Attic24

Sungold Blanket CAL :: Part 2

Friday is here and I don't know about you, but I feel like this has been one speedy week, over in a blink. I had every intention of coming here mid week to chat to you, but the days somehow just slipped away and now here we are doing all things Sungold again. I hope you've had a good week, a return to routine for many of us I expect as work and schools all started back after the festive pause.

During my CAL months I spend a lot of time in the land of Facebook and Instagram because the online socials that surround my blanket projects are absolutely brilliant. I love to immerse myself in the crochet community and feel connected to you all via our bags and baskets of brightly coloured yarn, it's one of the loveliest things I can think of. I hope you've been enjoying these glorious colours, and that in some small way they might have helped lift your spirits? I've seen many enthusiastic and happy posts all over socials as a great many new Sungold blanket journeys began during the past week, my goodness it makes me soooooo happy, right from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and into my very soul.

These happy, summer-floral shades are really rather lovely, aren't they? They are perfect for this time of year when the predominant shade out there is g-r-e-y and we all need some cheering up. They are a reminder that even when we can't see it happening, we know the seasons are slowly turning and that the flowers will be back again soon enough.

If you've completed part 1 of the Sungold CAL, then you will have used all fifteen colours in your new blanket. I took the above photo to give you a little insight into how I usually think about my colour palettes, because I always think it's interesting to see how designers work. I like to arrange the colours together in groups of three - my Creative Mind is an awfully messy, tangled place most of the time but occasionally it really requires balance and calm order for it to feel at ease. 

I'm not kidding when I tell you I have hundreds of photos from the summer gardens at RHS Harlow Carr, taken across the span of many years. Hundreds upon hundreds of images which capture family outings, picnics, gentle strolls, excited children, and a great deal of floral appreciation. Oh, so many photos of flowers! You know, I think I am rather obsessed with flowers, and they've provided me with a huge amount of creative colour inspiration over the years.

I wanted to try and find a way to share my photos with you during the Sungold weeks without bombarding you and making you dizzy. After a bit of deliberation, I decided that a great way to do it would be to focus on a particular colour group each week.....beginning with the beating heart of the Sungold palette....golden, sunny yellows.

The late summer borders are full of golden yellow flowers and they look incredible when woven into the floral patchwork of the garden. 

Stylecraft Special has some really great shades of yellow, but it's not a colour I find especially easy to work into a colour scheme. I find yellow to be a very dominant, attention seeking and shouty colour, and it needs careful handling for it to be kept in check. But oh my goodness, isn't it glorious?! It is warmth and sunshine and joy, happy vibes in abundance.

I chose my favourite yellow Stylecraft shade (Dandelion) and added two additional colours to complement it - Gold and Lime. Now I know Lime isn't a yellow, but it does sit very closely to the golden shades in the colour wheel and I love the way it so effortlessly bridges the gap between the yellows and greens. I think these three colours together really give the whole blanket it's sunshine vibe, and I know they make me smile every time they are on my hook.

As you know, I'm working my own Sungold blanket in real time and I'm currently just one week ahead of you in the CAL. My default hooky place of choice this week has been the sofa and it's where you can find me every evening after family dinner is finished and the kitchen is clean and tidy. Usually between seven and nine this is where I am settled, keeping warm with the fire lit, piled up with blankets and the comforting weight of the kitty on my legs. It's nothing short of blissful. I work on 3 stripes a day, just gentle, therapeutic, easy hooky, immersing myself in the calming rhythm and letting my mind daydream and wander where it likes. 

Now I want to talk to you a little bit about those annoying, dangly things that are messing up the glory of my beautiful stripes. Yeeeeesss, we are going to chat about THE ENDS. My usual method is to deal with my ends immediately after I finish a stripe - snip and darn, no excuses. But this past week when I've mostly been crocheting in the evenings I've found that my eyes have been quite tired and sitting on the sofa isn't an idea location for precision darning. I also lost my needle into the depths of the sofa not once but twice, and so I decided that I would change my approach and do my darning during the daytime when I can sit at the table and see what I'm doing properly. I do this every day, so there are never too many ends to deal with at any one time, just the ones created from my crochet the night before.

I am deliberately making the darning into a little bit of a slow, mindful practice, and I want to encourage you to do the same. Good coffee and a scented candle are optional but recommended. Darning isn't the chore that so many people make it out to be, it honestly isn't. Well at least it shouldn't be.  It's a way to finish each stripe with a bit of gratitude and mindfulness, darning love into your blanket in a way that ensures it will be around and in good shape for many, many years to come.

It occurred to me a few days ago that maybe many of you aren't using the right kind of needle for darning your ends, which would make life much harder than it needs to be. I was chatting with Christine about this, because it was a bit of a light-bulb moment for me - the type of needle you use for darning crochet makes a HUGE difference. Traditionally we are taught that a darning needle should have a slightly rounded, blunt end, because when you darn ends into a knitted fabric, you want the needle to pass smoothly underneath the stitches without splitting the yarn. Right? That's the knitty way, as confirmed by my Sock Queen friend Christine.

In crochet, it's the exact opposite - we want a thinner needle, sharply pointed, because we want it to split the yarn! I recommend searching out a CHENILLE needle as they have an eye large enough for wool and a lovely sharp point. You need to know your needle numbers too - large eye needles are usually numbered 18, 20, 22, and 24. The eyes get smaller as the numbers increase (which does seem a bit backwards) - so you want to get your hands on a number 18 chenille needle (shown above) as the eye is the perfect size for threading DK weight yarn. You can find them on Amazon (HERE)) - search for "chenille needle number 18". 

With the Sungold pattern, you should be darning your ends along the tops of the shells, passing your needle through the chains of the stitches which run along the top of each row. This way you aren't adding bulk to your rows, but instead you are invisibly weaving your ends so that they become part of the stitches. With a sharp chenille needle you can split the yarn and weave directly into the stitches you've crocheted, and this creates a very strong, invisible finish.

I also highly recommend Double Direction Darning (DDD). By this I mean you darn in towards the centre of the blanket first (shown above), then reverse and darn back the way you came, splitting the yarn threads as you go so that your tail end effectively becomes a part of the crochet stitches. You don't need to darn far either, just pass your needle as far as it feels comfortable (again, look at my photo above for clarification), then turn and go back the way you came.

You will be snipping off your ends at the outer edge of the blanket (which means they will be covered by the border later on), and the DDD means they are very unlikely to wiggle out.

I took the above photo to show you my edge where the darning has happened. You can see it's a little bit uneven, but it's certainly not distorted or bulky, and any little bumps will be hidden once you crochet the border.

I hope this additional darning chat and info has helped - I really want you to enjoy every single nano-second of this blanket journey, and take pleasure in creating something well made.

So....lets take a look now at the next bit of the Sungold blanket, the next set of glorious, scallopy stripes.

........there you go..........don't they look GOOD???!!!

With part 2 you will be completing the first third of your blanket (thirty three stripes) and the colours will be singing beautifully.

When I'm ordering my mixed stripes, I try very hard to resist the lure of the rainbow but it's not easy. The temptation is strong because our brains are pre-programmed to recognise this natural harmonious order and be in love with it. Every so often I give in, and in part two of the Sungold I created a claret-tomato-gold sequence which I absolutely love - haha!! It's the simple pleasures in life which can make us happy! I hope you enjoy stripes 19-21 too, you'll have to let me know when you've done them.

This colour palette continues to really float my boat, and I hope you feel the same way. They are impossibly happy and joyful, and remind me so much of summer time which as you know is my favourite season of all.

This week (and for the next three weeks) we are aiming to complete 18 stripes per week. Remember it doesn't matter one bit if 18 is too much and you have a busy life, make one stripe a week if want, just take your time and enjoy the journey.

Shown above is the colour info for Part 2 of the Sungold MIXED STRIPE Blanket. Remember each stripe is made up of two rows of crochet. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

♥ PART 2 MIXED STRIPE WORKSHEET 

I've seen many of you have chosen to do the colourwash version of the Sungold, and next week I'll be sharing some of your photos here on my blog.

Shown above is the colour info for Part 2 of the Sungold COLOURWASH Blanket. Remember each stripe is made up of two rows of crochet. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

♥ PART 2 COLOURWASH WORKSHEET 

And of course we mustn't forget the squares....I know a good many of you are following Kaz and making a Sungold Harmony square blanket, and it's very exciting to catch sight of progress in the Facebook groups. You can join the "Hooked on Attic24" Facebook group to join in with the Sungold Harmony gang, or visit Kaz's web page (Insomnia Crochet) where you can get the colour charts each week of the CAL.

Well I think that's me all typed out for now, I just don't seem to be capable of making short blog posts. Thank you so much for reading all my blurb, and for joining me here in the Attic. I do so appreciate your company.

