing to look forward to in the New Year once the sparkle of Christmas is behind us. Just a reminder that there is no need to sign up for this CAL - it's all very relaxed here in the Attic so all you need to do is gather your yarn together and join in when the free pattern is released on 6th January.

It's just over seven weeks until the CAL starts so there is a bit of a wait for the pattern, but here is a quick round-up of information for you :

♥ The Attic24 SPRINGFROST CAL will will run for 8 weeks in total, beginning on Friday 6th January - that'll be the day when the pattern will be published here on my blog and I'll give you all the information you need to get started. I'll then give weekly updates every Friday throughout January and February 2023 so that we can make the most of weekend hooky time.

♥ There will be a full picture tutorial here on my blog for the new Springfrost stripe pattern. Weeks 1-6 I'll share the colour order for a set of stripes (around 18 each week). Week 7 will be a catch-up week (darn in those ends!), and the final week 8 will be all about the border.

♥ The SPRINGFROST YARN PACK contains 15 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK and is enough to make one blanket/throw. The blanket will measure approx. 120cm x 175cm. You will need two packs if you wish to make a larger/double bed size blanket. I'll give starting chain/pattern guidance for those of you wishing to make larger (or smaller) blankets. This colour palette and stitch pattern would make beautiful baby blankets, so you could definitely make two of those from one yarn pack if you wished.

♥ There is no printed pattern included in this pack, all pattern info will be here on my blog, with updates every Friday throughout January and February 2023. 

♥ All CAL instalments (pattern and colour info) will remain FREE on my blog into the future so that it's there for you to access at a time that suits you. You don't have to squeeze your blanket journey into 8 weeks if you don't want to - take your time and work at your own pace.

♥ Something I often get asked - can you use your own colours, or use one of my other yarn packs and still join in with the CAL? The answer is YES, of course you can! I appreciate that many of you will probably already have yarn that you want to make use of, and I really look forward to seeing your creativity with stash busting. Perhaps you may not care for these soft pastel shades and want to use one of my brighter colour packs instead, and that's absolutely fine too.

All in all, you've probably guessed that this is a relaxed crochet-along project and the main aim is for us all to enjoy crocheting together. It's such a lovely way to start the New Year, and I hope you'll look forward to it as much as I do.

Before I go, I just want to say how grateful I am for my continued partnership with the lovely folks at Wool Warehouse, they really are fabulous. We've been working together since 2014 and they are just the loveliest people, a true family business who genuinely care about their customers. And for full transparency, I do receive a commission for every Attic24 yarn pack sold through Wool Warehouse, so thank you ever so much for your support, I appreciate it more than I can say.

Well I think that's about all for now, and I hope these soft, pretty colours have inspired you to plan a new blanket journey with me.....roll on January!!

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♥ SPRINGFROST YARN PACK ♥

 

 

 

Harbour Blanket CAL :: Part 7

I think this year more than any other year, my crochet-along seems to have moved very swiftly and I can't quite get my head around the fact that the Harbour Blanket CAL is over. Wah!!!! I'm NoT ready!!!!!! I don't want to let go of our weekly ripply get togethers just yet - I've loved sharing my thoughts with you every Friday and in turn I've really enjoyed seeing all the photos and commentary that you've shared in our online community. Thank you, thank you, to everyone who has joined me making a blanket, and to those of you who've been here and simply enjoyed the colourfest, it's been a good eight weeks. A fantastic eight weeks actually, and here we are now with the last instalment.

I really hope you've enjoyed making your colourful ripples during the past couple months, and for those of you who've only recently joined in, well then you've a lot to look forward to! Just to reassure you, my CAL posts stay accessible for whenever you need them, and Harbour yarn packs will still be available in my shop at Wool Warehouse if you decide this blanket is calling your name at a later date. You can always find the CAL posts in future by clicking on the Harbour Blanket CAL page (listed in alphabetical order in my list of patterns and tutorials) - all the links to patterns and posts will be there in one place to make it easy to find what you're looking for.

HARBOUR BLANKET CAL  PAGE

So today is all about giving a beautiful finishing edge to these vibrant ripples and taking your blanket from a work-in-progress to a finished object. Yes, your own personal Ta-dah moment is in sight, how thrilling is that?!!