Have a wonderful week xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ps links are all down below for easy finding x

♥ SUNGOLD YARN PACKS 

♥ LACY SHELL TUTORIAL

♥ SUNGOLD BLANKET PDF PATTERN

♥ SUNGOLD BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ CAL BLOG POST PART 1 (stripes 1-15)

♥ PART 2 MIXED STRIPE WORK SHEET

♥ PART 2 COLOURWASH WORK SHEET

 

 

 

Sungold Blanket CAL :: Part 1

HELLO, and welcome to the start of my gloriously bright and colourful SUNGOLD Crochet-Along!! It makes me so happy to begin the New Year with some wonderful colour and gentle, relaxing crochet, I honestly can't think of a better way to spend time in January. Most of you will have read all about the Sungold blanket by now and will know what I'm on about, but if you are new here (a big warm hellooooooo to anyone who is newly landed in the Attic), or if you missed my previous Sungold posts, you can read all about it in my introduction blog post >>

♥ SUNGOLD BLANKET INTRODUCTION

The Sungold colour palette is inspired by my visits to the beautiful horticultural gardens at Harlow Carr here in Yorkshire. It's a garden which is bursting with colour, most especially in the late summer when the beds are overflowing with flowers in bloom. I'll be sharing more inspiration photos each week as the CAL unfolds, because of course I enjoy us making a blanket together, but also l l-o-v-e the idea of taking you on a virtual stroll along these garden paths.

I've been playing with the Sungold colours for many months now, and they are honestly so, so beautiful together. If you love this colour palette and wish to have your own Sungold playtime, the yarn pack is available to buy from Wool Warehouse. I've chosen fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK >>

♥ STYLECRAFT SUNGOLD YARN PACK

This year I worked with my friends at Wool Warehouse and put together an alternative Sungold yarnpack using their own in-house Yarnsmiths brand. The yarn is called CREATE DK, and it's a wonderful alternative to Stylecraft if you fancy trying something new. You can read more about Create DK in my post ((here))

Creating two yarn packs for the same colour palette was pretty straightforward - obviously it wasn't possible to match the colours in an identical way as each range is unique, but I think I did a pretty god job of pairing them up. I thought it would be helpful to give you a full list for reference, so here are the fifteen Sungold colours in both ranges >>

Stylecraft Special DK       Yarnsmiths Create DK

Lavender                                    Lavender                        

Proper Purple                            Amethyst

Plum                                            Plum Purple

Boysenberry                               Pink Berry

Fuchsia Purple                          Vintage Pink

Gold                                             Antique Gold

Tomato                                        Paprika

Copper                                         Copper

Claret                                           Claret Red

Magenta                                      Sugar Plum

Dandelion                                   Mustard Yellow

Lime                                             Olive Green

Lincoln                                        Light Sage

Sage                                             Spearmint Green

Cyprus                                         Dark Sage

Whenever I start out on a new blanket journey I do like to be intimately acquainted with my chosen colours, and I find the best way for me to do this is to use my yarn pegs. I really enjoy playing with them, but more importantly they do serve a very useful purpose. Once you take the paper bands off your yarn, it's important that you know the names of the colours so that you avoid any mix ups. In the Sungold colour palette for example, I've found it's very easy to mix up the two pinks (Boysenberry and Fuchsia Purple). 

You don't have to make yarn pegs of course - any way you want to make a note of the colours is fine. Helen (her photo above) made a lovely, simple paper shade card which does a wonderful job.

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 (12th Jan)

♥ PART 3 : stripes 34 - 51 (190th Jan)

♥ PART 4 : stripes 52 - 69 (26th Jan)

♥ PART 5 : stripes 70 - 87 (2nd Feb)

♥ PART 6 : stripes 88 - 99 (9th Feb)

♥ PART 7 : catch up (darn in those ends!) (16th Feb)

♥ PART 8 : the border (23rd Feb)

As always, I've created my usual photo-heavy tutorial to help you crochet your tension sample and learn how to create the Lacy Shell stripe. If you are searching for it in my sidebar list, I've named it "Lacy Shell Stripe". You can find it by clicking on the following link >>

♥ LACY SHELL 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 >>

♥ SUNGOLD 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. I also place stitch markers when making my first row of trebles (as shown above), just to help me be sure I've got it right.

If you are new to my patterns, I want to reassure you of their ease. I deliberately design with beginners in mind so that newbie hooksters can feel confident taking on a large project. And for those of us who are blanket making veterans, my designs offer some top-notch, relaxing hooky therapy. The Lacy Shell is a delightful pattern, it's an easy-breezy two row repeat which is very visual and easy to learn. I'm confident that once you've completed the second stripe (which forms the pattern repeat) then you will be off and flying and more or less crocheting with your eyes shut.

OK....shall we take a proper look at the first set of stripes now? I can't wait to show you how the beeeeeeautiful the Sungold colours look when they come together in this lovely scalloped design......

....eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep, I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is part 1 of the Sungold blanket which has fifteen stripes, using all fifteen shades.

I knew instinctively before even starting this blanket that the colours would come together like a dream, and I was right. The overall effect is just lovely - it's uplifting, joyful and just the right kind of bright. It has summer vibes in abundance which is something I really wanted to achieve with this collection of colours.

The Lacy Shell pattern I designed for the Sungold blanket is such fun to crochet, it uses simple stitches to create a gentle scallop which looks far more complicated than it actually is. It's an easy pattern to learn, and once you get going with these stripes it's pure hooky pleasure all the way.

Here is the colour info for Part 1 of the Sungold Blanket. Remember each stripe is made up of two rows of crochet. Click on the following link for the printable worksheet...

♥ PART 1 MIXED STRIPE WORKSHEET 

1. Magenta (Foundation chain & rows 1 & 2)

2. Proper Purple (rows 3 & 4)

3. Gold (rows 5 & 6)

4. Copper (rows 7 & 8)

5. Cypress (rows 9 & 10)

6. Boysenberry (rows 11 & 12)

7. Lime (rows 13 & 14)

8. Lincoln (rows 15 & 16)

9. Plum (rows 17 & 18)

10. Lavender (rows 19 & 20)

11. Claret (rows 21 & 22)

12. Sage (rows 23 & 24)

13. Tomato (rows 25 & 26)

14. Dandelion (rows 27 & 28)

15. Fuchsia Purple (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.

YARNSMITHS CREATE DK >> to make things a bit less complicated each week, I've decided to only list the Stylecraft colours that I'm personally working with to make my Sungold blanket. For those of you who are using the Yarnsmiths Create DK pack, you will find the colour list on the PDF worksheet. Here...let me show you what I mean......

^^ This is what the PDF worksheet looks like, you can download it and print it and keep it in your yarn bag. Each week there will be a sheet like this for you to download, so you can use it for both the Stylecraft yarn pack and the Yarnsmiths yarn pack.

♥ PART 1 MIXED STRIPE WORKSHEET 

When I make my samplers for my blankets, I always like to order the colours in a beautiful rainbow-ish colourwash, as shown above. I think it really shows off the colour palette in an inspirational way, and in recent years I've made colourwash versions of my full size blankets too. I know many of you love the Colourwash colourways, so I do try and work out a colour order if the palette will work well in this way, and the Sungold colours are perfect for it. I haven't had time this year to make a sampler like I usually do, but I can show you a graphic image if you like?

^^ isn't it luuuverly?!

My wonderful J has made a PDF worksheet for this Sungold Colourwash version, so if this is calling to you and you'd like to order your colours in this way, then you can go right ahead. I'll give you a worksheet each week alongside the "mixed stripe" version.

♥ PART 1 COLOURWASH WORKSHEET 

Now when you work the colourwash version, there will be some stripes which are single (2 rows), some double (4 rows) and some triple (6 rows) - remember you don't need to fasten off if you are creating double or triple stripes, you can just carry on across four or six rows of crochet, does that make sense? So for example, when you start the colourwash blanket you'll make your foundation chain in Magenta, then follow the pattern using Magenta for the first four rows (a double height stripe)

Something else to mention - the colourwash version is designed with a full 99 stripes (175cm) length in mind, so it won't be suitable for making a smaller sized blanket. If you have double yarn quantities you can increase the width if you like to make a double/king size, but the length is set at 175cm. I hope that all makes sense.

And finally - SQUARES!!!! I know it's a lot to take in, and maybe THREE different versions of one blanket is over the top but you know I do believe more is more. I LOVE to encourage and inspire creativity and am always on board for sparking ideas and lots of hooky, colourful joy.

My talented friend Kaz is working this Square harmony version as a CAL in one of the Attic24 Facebook groups, so if this design appeals to you, please do join the Hooked on Attic24 Facebook community. There is also a way to access the CAL info if you aren't on Facebook - pop over to Kaz's online page ((HERE)), and each week you'll be able to get the instalments for free. Thank you so much Kaz x

Well I think that's all for now...there's been a lot of information to share with you this week as we get started with this glorious new blanket journey. I hope it all makes sense and whichever yarn pack you are using, and whichever version of the Sungold blanket you are choosing to do, I hope you can find everything you need. 

I really enjoy having so many of you making a blanket along with me  and remember I'm right here with you doing my own CAL blanket as I'm only one week ahead of you!!! It's a bit crazy but I LOVE being a part of the CAL community so much.

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 #sungoldcal on Instagram so I can find you.

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

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

♥ SUNGOLD YARN PACKS 

♥ LACY SHELL TUTORIAL

♥ SUNGOLD BLANKET PDF PATTERN

♥ SUNGOLD BLANKET INTRODUCTION

♥ PART 1 MIXED STRIPE WORK SHEET

♥ PART 1 COLOURWASH WORK SHEET

Starbright Stripe Blanket :: Ta-dah!

It's been a few months now since I introduced you to the Starbright colour palette at the start of October, and I've been thrilled to see so many of you enjoying it. Starbright is such a delightful mix of deep night sky blues and jewel brights, and I think I'm possibly more in love with these colours than ever. Maybe it's because we are so close to Christmas now, but these merry shades really lift my spirits and bring to mind so many things I enjoy about the festive season.

I made this collage of images to share the inspiration behind my colour choices - it's a palette full of childhood nostalgia and memories of old Christmas traditions and joys. Twinkly lights and crisp cold nights, foil wrapped chocolates and shiny baubles, brightly coloured tinsel and over-the-top garlands. 

You can read more about my design journey and the making of the original Starbright square blanket in this blog post >>

★ STARBRIGHT SQUARE BLANKET TA-DAH!

As much as I ADORED making my Starbright square blanket, I've learnt over the years that not everyone shares my love of square designs. The ends, oh the many, many dreaded ends! And the joining process, ooooohhhhh it's just all too much of a faff! I hear these cries all over social media when there is a square design in the making! So I always make the effort to offer an alternative option for all you stripe lovers and it's a wonderful thing that my yarn kits and colour palettes are so versatile.

I created two worksheets for the Starbright stripes and the graphic images are shown above. On the left is the mixed stripe and this is my preferred choice. On the right is the colourwash version and I know this beautiful ordered stripe has been loved by many of you. 

I hadn't intended to actually make a striped version of the Starbright blanket myself, I was only planning on whipping up a sampler to demonstrate how well the colours could work in a stripe. However, as my sampler was growing I began to fall hopelessly in love with it. So I did the sensible thing - I purchased a second Starbright yarn kit for myself and as soon as it arrived I started out on my own stripe journey.

These easy v-stitches have such a therapeutic ease about them that it's impossible not to love the hooky relaxation they deliver. The joyful colours add another layer of pleasure, and I can honestly say that I have been smitten by this blanket right from the very start.

Throughout October it gave me such a lot of comfort, coming with me on various train journeys and times spent away from home.

I also spent many happy hours hooking those relaxing V's with friends at the café, and despite October being a very difficult month for me, I do have a lot of happy memories woven into those stitches.

Most of my stripes were crocheted at home as the autumn season grew colder, and these cosy times spent snuggled up with the kitty were nothing but blissful.

Slowly my Starbright stripes grew....

....the stripes becoming more and more blankety as October gave way to November.

By the start of December I was almost finished - in the above photo I only had a handful of stripes left to make and I was very excited to start thinking about a lovely little border to finish it off.

I ended up making 90 stripes in total, so six stripes for each colour. 

I designed a simple border using mostly blue shades because I felt like the exuberance of the stripes would benefit from some calm around the outer edge. If you remember the finished Starbright square design, I used this same colour recipe with that blanket too. The little pop of red is a nod to the Christmas inspiration and I think it adds the perfect finishing touch.

As you can see above, I chose six colours in total, and I used less than 20g of each colour.

I understand that the contrasting red might not be everyone's choice, so it's perfectly OK to swap that out if you wish. In the above photo you can see I removed the Lipstick red and replaced it with Turquoise instead.....

....and this gives a much quieter feel to the border. As with all my designs, please do feel free to change the colours around as you like, I'm not precious about these things and very much support individual creativity. 

I love this border! It's similar to the "Spot on" border I designed many years ago, but with more rows either side to make it a little more substantial.

It's just sooooooooooooo cute! The little blobs of red make my insides flutter, I love the effect very, very much.

When I was spreading out my blanket to take a full photo for you yesterday, I realised that it was the first time I'd actually viewed it as a whole. Mostly it's spent its short life folded up in my bag, or scrumpled up on the sofa, my blankets are extremely well used and it appears that we're not really a neatly-folding family.

It's a lovely feeling for me as the designer and maker to have a quiet little ta-dah moment all to myself before I share it with anyone else. It's a bit special to finish a whole blanket that has spanned across a couple of seasons, and I admit I felt a bit emotional. I feel like me and the V's have been through a lot together (it's been to Dorset and back three times), and well, I do love how well it turned out.

Let me show you.............

................Ta-da!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so happy with it. I think the combination of the bold colours with the zig-zaggy V-stitch pattern is just right, and although it's not an obviously festive colour palette, I can't help but see baubles and fairy lights when I look at it.

The border pattern is straightforward, and uses all double crochet and chains (that's sc for those who use US crochet terms).

I've written up the pattern and added it to the V-stitch Stripe page so that all the instructions for this blanket are in one place. It's written as a tutorial with some photos to help, and I'm sorry I haven't had time to create a printable version for you yet. I hope that's ok, that you won't mind accessing the tutorial online for now, only I didn't want to delay publishing it for you.

You can find it by clicking on the following link (you'll need to scroll down through the tutorial to find it as the border comes after the stripe instructions>>

★ V-STITCH STRIPE TUTORIAL

I'm really enjoying living with these two Starbright blankets on my sofa, and later today they'll be joined by the Yuletide blanket too. I'll try and remember to take a photo of them in residence to share with you - I'm really looking forward to seeing how they look when the tree is up and the fairy lights are twinkling.

Thank you for your patience if you've been waiting for this border pattern to finish off your own Starbright stripes, I'm sorry I took so long. Enjoy this last happy part of your stripy journey!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Here are all relevant links in one place.....

★ STARBRIGHT V-STITCH TUTORIAL

★ STARBRIGHT YARN PACK

★ STARBRIGHT SQUARE TUTORIAL

★ STARBRIGHT SQUARE BLANKET TA-DAH POST

 

 

Sungold Blanket CAL Update

It's just over a week since the new Sungold yarn pack was let loose on the world (blog post HERE in case you missed it), and the response has been fantastic. It's always a bit of a wobbly feeling for me to share a new design, it's a weirdly emotional experience, a combination of fluttery anxiety and almost overwhelming excitement. Even after all these years and the many new blankets I've shared I do still get nervous, hoping that you'll like what I'm creating enough to feel inspired to join me for the ride. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the all round lovely response you always give to my designs and colour palettes, I appreciate it very much indeed.

As always, the team at Wool Warehouse are doing a stellar job and yarn packs have absolutely flown out, so much so that at the moment Sungold is temporarily out of stock. We are awaiting one missing colour which has been delayed, but all being well there should be lots more packs coming together in about ten days or so.

I am SO excited for this crochet-along journey, I know that I'll be more than ready to embrace these uplifting colours in the New Year and get stuck into some pretty floral inspired stripes. I love love love that there will be thousands of you joining me, isn't it a wonderful thought? All over the world there will be new Sungold blankets growing, it makes me so ridiculously happy just to think about it. So thank you again, our crochet community really is something special.

In my Sungold introduction post I mentioned that alongside my stripes there would also be the option to make a square blanket. This will be run as an alternative CAL in the "Hooked on Attic24" Facebook Group, and is being made at the moment by my crochet friend Kaz Hall. You can find more details about all of Kaz's crochet work on her Facebook page {Insomnia Crochet}, and I'll keep you updated about accessing the colour information for the squares when we get closer to the start of the CAL.

Kaz is really hooking up a storm and as you can see, her progress photos shared on social media this past week have been amazing. I am soooooooooooooooo excited about this blanket!!

As of today, this is where Kaz is up to.....oh my!! The COLOURS!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, I know I chose them, but seeing them like this puts a whole new delicious spin on the colour palette, it's utterly glorious. And now can you imagine what's going to happen when the greens and golds and reds start washing in on the diagonal....it's going to be spectacular. 

Remember that if you want to make this version of the Sungold blanket, you'll need the Sungold yarn pack (15 colours), plus an additional ball of Meadow and Violet (17 colours in total).

Now then, I've got some hot yarn news to share with you today, and it's all related to the above photo. Do you see all that glorious yarny colour, all One Hundred and Twenty balls of it? That's the new extended range of Create DK yarn, which is part of the Yarnsmiths range. And if you hadn't already heard of it, Yarnsmiths first launched in the summer of 2022 and is the in-house yarn brand belonging to Wool Wearhouse. You can see all the current yarns in their range ((here)).

The first set of yarns that Yarnsmiths worked on is called Create, and it comes in double knit, aran, chunky and super chunky weights. It's a premium acrylic yarn wound into 100g balls, very similar to our beloved Stylecraft Special DK.

Initially the Create DK range consisted of 44 shades, and as a good many of those were neutrals, there wasn't quite enough colour to really float my boat. However, a few weeks ago, there was an almighty big colour explosion and the Create DK range expanded to now boast a whopping 120 shades, and let me tell you they are beeeeeeautiful.

I was lucky enough to be gifted a full yarn peg set which came in its very own hand crafted wooden display box.

Do you want to see?

OK, let me show you the entire Create 120................

......ta-dah!!! Isn't that a sight for weary eyes?