As is often the case for me, I had a clear idea in my mind about what I wanted the border to look like, but I still spent many hours trying out different ideas just to be sure. I sampled many, many variations of wavy edges, scalloped edges and picot-pointy edges and in the end I came to the conclusion that keeping it simple was the way to go with this one. I had in mind something boldly stripy, kind of a nod to the coastal theme (think old fashioned British seaside windbreaks and deckchair stripes), and I'm really happy with how the Harbour border turned out.

The first round of the border flattens out the rippled top and bottom edges to create a good foundation for the simple stripy rounds to follow. If you are choosing your own colours for the border, it's a good idea to select a mid-tone shade for this round, something that will blend with the stripes and not stand out too much.

The stripes of the border are double crochet rounds (that's sc for those of you in the US), it's as simple as that. The beauty of this design is that you can make it as narrow or wide as you like - if you have enough yarn left over, you could make a wide band using all the colours if you wish.

As a rough guide, I used 18-20g of each colour, so you can weigh your own yarn balls and make sure you have enough.

For me personally, I prefer narrow borders around ripple and wave designs. I find that the visual movement created by ripples needs something simple to contain it, and that big fancy borders tend to fight a bit with the body of the blanket. It's a personal choice though, so please do feel free to make the border design your own.

I chose five colours for my Harbour border, and they are worked in the following order :

Harbour MIXED STRIPE (shown above)

1. Cornish Blue
2. Denim
3. Tomato
4. Dandelion
5. Cloud Blue 

Harbour COLOURWASH (shown above)

1. Cornish Blue
2.  Lapis
3. Turquoise
4. Apple
5. Spearmint 

As mentioned above, you will need approx. 20g of each colour.

Please feel free to have a play and change the colours if you wish. Remember that the first round should ideally be a mid-tone, blending type of shade (nothing too dark, light, or bright). You can then choose any colours that you like to build up your stripes - harmonise them into a mini colourwash, or pop them to create a bolder striped look.

I created a photo tutorial to help those of you who are visual readers, and to help beginners too.

You can find it in my list of patterns and tutorials, or click the following link >>

EASY EYELET RIPPLE BORDER

There is also a  PDF pattern which you can download/print if you wish, click on the following link >>

DOWNLOAD HARBOUR BORDER PATTERN

I hope that you enjoy sitting and work your way around the edge of your Harbour blanket, it's always a bitter-sweet time when you are coming to the end of an enjoyable blanket journey. I have absolutely LOVED making my two blankets, it's taken a lot of crochet time to make two blankets back to back but it has given me so much peace and satisfaction. Not to mention the fact that I am seriously in love with these coastal colours and jaunty ripples. The blankets look amazing on my sofa and are already being very well used by the family (Little B in particular is in love with the Harbour blanket, he says it's his favourite blanket out of all the ones I've ever made).

It might please you to know that I'm planning a proper-proper scenic ta-dah moment for my blankets, I mean, it was just too tempting an idea to resist! I've booked a few days away at the coast in late March when I hope the weather and the light will play nicely and I can take some good photos. I am ridiculously excited about it, of course I am, and I hope you won't mind waiting another month or so to see me jigging around with my stripes by the sea and ta-dah-ing all over the place. In the meantime, I would love love love to see your finished blankets - do please keep sharing on social media, either in the Facebook groups, or on Instagram (please tag with #harbourblanketcal on insta). And if you get to take your own blankets to the coast, please do take some photos to show me, I'd love that very much.

So, another huge THANK YOU for helping make this such an enjoyable CAL, I'm so grateful for your most excellent company as always. Thank you, thank you.

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Here is the link again for the printable border pattern so that you can download/print if you wish >>

DOWNLOAD HARBOUR BORDER PATTERN

If you need to find any of the other parts of the Harbour blanket CAL, I'll list all the links below for you.

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♥ HARBOUR YARN PACK 

♥ EASY EYELET RIPPLE TUTORIAL

♥ HARBOUR PRINTABLE PATTERN

♥ BORDER TUTORIAL

♥ HARBOUR BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 1 - stripes 1-15

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 2 - stripes 16-30

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 3 - stripes 31-45

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 4 - stripes 46-60

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 5 - stripes 61-75

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 6 - stripes 76-84

 

 

Harbour Blanket CAL :: Part 6

It's been a cosy, comforting sort of a week here and I'm really thankful for the ease of my days right now. February can be a tricky kind of a month to navigate, but thankfully this year I'm finding myself happy to simply enjoy being at home and let the days gently unfold. I keep reminding myself that this is a hibernation month and that it's a time to really embrace home comforts, and of course crochet definitely helps with this endeavour. I mean, how can there be any kind of discontent when there are colourful, ripply rows to keep us occupied and cosy?