These pegs have been meticulously made by Emily who runs an online Etsy shop selling them - you might have already heard of it, it's called Eliza and the Giraffe. She makes up yarn pegs for many of the most popular yarn ranges on the market, the ones with a focus on colour that are favoured by crocheters.

You have probably seen me faffing with my own yarn pegs many, many times here on the blog - they are one of my most valued "tools of the trade" as a designer. Did you know that I made my own set of Stylecraft yarn pegs way back in the day, long before I ever saw anybody else doing it? I do believe I pioneered the humble clothes peg/yarn sample idea - I made my first ones back in 2014 when I had my studio and was designing the Cosy stripe blanket for my very first crochet-along. You can read more about the way I personally use yarn pegs as an aid for colour planning and design in this archive post.

Anyhow......back to Create DK. The colours....oh, the COLoUrS! They are wonderful - still rather a lot of neutrals to be honest, but the vast yarny colour spectrum that Yarnsmiths have given us is a true delight.

And what about the yarn itself? Obviously this is a relatively new yarn and I haven't had the opportunity to work extensively with it just yet. But I can certainly give you my current opinion.

The first thing I noticed was the softness. As you can see in the above photo, Create yarn has a certain amount of surface floof which gives the yarn a very soft feel. It's not fluffy as such, but it's not what I would call a smooth yarn either. This means that it handles a little differently - I find it slightly slower to crochet with.

And it's definitely not a shiny yarn (which is a personal no-no for me), no, Create has a delightfully soft, matt look and feel to it which makes it feel cosy and warm. This is very noticeable in the finished crochet fabric as well as seeing/feeling it in the yarn ball.

The other thing I've noticed relates to the yarn strand itself - the ply of the yarn doesn't have quite the same twist as the Stylecraft Special. Less twist generally gives the yarn strand more "loft" which means it's a little airier in feel and appearance. You can see in the above photo, the difference in the ball sizes - both are 100g balls with the same yardage, but I would say that the Create feels a little plumper, simply because there is slightly more loft in the strands.

Now do please keep in mind that I am no expert on these things, and this is merely my observations and opinions as a yarn lover. And the differences are very slight. Take a look at the next photo......

....I took the two balls of Sage (Stylecraft) and Spearmint Green (Create) and laid out the yarn strands for you to see. In the above photo, the Stylecraft yarn is on the top, and the Create yarn on the bottom. There is very little difference to be honest, and in terms of the finished crochet these yarns produce, the gauge and feel of the crochet is very, very similar.

I had a little play with working up a sample of my new Sungold stitch pattern (shown above) and I really like the way it crocheted up in the Create yarn. It's got a slightly different feel to the Stylecraft Special, but I honestly can say that I like them both.

Now this wasn't planned, but during the past week I was chatting back and forth with Wool Warehouse and we decided to do something spontaneous and put together a Sungold yarn pack using Create DK yarn. I thought it might be a good opportunity to see how the colours can work together in an Attic24 blanket, and it also gives you (the worldwide hooking community) a chance to give this yarn a try if you are curious about it. I think having choices is always good.

You can find the Sungold Create yarn packs in my shop at Wool Warehouse (they are at a discounted price right now).

Here's the link >>

SUNGOLD CREATE DK YARN PACK

SO what does this mean for the Sungold CAL in January? Well, I'm making my own Sungold blanket in Stylecraft yarn as it's still my favourite. But if you are curious about the new Create yarn and want to give it a go, when the CAL begins I'll list both sets of colours for the stripes. I'll only be crocheting with the Stylecraft myself as that's my personal preference, but I want to make it easy for you if you wish to try out the Create. Does that make sense?

Coming back to the Sungold Harmony blanket that Kaz is making, remember I said you will need 17 colours for this version? Well if you are going to use the Create DK yarn pack, you will need to add in Grass Green and Dark Lavender as your two extras. Kaz will also be offering two charts in her version of the Sungold CAL, so you can easily choose between using Stylecraft Special DK or Yarnsmiths Create DK.

The Crochet-along begins in five weeks time, on Friday 5th January, so there's still time to gather in your chosen yarn and get ready to join in the fun.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

Slow November

Brrrrrrr, it's cold here in Atticland right now and dare I say it feels more like winter than autumn. We've had some hard frosts and this morning the first teeeeeny little flakes of snow swirled about in the wind.

It's mostly been wet and grey (of course it has, this seems to be the November default setting), but when the sun has decided to pay us a visit it has been glorious.

We walked through the woods on Saturday morning - 9.30 am in the above photos - and this is a surprise because not one but two teenage offspring were with us. It's rare that they are up and about this early on a weekend morning, and truly a very happy occurrence when they both decided to come out with us with no persuasion needed. Ok, yes there was the promise of breakfast in the café after our walk and Saturday market shop, but I do believe they weren't really bribed on this occasion. Totally of their own accord, I swear. 

The treetops are mostly bare now....

...but the wind was bringing down the remaining few leaves in a beautiful swirl of golden colour. I managed to catch one before it hit the ground and closed my eyes to make a wish, because that's a rule that can't be broken. Goodness knows what I must have looked like dancing around under the tree trying to catch a falling leaf, but I was so happy when I managed it. It's way harder than you would think. 

Reflections are still very much my thing, I just can't stop loving them. And trees reflected in water, well that's my second favourite type of reflection (clouds always have the number one spot).

An upside to the bareness of the branches in November is the sudden increase in light levels in the woodland. Usually this spot is very shady and so it's rather lovely to see The Huntress doing  a bit of sunbathing.

Saturday morning market shopping was great as always, and my best buy were hands down these kiwi fruits. You maybe can't tell the scale from the photo but they are petite, and my goodness the flavour was huge!!!! It's the first time I've ever tried red kiwis and they tasted of raspberries and kiwi mixed together - so sweet, I was in fruity heaven with these things. I wish I had bought more, and am keeping all fingers crossed for Wednesday because I shall be racing up into town and hoping to find them again.

No new flowers this week because as predicted my chrysanths are still looking amazingly good considering they are now a week old. I did dither around the fresh flowers in the supermarket today because they had parrot tulips in the reduced price bucket that looked amazing, and I was very tempted. In the end I walked away - but the regret is lingering. Parrot tulips (magenta ones), oh they were a bit special. 

I do have a pot of hyacinth bulbs on my mantel which I bought yesterday, and I'm sooooo so so so happy about it. I love having these in the home, and over the years it has become a favourite November ritual of mine. I still so clearly remember buying my first hyacinths for this house, November 2008. Fifteen years ago. 15. Fif-teen. WOW. Sometimes my blogging history blows my mind to pieces. I don't know the colour - pink or blue - so it's a bit like waiting for a Gender Reveal party to happen. I shall keep you posted.

A new cheap and cheerful little candle on my mantel, also a result of the weekend supermarket shop. The scent is Spiced Apple and Berry and it is delightful I have to say.

I also took delivery of some new wax melts from the Botanical Candle Company - I've gone for the scent named "Half Light" which is absolute perfection for this time of year.

The blurb (because I do love a good bit of descriptive blurb)>>

Half Light was made to bring back memories of a childhood spent studding oranges with cloves in the run-up to Christmas. The gentle sweetness of clementine is perfectly balanced by the resinous spice of clove to make a rounded, homely and familiar scent.

As I burn wax melts regularly next to my bed, a while ago I decided to buy some good quality non-toxic tea lights and I can highly recommend them. They are made from rapeseed oil (no paraffin or nasty chemicals) and burn slow and clean, plus they come in clear plastic cups which can be wiped out and popped into the household recycling. They are here on Amazon, if you burn tealights at home and want to switch to a cleaner alternative. And this is the ceramic burner I have, I love it.

I put my Big Blanket on the bed at the weekend too, it was time. Temperatures have been dropping to zero degrees at night, and we are forecast snow showers this week so the weather will remain chilly. This blanket is made from pure wool (it cost an absolute fortune to make), so it has a satisfying weightiness to it which is very comforting when you're pinned underneath it. I've actually slept really well the past few nights so perhaps I just needed to be immobilized a little.

I took this photo of my hill view today as I was walking down the road to the supermarket. I love the hillyness of where I live, it's a constant reminder wherever you are in the town that this is a rural community and the hills are (and always will be) bigger than the buildings.

I was working some more stripes on my Starbright blanket over the weekend, it's the perfect activity when the weather is cold. I really need to get the border pattern together to share, I keep forgetting to do it, especially with all the Sungold activity during this past week. I've been very busy on social media, it takes a lot of my time to keep up with all the platforms (my Facebook page, 3 different Attic24 Facebook groups, plus Instagram) but I do my best not to let it all slip slide. My apologies if you've reached the end of your v's and now want to add the border, I am prioritising that job for this week.

Thank you as always for calling in to read my rambles, I hope you're enjoying these cosy, shortening days as we move towards the Winter Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere. And if you are upsidedown and heading towards summer, do tell me what you've been up to as your season heats up? In fact, lets have a global seasonal weather report in the comments, I'd love that! From me here in the north of England - mostly very cold and wet, with low digit temperatures and showers forecast for this week. Over to you........

 

EDIT >> THANK YOU so much for all the weather and activity reports from all over the world!! It's absolutely wonderful to read about where you all are, thank you!! I've loved the comments on this post so much, and I hope you've enjoyed reading and connecting too xxxx

 

Sungold Blanket :: Introduction

Morning, morning!! If you'd like to go and grab a Sungold yarn pack before coming back to read my blog post, click on the following link to go to Wool Warehouse :

♥ SUNGOLD YARN PACK ♥

Today I'm really excited to share the inspiration behind my latest blanket design which I've named SUNGOLD. As you can see from the photos I'm sharing, this a blanket inspired by flower-filled gardens. Not just any old ordinary back yards though, no, I've taken my inspiration from the type of gardens created and nurtured by skilled teams of horticulturalists. Picture the type of grand English gardens that have grown up around stately homes or the select gardens that've been created by horticultural societies to showcase the very best in garden design. 

I first came across our local Royal Horticultural Society garden when I was capturing photographic inspiration for my Sweet Pea blanket in 2018. RHS Harlow Carr near Harrogate in North Yorkshire has been a beautiful go-to place for me and my family ever since then, and during this past year we even had a members season ticket so we could visit as often as we wanted. It meant we got to see the garden in all four seasons, but my most favourite time of all has to be late Summer, hands down.

I'm a fairly recent newcomer to visiting big gardens, I think because I only have a teeny-tiny back yard I've never been particularly interested in seeking out grand garden design as inspiration. But flowers on the other hand, yes I've been a massive flower addict for pretty much all of my life. And late summer flower borders are nothing short of magnificent, so full of glorious colour glowing in that particular golden sunlight that comes in late August and early September.

Visiting these gardens full of floral colour never fails to leave me feeling happy and energised. And I can tell you that crocheting a blanket with these same colours has exactly the same effect, it's colour therapy that is seriously good for the soul.

Over the past few years I've taken hundreds of photographs of the famous flower borders at RHS Harlow Carr, and I used this collection of images to help me create the Sungold colour palette. The colours are rich and uplifting - joyful floral shades glowing with golden warmth. In late summer there is definitely a lot of heat in the floral colour palette - rich shades of gold, burnt orange and copper, deep reds and russets and the most beautiful rich purples and saturated pinks. And then there are the softer mauves and silvery greens too, creating an overall feeling of rich abundance, softened by golden sunlight.

The Sungold Blanket is going to be run as a crochet-along (CAL) and I like to think of it as me inviting you to come on a slow garden stroll with me, with the sun on our faces and the late summer borders in full bloom. If that sounds appealing, then read on and I'll tell you more about the yarn colours and new pattern I've designed for the Sungold CAL blanket.

 

 

For the Sungold blanket I've put together 15 shades of Stylecraft Yarns Special DK, and I absolutely love the way they look together. I wanted this colour palette to be a little dose of summer perfection - colours that remind me of a sunny afternoon strolling amongst brightly coloured flowers buzzing with bees.

 

 

Here are the fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK that make up the Sungold colour palette :

Top row :

♥ Lavender ♥  Proper Purple ♥  Plum ♥  Boysenberry ♥  Fuchsia Purple ♥

Middle row :

♥ Gold ♥ Tomato ♥ Copper ♥ Claret ♥ Magenta ♥

Bottom row :

♥ Dandelion ♥ Lime ♥ Lincoln ♥ Sage ♥ Cyprus ♥

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

♥ SUNGOLD YARN PACK ♥

As you know, one of the things that I am very passionate about is designing blankets with simple patterns to encourage new crocheters to feel confident about embarking on a large project. I also like that my simplified designs are great for more experienced crocheters too - these stripes are designed to help you unwind and relax and enjoy the rhythmic and therapeutic nature of working easy rows of glorious colour without having to faff with difficult pattern reading.

 

It's actually harder than you might think to come up with new stripe patterns which use basic stitches in easy repeats, and I work very hard to keep it simple for you. For the Sungold, I've designed a really easy little lacy shell which creates these beautiful, curvy stripes, inspired by the shapes I see in the wide flower borders. Let me show you what I mean...

 

 

....can you see the soft, rounded shapes?

When perennial flowers are planted in abundant layers, they create a series of overlapping curves which I really love the look of.

 

The above photo shows my Sungold sample with the light shining through, which gives you a clearer idea of the very pretty pattern. It reminds me a little of the flowers as they grow in overlapping clumps in the border, well that's what my mind sees anyhow....I guess it doesn't really matter what the stitch configuration looks like, only that it all works together to create a super lovely stripe pattern for you to enjoy :)

 

This is an easy pattern to learn, and providing you can hold an even tension and crochet the basic stitches (a UK treble and double crochet), then this pattern is very achievable for newbie hooksters. You might need to practice working a row of treble crochet into a foundation chain, but I don't anticipate you having any problems learning this stitch pattern. There will of course be my usual full (and I mean FULL) photo tutorial to help you every step of the way, and I'm quietly confident that all of you will adore crocheting this new stripe. It's pure hooky pleasure.

 

In the photos above, I've shown the Sungold colours arranged in a very ordered "warm rainbow" (note the absence of blues in this colour palette, very unusual for me), but the CAL blanket is going to be worked as a mixed stripe.

 

 

By "mixed stripe", I mean that the fifteen colours are going to be mixed together in a harmonious way that resembles the pleasing mix you would see in a flower garden. 

 

 

The above stripe sampler gives you an idea of how stunning the Sungold colours look mixed together, and how rich and uplifting they are - sunshine and flowers, what more could you want?! The blanket is going to be stunning, I can just feel it in my bones.

However, if you prefer the look of the colours following the natural order of the colour wheel, then I'll also be creating a "colourwash" stripe for you to follow in the crochet-along if that's more your thing.

 

 

This year there is also a third option, and that involves making squares!

One of the Attic24 Facebook groups ("Hooked on Attic24") is going to be running an alternative Sungold CAL, offering a square design alongside my stripes. Talented crocheter Kaz Hall is creating a Sungold version of my Summer Harmony Blanket, and will be sharing the colour charts in weekly instalments as part of the Sungold CAL. We discussed the colours together and decided on adding Violet and Meadow to the 15 Sungold colours, making 17 in total.

As you can see from the photo, she's off to a flying start and we'll be sharing snippets of progress in the coming weeks. In my opinion, it's already looking absolutely gorgeous!

If making a Sungold Summer Harmony appeals to you, make sure to join the "Hooked on Attic24" Facebook group for all the details. You will also need to add Meadow and Violet to your basket when you pick up a Sungold yarn pack.

 

 

OK, lets talk about the CAL details now, just in case this is all new to you and it all seems a bit daunting. I promise you it's easy-peasy and crochet-alongs are a lot of fun.

Firstly 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 Friday 5th January.

♥ The Attic24 SUNGOLD CAL will will run for 8 weeks in total, beginning on Friday 5th 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 2024 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 Sungold stripe pattern. Weeks 1-6 I'll share the colour order for a set of stripes (around 15 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 SUNGOLD 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. 

♥ 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 2024. 

♥ 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. 

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 rich, sun-soaked colours have inspired you to plan a new blanket journey with me.....roll on January!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

♥ SUNGOLD YARN PACK ♥

 

 

Designer of Blankets

Hello, my name is Lucy and I am a Designer of Blankets. They are my passion and my obsession, my creative spark and my relaxation therapy. And how absurdly wonderful it is that I get to live this colourful life of mine, and that designing blankets has become the thing that I do to thrive. 

Attic24 blog started over fifteen years ago and I was crocheting blankets right from the very start. Then six years later I met the owners of Wool Warehouse and that was when we began to create yarn packs together to sell online. It was (and still is) amazing to me that I could design blankets that other people would want to make for themselves. How amazing to share my ideas and inspire people all over the world to crochet blankets!

The above photo is an old one from my archives, I really should create an updated image with all my blankets included, that would be something to see. To date I have created twenty blanket designs using Stylecraft Yarns, each one having its own beautiful colour palette inspired by things I love. I have used colour to describe my enjoyment of the countryside and the English seasons - walks over hills, along woodland paths, through meadows and along the beach. There is also my love of flowers in those blankets too - sweet peas, hydrangeas, wild flowers, summer annuals, cottage gardens and dahlias. There is sooo much gorgeous colour inspiration to be found out there in every day life!

Over the past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about my crochet and the way things have evolved and grown over the years, evaluating where I'm at with it all, and what I might want to do next. I'm very proud of what I've achieved so far because I am passionate about spreading the joy of colourful crochet and inspiring people to find happiness in being creative.

A few days ago I was reading something online which reminded me of the British Knitting and Crochet Awards. Sadly they no longer happen but they ran every year from 2014-2022. I won my first award in 2016, and do you know, I won the title of "favourite crochet designer" for seven years running. As well as the crochet designer category, I also won the "favourite crochet blogger" category many times, and last year scooped the "best ready-to-make kits" award too. 

It's a funny thing winning awards because there is a part of me which pops champagne and dances with delight, but a bigger part of me which just wants to keep my head down and not be a show off.  Trumpet blowing is not my style. But all in all, I think it's safe to say that crocheting blankets has been a good thing for me. A very good thing.