I do still love to go out and about with my crochet though, and I would be truly lost without my yarny get togethers each week. I took the above photo as I was walking down the street on my way to Coopers Café to spend a few hours with my yarny tribe, doesn't my Harbour blanket look lush all rolled up in my coastal bag? The happy sight of it literally stopped me in my tracks and I had to photograph it to share with you.

Tell me, do you take your crochet out and about with you? Do you hook a row or two outside of the home, in a café, on a train, or on a bench? Or are you strictly a cosy at-home hookster?

I am very used to hooking out and about and have been making blankets in cafés ever since I moved to this town fourteen years ago and found my way into my very first knit and natter group. I am also partial to a bit of al fresco hooky too, especially if there is a view.....

.....ahhhhh, doesn't that look like a seriously good way to while away an hour or so? J took this photo of me rippling back in September when I was first starting out with my Harbour blanket. We were away for the weekend over on the east coast of Yorkshire and I really wanted to be able to photograph part 1 of the Harbour CAL in the place that inspired the colours.

I absolutely LOVE that I was able to see my newbie blanket out in the wild, it made me so happy! And it just so happened that the bench where I was sitting was right next to a small stack of lobster pots which had some of the exact same colours as my stripes. 

I don't know why it's so insanely satisfying to see a colourful crochet blanket outdoors, but there is something about it that makes me giddy with pleasure. I always take a small collection of my blankets on holidays with me and over the years I've often photographed them on the beach, beside the river, or up on the hills. I think the colours look stunning set against a natural backdrop, and it never fails to inspire me.

During the weeks that the Harbour CAL has been progressing I've come across some lovely photos on social media of your blankets enjoying the outdoor life. Oh, it makes me SO HAPPY to see them!!!!!!!!!!! I absolutely love love love that you feel inspired to head out with your stripy crochet and I totally get the appeal of it. It's fabulous!!

Would you like to see a little of what I'm talking about?

↑↑ Just look at these wonderful photos that Sheelagh shared, my heart literally skipped over itself when I first saw them. I especially love the blanket draped over the boat - those blue shades are coastal perfection!

↑↑ Philippa also felt inspired to take a jaunt to the coast in search of some uplifting colour and I can't explain how happy this makes me. I LOVE to inspire folks to take pleasure in their surroundings, and I encourage you to get out there and really look and see the beauty in the environment around where you live. There is colour inspiration everywhere, it's yours to enjoy.

↑↑ This beautiful, serene image was shared on Instagram at the start of the CAL in January and I couldn't love it more. Those tranquil, watery blues, ahhhhh, my soul loves them so much. Thank you Liz for this wonderful photo.

↑↑ Debbie was inspired to take her Harbour Colourwash on a jaunt to her local harbour, doesn't the blanket look lovely with it's boaty backdrop?

↑↑ This photo made my heart so happy - these beautiful harbour blankets are casually hanging out in my childhood place in Dorset, and it's just lovely to know that the yarny ladies there have been enjoying some sociable hooky time together. I wish I had been there with you - thank you so much Sandra for sharing with us.

↑↑ Further afield there are harbour blankets enjoying some amazing scenery in other parts of the world. If I remember correctly I think this photo was taken somewhere in the United States - isn't it wonderful? Thank you Lynette.

↑↑ Helen shared her Harbour blanket in progress while she was on holiday, and I'm glimpsing a little peek of a sea view there in sunny Western Australia. Lucky Helen!

↑↑ Stephanie is also in Australia and oh my gosh, just look at that view! This blanket was absolutely meant to be beside the sea, it looks so beautiful.

↑↑ Another gorgeous sea view for the harbour blanket, and I couldn't love it more. Thank you Charlien, this is picture perfect.

↑↑ And finally, feast your eyes on Amy's stunning sea view as she hooks up a few rows while on holiday in the Bahamas. The Bahamas!!! I'm not jealous at all. Honestly I'm not......sigh. Ok, yes I am really.

I so enjoyed seeing these gorgeous photos and seeing your beautiful views, thank you ever so much for sharing. 

↑↑ For most of us though, our blankets are staying cosy within the four walls of our homes, keeping us warm as we near the end of the Harbour journey. I hope that wherever you are sitting when you pick up your hook, that you are enjoying the summery seaside vibes and the bright colours no matter what the weather is doing outside the window.