Today I want to share some crochet which literally fell out of the Cupboard of Doom yesterday and landed at my feet. I was in that precarious cupboard trying to get to my yarn winder, and suddenly there was a colourful crochet avalanche happening.

These colourful bits of crochet represent the preparation I do in the weeks and months before I embark on a new blanket journey. A blanket doesn't just happen for me, no no, there is a lot that goes into the design process before I sit down to crochet the actual blanket itself.

For every blanket I've designed, I've crocheted up one of these colour palette samplers. I spend a really long time choosing the colours for a blanket and often this process happens over the course of many weeks. Once I think I'm pretty much there with my palette, I set about crocheting a little square for each colour. This gives me a chance to get a true "working" feel of how the colours want to play together and make sure everything is balancing properly. Sometimes at this stage I will make a last minute change, but that's quite rare - usually by the time I'm crocheting these squares, I'm living and breathing the colour palette day and night and it's giving me all the shivery excitement.  By the way, I did write up the pattern for these little solid squares if they appeal to you - here it is >> ((Solid Granny Square pattern))

The second stage in my preparation is shown above - these are long, skinny stripe samplers made using rows of double crochet, one row to represent each stripe. I've found this a great way to work out the final colour order for the stripes and although it's all extra work I really think it's worth me taking the time to do it. It means that by the time I come to crochet the actual blanket, I'm one hundred percent confident that the colours are going to look magnificent.

On the right are my two festive colourways - Yuletide and Starbright. It's the first time I've seen them together and I have to say I absolutely love love love them. 

Look!! ^^ don't they both glow with joyful Christmas spirit?! Both very different, and yet they both have my trademark colour signature. It's a hard thing to define, but I do think my colour palettes are very recognisable, aren't they? They simply glow with Attic24-ness!

And finally...this is the third stage of my preparation. These are the samples which showcase the colour palette combined with the stitch pattern. Before I get to this stage, make no mistake, I've already done a tonne of work to design the stitch pattern itself. I don't tend to look in books for stitch ideas, I prefer to work them straight out of my head, a bit like doodling or making notes, but using yarn and hook instead of paper and pen. I've got a massive messy box containing dozens and dozens of trial and error stitch samples made over the years. Loads of them. It takes a while to work through ideas and there is a lot of failure in this process. 

So by the time I'm making the above samples, well, I'm already beyond thrilled with the pattern and raring to get going on the blanket.

I love these samplers, I really do. I pour so much emotion into all my blanket designs that they are like an extension of my heart.

I don't have all my samples here because my earlier ones are packed away in storage from when I cleared out my studio during covid. But these are the ones pictured above, from left to right...

♥Dahlia ♥ Dune ♥ Aria ♥ Meadow ♥ Harbour ♥ Springfrost ♥ Starbright ♥ Sungold ♥

You probably recognise them all from seeing them here on my blog over the years.....except for that last one.

Sungold...........ooooooo, that's something new!

Please say hello to the Sungold blanket, well the beginning of the Sungold journey at least. This blanket is going to be my TENTH annual crochet-along which begins in January 2024. I've designed a very pretty stripe for these colours, a soft and curvy little shell pattern which has a light and slightly open look to it.

Do you like the colours, aren't they joyful?

The colour palette was inspired by my many visits to see the famous flower borders at RHS Harlow Carr. I wanted this colour palette to be a little dose of summer perfection - colours that remind me of a sunny afternoon strolling amongst brightly coloured flowers buzzing with bees. The Sungold colour palette is rich and uplifting - beautiful floral shades glowing with golden warmth.

Just look at it compared to this year's CAL blanket (the Springfrost), what a difference in temperature! From frosty chill to golden warmth, I love that these colours literally make you feel the seasons.

My Sungold blanket hasn't started yet because truthfully I'm still caught up in the Starbright. I'm working on the border design for the v-stitch this week because I know there are those of you waiting for it. But if you look at the above photo, you can spot the Sungold stripe sampler....

......here it is look ^^, just to give you a taste of how amazing the colours look together. I'm going to be making a mixed stripe blanket, but there will also be the option to work the Sungold stripes as a colourwash if you wish. Both versions will be given as part of the CAL in the New Year.

Yarn packs are coming very soon, next week in fact. Mark your calendars - Tuesday 21st November at 8am, my shop at Wool Warehouse will be buzzing with sunny Sungold vibes. Maybe you'd like to join me making this blanket along with our wonderful worldwide hooky community? I'd really like it if you did.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

And...Exhale

I was walking down the street this morning thinking about Blogtober and my recent contributions to life on the World Wide Web. I pondered on the fact that the gentle, daily routine of stringing together some words and photos can be so, so nurturing and fulfilling. After fifteen years I still love love love this blogging life I've created for myself. It feeds a need in me to connect, engage and inspire, but also it's a valuable way for me to empty my mind of visuals and thoughts so that I don't feel quite so congested in my brain. I can spill it all out onto this digital page and exhale with relief.

It's been a beautiful day here, and I really don't want to sound smug as I know the weather down south has been horrendous. But here in Yorkshire it's been all blue skies and sunshine and I have walked around soaking it in. Breathing out all the tension of the past months and reminding myself how to stand down from the high alert status I've been caught in of late.

Being Friday, my morning was spent at Coopers in the company of friends and my slowly growing Starbright stripes. I was sat next to my very good friend Samm today, and she's making a Starbright colourwash ripple, oh it's looking magnificent! I had a special little zip of joy seeing our two blankets side by side.

I'm being slow with these stripes because I keep getting distracted by other things. But I've got a weekend ahead with zero plans (which is the best feeling) so I'm going to make sure that I grab me some cosy hooky time.

Remember the one hundred foot chimney I showed you last week (Blogtober Day 27)? Well I took a photo of it from the other side today because it looked very picturesque in the Autumn sunshine.

This is an unusual spot (the chimney is just up and to the right of the above photo) because the canal is carried over the stream via an old aqueduct bridge. I often walk this way home from Coopers café - if I go up those stone steps, that's the canal tow path right there.

I took advantage of the weather and walked this afternoon, taking in all the glorious autumn colour and loving the gentle feel of the sun on my face.

I often take myself out and about, just for the pleasure of being outdoors and enjoying some slow, strolling steps along familiar routes. It's my therapy I guess, and really helps me to unwind and feel calm.

I walked along the canal to the supermarket to buy a few essentials that we'd run out of, and to treat myself to some fruit. I'll be going to the market in the morning to buy fruit and veg, but today I had an insane craving for tropical fruit - I guess not a bad craving to have. I bought passion fruits, persimmons and kiwis and when I got home I made myself a bowl of greek yoghurt with the fruits piled on top. Yummm.

The kitty has been in this position on the sofa allllll afternoon, and right now at 7.45pm she is still right there. She must be feeling very happy indeed because the fire is blazing (I'm sat right beside the hearth chatting to you today) and this room has reached the perfect cosy temperature. 

Today I have felt more like my normal self than I have done in quite a while, and my inner energy and spark is returning slowly but surely. I am quietly hopeful that November will be a month of healing and closure in many ways, and that thought is making me happy, like there is sunshine in my soul again. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Starbright Love

T-I-N-S-E-L!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With S-T-A-R-S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If there was ever a tinsel to make me fall head over heels in love, then this is it. Isn't it glorious?

You remember yesterday me showing you all the tinsel and garlands hanging up in John Lewis and me telling you I made a purchase? Lots of you guessed the felt star garland (and that was indeed lovely), but it was this perfect "Starbright" tinsel that I fell for. How could I not? The beautiful colours and the shimmery shininess caught my eye straight away and I instantly saw my Starbright colour palette right there....

...these are the colours of my childhood Christmases and that starry tinsel took me right back to those young years.

It's been a little over three weeks since I shared my Starbright blanket with the world, and I've been blown away by the response to the colours, the design and the yarn packs that I created with Wool Warehouse. Thank you so much for loving this blanket as much as I do, your comments all over social media have truly warmed my heart.

This week I've seen the first completed blankets being shared in the Facebook groups (details of the groups can be found at the end of this post). Yes, I did say Completed!!! There have been some very fast and happy hooksters blazing a Starbright trail and I've been so excited watching the progress unfold in their photos. Elizabeth J and Heather P - your ta-dah moments were such a thrill for me! Also a mention for Lou S who joined all her squares in record time and is onto the border now I think. Bravo ladies, such wonderful, bright and happy blankets now living their best blankety lives, spreading comfort and joy.

I thought that today I would share some inspirational Starbright photos with you, a celebration of the creativity, happiness and friendship which always surrounds my blankets. I hope you enjoy the visuals....

↑↑ Lou - this lovely lady really inspired a lot of people when she shared her idea for making the Starbright squares using a "production line" method. This is when you make all the round centres of the squares (so 81 in total), then you move on to crochet all of the round 3's, then all the round 4's etc etc. It means you get into a good rhythm because your hands and brain can just enjoy making the same rounds over and over until all 81 are complete, before they need to process and work the next stage.

But the genius thing that Lou did is shown above - she used a length of cord to thread her crochet onto, so that the squares were always kept in number order....my goodness, this is so simple, but so bloomin' clever too! I never would have thought to do it this way, but it makes perfect sense. It means you can follow my colour chart and keep everything in order right up to the joining bit.