Week 6 is here, and with that we will be celebrating the final stripe, and I'm sure you'll agree it's a weird mix of satisfaction and loss. These soothing ripples have kept us company for six whole weeks, and I hope they've made you happy with every single stitch (yes, even that pesky first row).

I'm certain that the rhythm of this easy pattern has wheedled it's way into your soul and if you're anything like me then you will most certainly miss it once the blanket is complete. Hasn't it been a joy? I wonder if you're already thinking of other colour palettes to take on an Easy Eyelet Ripple journey? Ripples are addictive things, in case you didn't' already know, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this pattern taking on a life of it's own once the CAL comes to a gentle close. 

Shall we have a look at the whole of the blanket now? Not an easy thing to accomplish I might add - I have limited floor space in my house, and lots of precarious balancing on the furniture was needed to achieve this aerial shot........

...................ta-dah!!!!

By the end of week six, you will have 84 glorious ripples of coastal colour brightening up your life, and that means that you only have nine more stripes left to make.

I hope with all my heart that you've enjoyed the soothing, meditative quality of the pattern and that these colours have brought some brightness into your home.

Lets take a look at this week's colours, we'll be working on the final nine stripes 76-84.

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

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet.

76. Lapis

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

77. Apple

78. Lipstick

79. Clementine

80. Aspen

81. Aster

82. Spice

83. Spearmint

84. Turquoise

I have to say it's been a lot of work for me to make two blankets one after the other, but when I see the together like this I'm so happy to have twins! Haha, they really do play brilliantly together, each so different but with the same jaunty, happy-go-lucky, carefree personality. I love them so, so much - I'm a proud Blanket Mummy :)

The final part of the Harbour Colourwash blanket sees us gently gazing up into the sky as we round out all that bright colour with a little tranquillity.

You'll be using three colours to complete the final part of the colourwash this week...

Cloud Blue : Aspen : Spearmint

My camera didn't especially take to the paler shades at the top of the blanket and had a hard job picking up the contrast between the final colours. To be fair, the Aspen and Spearmint shades are very similar, but I do think they work well together. It's a gentle end to a very vibrant journey.

I've loved making this blanket in real time alongside you all, it's been great fun to be joining in with my own CAL. I'm not sure I know of any other designers who work this way, but I kind of like to be a little different! I know I'm going to miss these stripes, I'm already feeling a bit bereft although I'll be starting work on the border very soon so it's not over just yet.

Ok, lets climb up onto the sofa and see if we can balance on the very edge of the edge to have a look at the Harbour Colourwash in all it's stripy, ripply glory...........

......ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely wonderful, it looks even better in real life and I love it very much.

Most of the time, my blankets tend to look like this ↑↑ because they're in almost constant use here in the Attic. I love nothing more than to see my Little People enjoying my crochet (the kitty too), it gives me such a profound feeling of contentment. My blankets certainly do get a lot of love and appreciation.

Here is the colour info for Part 6 of the "COLOURWASH" Harbour Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

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

76. Aspen

77. Cloud Blue

78. Aspen

79. Aspen

80. Spearmint

81. Aspen

82. Spearmint

83. Aspen

84. Spearmint

I took this photo yesterday, and honestly I think it's right up there as one of my most favourite blanket photos ever-ever-ever. I absolutely LOVE how unapologetically stripy the blankets look when they are rolled up like this, it gives me such a massive amount of visual pleasure. Love love love love love. I LOVE my blankets, just in case you hadn't got that by now!!!

Before we finish this week, I want to mention a couple things about the remainder of the Crochet-Along journey. Next week we'll be having what I call a "catch-up week" where you can continue with your stripes if you've fallen a little behind, or simply enjoy your blanket for a while before you begin working on the border. You will need to make sure that all your ends are neatly darned in so that your edges are nice and straight and ready for the final part of the CAL.

Part 7 of the CAL will be published here on Friday 25th February, and that will be all about the border. I've picked out five potential colours for the border - I haven't yet decided whether I'll use them all, but thought it might be useful to give you a heads up on what I'm thinking.

I've picked out Denim, Cornish Blue, Cloud Blue, Tomato and Dandelion - these five colours should have slightly more yarn left as they only have five stripes each in the main body of the blanket instead of six. If you're making the Colourwash version of the Harbour blanket, then you will have more of Lapis and Spearmint left over, so I think I'm going to use those two colours in the border for my own colourwash (it makes practical sense really).

Speaking of yarn quantities, you will need to allow roughly 20g of each colour for the border, so if at all possible, please do weigh your balls and make sure you'll have enough. I've got 25-30g of the above colours left after working five stripes, so hopefully you will have similar.

I'll be sharing a full tutorial for the border as we'll be filling in those ripple valleys so that we have a super-neat, straight edging to work with. It's going to be fun, and I'm really looking forward to seeing all of our Harbour blankets complete.

Well, I think that's about all for now - I really hope you enjoy the final ripply rows and that this week brings you oodles of contentment as you come to the end of your blankets. Have fun!!

Here are some links you might need this week ::

♥ PART 6 COLOUR WORK SHEETS

♥ HARBOUR YARN PACK 

♥ EASY EYELET RIPPLE TUTORIAL

♥ HARBOUR PRINTABLE PATTERN

♥ HARBOUR BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 1 - stripes 1-15

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 2 - stripes 16-30

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 3 - stripes 31-45

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 4 - stripes 46-60

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 5 - stripes 61-75

 

 

 

Harbour Blanket CAL :: Part 5

We've landed in February this week and here in Atticland we continue to live under an almost permanent heavy grey sky. It's not been especially cold, but the lack of sunlight is always the hardest part of winter for me and I have to dig deep to find the feel-good when the damp clouds are sitting just above my head all day. Having said that, I'm managing to feel pretty good this year but I really do miss seeing blue sky - we get it from time to time of course and it feels like the biggest treat when it does show up. 

I was looking through my album of Harbour photos from last Spring and found myself drawn to those wide, clear blue seascapes, oh how they make my heart sing! There is nothing I love more than a shoreline stroll on a bright  sunny day with the sounds of the waves filling my ears. So good for the soul.

These photos were taken in Whitby which is a lovely town to visit in all seasons, although it does get very crowded in summer. I've been coming here with J since before our children were born and we have so many good memories stacked up over the years. It's one of the things I really love about designing and making (and using) blankets with colours inspired by a particular place - every single stitch and row becomes a guardian of memories and a reminder of good times.

I hope that if you're making the Harbour blanket along with me that the colours are reminding you of happy times too.

As you probably know, this is my 8th annual crochet-a-long and I absolutely love love love the friendships and sharing that accompany each blanket. Our online Attic24 community is absolutely thriving and it's such a joy for me to see all your photos and comments in the Facebook groups and on Instagram. Thank you so much for taking the time to participate and join in, it really does make these winter weeks feel extra special.

In recent years I've followed something of a pattern each week of the CAL, and week five has become the week when we bring in the cuteness! I'm sure many of us have furry members of the family that share our love of crochet blankets, and I really enjoy seeing photographic evidence - shall we have a look?

↑↑ Monique's kitty knows first hand just how cosy a basket of yarn is, and yes of course it was put there just for her!

↑↑ This gorgeous chap belongs to Tracey and his name is Socks. Believe it or not he is 17 years old, and obviously knows from experience that crochet blankets are far superior to any other sort, well of course they are!

↑↑ Louise's pretty kitty is testing out her Harbour blanket and carrying out essential quality control...

↑↑...and Maxine's handsome cat really wants to learnt to crochet I think?! Bravo Pepe!

↑↑ Ohhhhhhhh, just look at the cuteness!!!! This little fella totally melted my heart, I mean, just look at the sheer contentment all over his weeny face!!! Thank you Natalie for sharing him with us, he's adorable.

I saw so many beautiful cats enjoying their snuggles with the Harbour blanket, it was really difficult to pick out just a few. Of course there are also a lot of very special dogs keeping you company while you hook up your ripples too......

↑↑ This is Betty, and we are actually friends in real life. Yes, it's true, Betty comes to knit and natter on Fridays and is a much loved member of our group. Thank you Sarah for bringing her to hang out with us, she looks very at home with your Harbour blanket.

↑↑ This pretty little face belongs to Luna, she looks very cosy indeed with those colourful ripples keeping her warm.

↑↑ Rochelle shares her blanket with this  little cutie, and to be honest I think it would be impossible to get any crochet done with that face begging for attention.

↑↑ Oh, just look at you Wilbur, you cheeky chap!!! No, that yarn basket isn't for you!

↑↑ Elizabeth melted a good many hearts on Facebook when she shared this adorable photo with us, I mean, just look!!! Seven (yes SeVeN) little cockapoo puppies all enjoying the warmth and comfort of her Harbour blanket. So precious.