↑↑ Clare was inspired by Lou and decided to work her Starbright squares in the same orderly way. She cleverly used a long circular knitting needle to thread her crochet onto so that they stayed in number order - brilliant thinking, and so practical.

↑↑ Patricia opted to make the v-stitch stripe and has really cracked on, doesn't it look great? She is up to stripe 67, so around two thirds complete.

↑↑ Liz decided to follow my stripe order for the colourwash version of the v-stitch, and is working through the final few colours. Another super-fast blanket coming very close to the finish line.

↑↑ Mandy has also been sharing progress of her colourwash Starbright, and I've really enjoyed seeing this grow. With each new colour added, the whole feel of the blanket changes.

↑↑ Debbie used the Seashell stripe pattern and made some gorgeous Starbright minis - a pram blanket and a doll blanket which look so bright and cheery with the colours ordered in this lovely repeat.

↑↑ Natasha went even mini-er!  Her delicate little doll blanket is super cute, I love it!

I've seen quite a few Starbright blankets growing as large squares and this is very exciting for me as I really wanted to try this out myself. 

↑↑ Ann is using my very popular Yuletide Square pattern, and following the ordered Starbright repeat that I shared in the ta-dah post. It's already looking really good and I'm excited to see more as it grows.

↑↑ Elizabeth is also making a Yuletide, but she's decided to follow the colourwash order. This is going to be amazing as it grows, because the colours are going to shift and change and "glow" as they pulse outwards. Exciting!

↑↑ Another Yuletide-Starbright combination (I think we are collectively calling is "Startide" in the Facebook groups), this one is a work in progress for Lindsay. It's delightful, I love it. 

↑↑ Jo has chosen to crochet the Starbright square but has gone LARGE!! By repeating round 7, you can grow the Starbright square and make it as big as you like. It's so nice to see and very evocative of Christmas for me - it's tinsel and baubles and all the happy festive things.

↑↑ Helen is doing the same large Starbright square but with her own choice of colours. This reminds me of May time - blossom and bluebells.

If you wish to go large with a Starbright square, you need to repeat round 7, but do remember to keep turning your work after every round (alternate between working on the right side and the wrong side) to keep the sides straight and stop any distortion/twisting.

I do always love to see alternative colours being used with my designs and find it very inspiring. You know I do always support stash busting, or choosing your own unique colours, so don't ever feel you have to exclusively use my yarn packs.

↑↑ Joanna is making a v-stitch stripe using up colours from her stash, with repeating cream stripes every third row. It's super effective adding a cream or neutral in between bright colours and gives a softer, gentler look ideal for baby blankets.

↑↑ Ally is doing a similar v-stitch with cream in between her colours. I didn't realise it at first, but the colours are from my Hydrangea yarn pack and the vintage feel of it is really appealing.

↑↑ Just look at these glorious Starbright squares made by Maya, aren't the colours lush? This is a stash bust project using up oddments of brightly coloured yarn and I love the playful look of them.

↑↑ Sarah is also making her very own version of Starbright with such a beautiful palette of colours. I came across this photo she shared on Instagram (her cat Louie is stealing the show somewhat, but he can be forgiven), and loved it at first sight. The colours remind me of old fashioned vintage eiderdowns and faded patchwork quilts. 

↑↑ And finally Anja - what more can I say except WOW!!!!! This is an absolutely stunning blanket in progress, showcasing the Starbright colour palette to perfection. The pattern is the Havana Afghan which uses the mosaic crochet technique - Anja, you've outdone yourself, I couldn't love it more. 

As I mentioned earlier, the Attic24 online crochet community is thriving and I absolutely love love love it. Instagram is as popular as ever and there are some wonderful crochet creators on that platform.

But I think the best community feels happen in the Facebook groups, especially around the times when I release a new blanket design. If you like using Facebook and aren't already joined in with the groups, you very welcome to join in over there. Currently there are three main Attic24 groups that I'm aware of, as well as a wonderful Dorset group who chat online and meet up in real life. These groups aren't run by me - they are managed by super teams of admins who keep everything running smoothly and I am so grateful to them all. Here are the links if you are interested in joining >>

Hooked on Attic24

Attic24 and Lots More Group UK

Just Attic24 Friends

Friends of Attic24 Dorset

If you wish to join it's very straightforward, but do please remember to answer the questions at the start otherwise the admins won't be able to accept your join request.

I hope you've enjoyed today's post, it's been fun for me putting it together. More regular Blogtober content will resume tomorrow xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

★ STARBRIGHT BLANKET TA-DAH

★ STARBRIGHT YARN PACK

 

 

The Starbright Blanket :: Ta-dah!

Good morning! If you want to go and grab a Starbright yarn pack, here is the link to Wool Warehouse >>

STARBRIGHT YARN PACK 

And if you're after the free pattern and photo tutorial, here is the link to it (it's in my sidebar listed in alphabetical order)

STARBRIGHT BLANKET TUTORIAL

Please do read on if you'd like to find out more about the blanket design and drink in lots of colour!

Hellooooo, and thank you so much for being here to share this merry and bright Ta-dah occasion with me. I love to chat to you about the creative things that have been occupying my time, especially if there is a tangible source of inspiration behind the colour palette I've been immersed in. You can be sure that by the time you read my ta-dah posts, I've been obsessively designing and crocheting with these colours for many, many months - this particular colour palette has been jigging about inside my mind for more than a year now.

As you can see above, I gathered together some photos to give you an idea of the colour inspiration behind the Starbright blanket. I dreamed of a blanket inspired by those delicious weeks in December when decorations and twinkly lights take centre stage. I began to think a lot about the excitement of it all, about those nostalgic, child-like feelings that always surface when the month of December comes around and you realise all of a sudden that Christmas isn't too far away. It's everything I love about the festive season - the lights, decorations and bright colours which bring so much joy into the house. With these nostalgic feelings in mind, I chose colours that celebrate the winter season in the most joyful way I could think of. 

A lot of my inspiration for Starbright came from my own childhood memories and so there wasn't anything that I could photograph or look at. Memories of the old christmas decorations that would be unpacked year after year after year. The mismatched collections of baubles and the fairy lights with their brightly coloured plastic flowery petals. Strings of foil garlands which pulled out in a concertina of intricate folds and cuts, and brightly coloured foil stars which hung from lampshades and shelves. And a big round tin of colourful foil wrapped Quality Street chocolates (always a highly anticipated gift from my Grandad).

In the town where I grew up, every shop along the high street would display a small living christmas tree above the upper storey window, strung with brightly lit, multi coloured festoon lights. I LOVED those lights - I don't think trees are decorated like this any more, but the lights were always so bright and colourful due to the large bulbs. It meant that walking or driving through the town in the weeks leading up to Christmas was incredibly joyful, oh, I can still picture it so clearly in my mind and I absolutely adored it.

My idea for the Starbright colour palette was to create a background of deep blues as a nod to the dark winter skies, then light up those blues with all the bright shades that exist in my memory of childhood Christmases.

Lights in the dark if you like. 

You can see my colours here - heavy on the blues because I wanted that feeling of cosy nights and clear starry skies. I added in some greens for the evergreens and trees that we associate with christmas, and then a handful of festive brights to really bring the whole idea to life. Taking these rich, bright shades and setting them against the deep blues of a starry night sky makes this a blanket full of Winter Magic.

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

Top row :

♥ Gold ♥  Magenta ♥  Fuchsia Purple ♥  Pomegranate ♥  Lipstick ♥

Middle row :

♥ Apple ♥ Kelly Green ♥ Empire ♥ Teal ♥ Bottle ♥

Bottom row :

♥ Turquoise ♥ Aster ♥  Lapis ♥ Lobelia ♥ French Navy ♥

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

STARBRIGHT YARN PACK 

There is a whole backstory to the Starbright blanket design which I won't bore you with - suffice to say I went through a LOT of failure to get to the blanket that I'm showing you today. Stacks of samples and partly made and abandoned squares. A whole ginormous, massive HEAP of really wrong colour decisions resulting in three months of work being thrown in the bin (literally - the whole lot went in the kitchen bin). I started again from scratch with a fresh bag of yarn - the above photo was taken on 22nd July on the first day of our summer holiday in Northumberland when I was just about to start Starbright V2.

I'm very happy with the square pattern I designed -  a star in the centre, radiating out into simple v-stitch rounds. I wanted the square to have something of a vintage bauble look, and the zig-zag of the v-stitch reminds me of those concertina foil garlands, do you know the ones I mean?

I planned to start each square with a jolly bright centre and finish with some of the darker blue shades - I was trying to create something that described lights shining out into the dark.

The above plate was my summer holiday crochet - eighty one little starry centres.

The stars soon turned into baubles.....

....and on through the weeks of summer I turned the baubles into colourful squares.

The above photo shows the squares with the first three colours complete (there are 6 colours for each square).

I really, really love seeing a blanket journey evolve like this, it's such a thrill to have this idea inside my head and to witness it literally come to life in front of my eyes.

You'll notice that at this point, all the squares are very colourful as I've kept the darker blues to be used in the outer rounds.

The squares continued to grow....

.....and grow.....