↑↑ I know this isn't the Harbour blanket but I just had to share this photo with you. Please say hello to Pablo the bearded dragon, who apparently loves to snuggle up with a crochet blanket (he has good taste, obvs). Janel said that he especially seems to be drawn to the Yuletide blanket and his colour lightens when he sits on or under the blanket which is a sign that he is happy/satisfied/warm! Love love love.

↑↑ And finally, I think my favourite photo of all is this one. I actually squealed out loud when I saw it on Instagram, I just adore piggies and this really made my day. Awwwww, so so cute!!

Ah, such a lot of furry feel-good, I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos as much as I have.

So here we are, already at week 5 of the Harbour CAL and it feels like the weeks have been speeding along. Have you been enjoying your stripes and loving the bright and breezy colours as much as me? 

I hope this jolly blanket has been keeping you warm and cosy, and that you're enjoying the comfort of it as it grows. Having said that, I do hear from many of you who live in the southern hemisphere and are hooking along in very hot temperatures with the aircon on full blast..... I just can't imagine how that must feel?! I know I moan about our winter weather, but really it does make for perfect blanket-making conditions.

When you reach the end of week five your blanket will be measuring just over 5ft in length with only one more short set of stripes to go. Next week we'll only be adding nine more colours, so really we don't have much further to go.

Shall we have a look and see what 75 stripes look like?

>> Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, isn't it looking fabulous????!!!

I have to say, the Harbour blanket is very photogenic - those bright, jaunty shades really do play nicely for the camera.

The Easy Eyelet ripple is such a satisfying pattern to crochet and creates the most delightful effect when you view the blanket as a whole. The way the little holes stack up to create such neat vertical lines is extremely pleasing (or is it just me, I mean I am easily pleased).

These stripes have been an utter pleasure to crochet and have given me so many hours of therapeutic relaxation....

.....as well as some top notch snuggle time! I don't tend to pack my blankets away when I'm making them - they're left on the sofa once I've come to the end of a row and they immediately get assimilated into family life. I absolutely love that this happy blanket is already a part of our home.

Lets take a look at this week's colours, we'll be working on stripes 61-75.

Here is the colour info for Part 5 of the "MIXED STRIPE" Harbour Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

Click (( HERE )) for the printable worksheet.

61. Lapis

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

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

62. Aspen

63. Clementine

64. Lipstick

65. Cornish Blue

66. Cloud Blue

67. Apple

68. Aster

69. Spearmint

70. Spice

71. Dandelion

72. Turquoise

73. Denim

74. Tomato

75. Storm Blue

From what I've seen on social media during the past month or so, the majority of you are following along with the mixed stripe version, but there are still plenty of you who've chosen to go the Colourwash route. As you know, I'm making the colourwash Harbour blanket myself at the moment, so I'm really enjoying the colour play first hand.

You'll be using four colours this week...

Turquoise : Apple : Cloud Blue : Aspen

The whole tone of the blanket really shifts in week five, especially with the introduction of Cloud Blue which brings in those clear sunny skies. 

WOW! Isn't it looking great?! The sweep of colour from the darker intense shades at the bottom, up to the lighter airy shades at the top is really beginning to take shape.

It's a dynamic use of colour, and I hope you're enjoying seeing each new shade added as we've progressed through the weeks.

Lets take a closer look at the stripes for this week...

Here is the colour info for Part 5 of the "COLOURWASH" Harbour Blanket.

Remember each stripe is made of two rows of crochet.

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

61. Turquoise

62. Apple

63. Turquoise

64. Apple

65. Turquoise

66. Apple

67. Apple

68. Cloud Blue

69. Apple

70. Cloud Blue

71. Apple

72. Cloud Blue

73. Cloud Blue

74. Aspen

75. Cloud Blue

Well I hope you've enjoyed the colour fest this week, and that the coming days treat you kindly - wrap yourself up in some colourful stripes and enjoy the heck out of your blankets, I highly recommend it! :)

Here are some links you might need this week ::

♥ PART 5 COLOUR WORK SHEETS

♥ HARBOUR YARN PACK 

♥ EASY EYELET RIPPLE TUTORIAL

♥ HARBOUR PRINTABLE PATTERN

♥ HARBOUR BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 1 - stripes 1-15

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 2 - stripes 16-30

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 3 - stripes 31-45

♥ HARBOUR CAL PART 4 - stripes 46-60