....and grow, until they were at the stage where they were ready to join.

Now this is where the hard work really starts - it's really hard to explain to you just how difficult this process can be, and what a humongous amount of concentration and creative vision it takes to make these colour decisions on the fly.

Using the join-as-you-go method means that I need to try and imagine what the joining colours are going to look like before I actually make them. I also need to do things like make sure I use each colour an equal number of times, and separate squares that are too samey...so many decisions to make. My method is to use the floor, and make little yarn twists to represent the colour of the joining round. I place the yarn twists alongside each square, trying to balance the colour placement, and making sure that I can visualise them working. It's hard! Reeeeeeally hard!!

But I go forth with confidence, joining, joining, joining, and hoping and praying that it's going to look as good in real life as it does inside my head.

I work out from the centre because I'm trying to move the joining rounds from light to dark. Lighter in the centre and radiating out to the darker blues and greens around the outside.

The kitty oversees all decision making and work in progress, testing the quality of my workmanship at all times.

It's worth mentioning that it's inevitable that I make colour mistakes with this process, and so I leave all my joining tail ends dangling in case I need to perform surgery. I think I frogged out four squares in total, removing them completely, remaking them with better colours and then joining them back in again.

Finally, I had joined all 81 squares (they are arranged in a 9 x 9 format for this blanket) and began the task of darning in those dangling ends. Luckily for me I was at the café with friends while I tackled this bit so it wasn't too painful, but in normal circumstances crocheting a square blanket, I would always, always darn my ends in as I go.

I LOVE the join-as-you-go method and have used it in most of my square blanket designs. It's so neat and means that the blanket comes together pretty quickly.

So shall I give you a few numbers to roll around in your mind?

81 squares in total. 

6 colours in each square. No two squares are the same, they are all different.

That makes 486 colour decisions in these squares......and I am SO PROUD of it!!!!!

The border keeps the v-stitch design and is worked in the darker shades of blues and greens. This creates a  grounding framework around the squares and settles the whole design down a bit - those squares are pretty rowdy and shouty and need a bit of calming.

The little red border at the end was a last minute decision and I love the way it adds a final zing of joyful spirit.

Ahhhh.........it really is more than a little bit lovely.

As always, as soon as I darned in the last end, the blanket was put into use. My blankets don't get folded up and put away, no, no, they get to become a part of family life right from the start. It quickly became a firm favourite with the Little People and I can't tell you how happy it makes me when I see my blankets being used and loved by my family.

Oh - I took this photo yesterday and wanted to show you - I held my blanket up to the window to let the light shine through to highlight the stitch pattern. Isn't it lovely? I really like how the stars look like they are shining.

Miss Tilly didn't wait a second to road test the newly completed blanket - she was literally on it in an instant, as soon as it touched down on the sofa. I love the way cats just assume you are spreading out a blanket for their personal comfort and use. That look on her face that says well of course you made this just for me, I expect nothing less!

I want to show you how the whole blanket looks now, so you can see the play of light and dark, and the shine of the colours out from the centre.....

............TA-DAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am immensely proud of this blanket, it has proven to be a real challenge for me with my depleted concentration levels and not an easy make by any means. I mean, the actual crochet bit was easy-peasy, but the endless decision making was not. 

But just look at it - isn't it a beauty??

I honestly adore it, and part of me can't believe I actually designed and made it. I did it! And I love it and I'm so bloomin' proud of it.

So. STARBRIGHT. It's done and I love it, and now I'd love you to love it too.

There is of course the yarn pack which contains 15 balls of yarn as well as a 12 page A4 printed pattern.

STARBRIGHT YARN PACK AND PRINTED PATTERN

You will need a 4mm hook as standard, but you can go bigger or smaller if you know your crochet tension. I think this pattern looks and feels better if it's kept on the tighter side.

The join-as-you-go method is written into the printed pattern, but there is also a full photo tutorial here on my blog to help you along with it.

STARBRIGHT TUTORIAL

I often get asked if my patterns are suitable for beginners, and with Starbright I'd say that yes, it's a good one for adventurous beginners to try. The actual stitches are easy (mostly just UK trebles and chains), but you do need to be able to hold a good, even tension, and you do need to concentrate with making squares!

And then of course we have the ends to deal with. Please don't groan......darning in ends is all part of the blanket making journey, and I'd really like you to adjust your mindset when it comes to tucking those ends away. Think of it like this - you are darning love into your blanket with every colour change, and ensuring that it becomes an heirloom that will stand the test of time. My method is to darn as soon as I snip, NO EXCUSES. Scissors and needle stay together, and as soon as I cut that yarn, I thread it straight onto my needle and darn. it takes just a few seconds. Seconds. It's not an endless, thankless task if you do it this way.

STARBRIGHT STRIPES

Now I know that not everyone loves squares like I do, and some of you would prefer to work on a striped blanket where you have an easy run of it up and down those long rows. I hear you - I love the ease of stripes too, and the way that they provide a really therapeutic and mindful crochet experience. So last week I worked up a sampler to see how these bright winter colours would look as a stripe. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I hadn't been expecting to fall head over heels in love, but unexpectedly it happened.

I knew as soon as I took the above photo that I would be making my own striped blanket. I mean look.......

......WOW!!!!! This is my skinny sampler which has 105 rows. It's how I like to sample a stripe blanket so that I know for sure the colours are going to balance and play nice with each other.

It's safe to say that these colours together are powerful - this is going to be a power-stripe! It's rich and vibrant and joyful, if a little bit on the boisterous side. Gosh, I do love it.

I started out on my next blanket journey as soon as I'd finished my sampler, I couldn't wait to get going.

I'm using the same v-stitch as I used for the Starbright squares and the border - it's a simple v-stitch which is compact and doesn't have chain spaces, so it makes a nice dense crochet fabric. I'm working two rows of colour for each stripe so it's not quite so zig-zaggy, but half the number of ends to darn in. I just couldn't face one-row stripes.

This pattern is very, very, very easy, so there won't be a photo tutorial for it, just the written pattern. Of course you don't have to use the v-stitch if you don't want to. I have twelve other stripe patterns to choose from, so if stripes are calling to you, then choose whichever pattern pleases you the most.

Click on the following link for the V-stitch pattern >>

V-STITCH PATTERN

The graphic below shows the 105 stripes I made in my sampler, it really is going to make a glorious blanket. 

Now depending on which stripe pattern you choose, each pattern will have a different number of stripes (because the height of each stripe pattern varies). I'm going to aim for 99 stripes for my v-stitch to make my blanket 175cm long. You can choose to make as many stripes as you have yarn for, in whichever pattern tickles your fancy.

Here is a run down of my stripe patterns, and the suggested number of stripes to make a 6ft length.

♥ Starbright v-stitch :: 99 stripes

♥ Neat Wave :: 115 stripes (as used in the Moorland Blanket)

♥ Woodland Ripple :: 105 stripes 

♥ Seashell Stripe :: 100 stripes (as used in the Dune blanket)

♥ Spike Stitch :: 99 stripes (as used in the Dahlia blanket)

♥ Springfrost Stripe :: 95 stripes

♥ Cosy Stripe :: 90 stripes

♥ Granny Stripe :: 90 stripes

♥ Meadow Stripe :: 90 stripes

♥ Hydrangea Stripe :: 88 stripes

♥ Neat Ripple :: 84 stripes

♥ Easy Eyelet Ripple :: 84 stripes (as used in the Harbour blanket)

♥ Trellis Stripe :: 84 stripes (as used in the Sweet Pea blanket)

I hope this pattern/stripe info is helpful - all patterns (including starting chains etc) are in my sidebar in the usual place, I expect you will already be familiar with many of them and will have a favourite.

I made a worksheet for you so that you have the exact colour order that I'm using for my stripes. Click on the following link to download/print.

STARBRIGHT STRIPE WORKSHEET 

There are 105 stripes listed on the worksheet, but obviously depending on which pattern you choose, do remember to stop when your blanket reaches the length that you want!

The other thing I've done is make up a sampler with the Starbright colours ordered into a sequence which loosely follows the colour wheel. I think this repeating stripe would make a fantastic blanket and if you like the look of it, here is the order (from bottom to top) :

1. Aster
2. Turquoise
3. Empire
4. Bottle
5. Kelly Green
6. Apple
7. Gold
8. Magenta
9. Pomegranate
10. Fuchsia Purple
11. Lipstick
12. Lapis
13. French Navy
14. Teal
15. Lobelia

You can see how different the same fifteen colours can look when they are ordered differently. I much prefer the higgeldy-piggeldy energised version on the left, but I can also see the appeal of the calmer, more ordered colourwash version on the right.

If you like the idea of making a colourwash blanket, I created a worksheet for that too. It has 99 stripes, so would be suitable for a shorter stitch pattern like the v-stitch, or the seashell (Dune) or Springfrost stripes would also work well.

STARBRIGHT COLOURWASH WORKSHEET 

Well, I think that's all for now. Thank you so much for reading all about Starbright, I hope you enjoyed the colourful visuals and a little peek into my creative working process.

STARBRIGHT YARN PACK

STARBRIGHT TUTORIAL

V-STITCH PATTERN

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx