French Stripey Throw - DONE!

As promised I'm back.

I finished my French Strip Throw. To be truthful I finished it back in June, and we have had a long hot summer (well for England we've had a lovely summer) and in all that good weather I never got around to photographing my dense, warm, cosy and soft French Stripey Throw! So here it is.

The story started a year ago when I splashed out on some gorgeous Garnstudio Drops Extra Fine Merino in my favourite colours, a light double knit pure merino wool. I justified the outlay as it was my birthday money. I then stashed it like a squirrel. Nothing unusual there for most knitters and hookers, but I do not store, I buy for a project and use it. I may not finish whatever it is but I always buy for a specific project and not in advance of starting, and certainly not without knowing what it is for and how much I need.

I knew I was making a throw and that was it, but the design cogitated in my head, with extensive "research" on Ravelry, aka how-to-make-an-evening-fly-past-and-achieve-nothing!! I finished my Rainbow Ripple and started and finished Cath Kidston inspired Granny and also mum's Christmas present Vintage Granny, the blanket wa vintage colours not that my mum is vintage!

Anyway, a bit more detail on how my French Stripe Throw was finally born, back in January. It seems ages ago when it rained and rained and rained for months. Here is my only update a couple of weeks later. Since then we have moved house and I've started a new full time shift-work job that is very physical. I am so ready each evening for a selfish half an hour or so of crocheting with my feet up.

As you can see in the pictures, we are getting around to doing something with our little estate garden. The vintage gazebo came from mum's garden in Cumbria 15 years ago, moved to Minchinhampton where it resided with a clematis crawling all over for 15 years, and I was determined it was coming to Bristol as there was nothing in the garden, it had to go into storage! A couple of weeks ago when I had Sunday off and it was a lovely day, the two of us dug the turf and bedded in the wood edging and bamboo strip so the grass can be mown up to the edge, and pegged down some weed matting. It's scary how much this landscaping lark costs. A huge crane lorry arrived on Friday morning and nimbly lifted a bag of slate chippings over the back wall. Then we had to wheelbarrow it round, as you can see I didn't get very far on my day off on Friday and got waylaid by photographing my blanket! it was finished yesterday though.

Anyway, back to the important things. As I explained previously, I had 9 colours and I decided on a very loose 'colour pattern' of 5 rows solid and then a variegated similar size stripe of different colours and then another solid stripe and so on and on and on. As it gets bigger you have to lug the whole blanket with you, great in winter but it gets a bit warm in summer. However, there was no joining-together-marathon either. There were a lot of ends and the ends were "dealt with" very religiously every 20 or so rows, I would lose the will to finish if I had all the ends hanging over me, literally.

The size was determined by the amount of yarn I had, early on I sent off for another 12 balls, so 40x50g balls in total approx. This pattern is yarn hungry and quite dense, I kicked myself for picking a dense design with the posh yarn. I just kept going until I reckoned I would be getting short on the border.

The border I worked by keeping the pattern the same (dc ch) and picking up down the two long edges, working a double crochet in each row and then a chain to work into on the following round with a 2 ch sp and 2 dc worked into the corners. 

 I did have a few issues with the wavy edges, and so I worked 2 decrease rounds in border rounds 2 and 5, clearly visible on the pistachio round, where I crocheted two stitches together every 10 stitches.

I didn't have the same amount of each yarn so tried to spread the colours evenly throughout, some had run out by the border.

I was a little frustrated that I had chosen a pattern that ate yarn, so it ended up a throw size for the sofa, and goes well with our soft furnishings in the living room, a cushion snuck outside to pose!! It is gorgeous yarn, but being 100% wool I will worry about it more than the Stylecraft blankets that can be abused. I have no reason to believe that the Drops yarn won't wear well, I only worry because I spent so much more on it than usual.

French Stripes Blanket finished 14th June 2013, it took me six months as I started on Boxing Day

FINISHED SIZE: 160cm x 135cm including the border that ended up as 9cm

YARN: Drops Extra Fine Merino (Light DK weight 50g balls)
#15 Light greyish green 2 balls
#19 Light grey blue       6 balls
#20 Dark blue              4 balls
#21 Purple                   4 balls
#13 Denim blue            6 balls
#14 Steel blue              6 balls
#22 Medium purple      6 balls
#26 Pistachio               6 balls
#01 Off white               2 balls

HOOK: 4mm

PATTERN: Beach Stripe Surf Blanket from Kristen's Cozy Things blog
Inspiration came from the talented Cathy at Clicky Needles which led me to Kristen's blog. Oh how time is wasted artistically inspired blog hopping!

HOOKY HAPPY INDEX: 8/10

French Stripe Throw The Beginning

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

Retro-Nautical Crochet Throw

I have not blogged for a long time, and I have missed it. I have been reading other blogs off and on and find them all so inspiring. The trouble is that we moved house and now that I work full time, in a physically demanding shift work job, the weeks just slip away. I do still spend a few hours a week crocheting though so I have some catch up to do here! Just a taster today, my new creation, I seem to have called it "retro nautical" for some reason. I am over half way through but here is a taste, and I will explain more soon about it's destiny!! Rest assured, French Stripey Throw has long been finished and I need to share that too!

I promise I will not be absent for so long now!! I have to go and jump on my bike and pedal 5 miles to work now, I have also become a bit of a cycling geek.

Attic 24 Bag lining and a re-purposed basket

I've not been very inspiring recently. I have been plodding on with my French Stripey Throw and it is 3/4 done. Well I have used 75% of the yarn but cannot contemplate buying anymore even though I would like it to be bigger, for our bed not a single. I dug out some old Laura Ashley curtains and the easiest way to shorten them was to cut off the old tape as all the string was beyond hope to unravel, so I finally got my sewing machine out for the first time in 9 months or so. Our room now has denim coloured curtains with cream sprigs and this throw would look fabulous with them when finished. my plan is to start going round and round soon, the border helping to widen the throw, and making sure I get every last yard into the blanket so it is as big as possible.

The good thing being I also turned up a couple of other pairs of curtains and I got round to lining my Attic 24 "Lucy" bag at last! The stripey fabric were blinds in the bathroom about 15 years ago, I don't do subtle very well! I knew the fabric would be perfect and it was rediscovered in the moving house process. At least my hook and scissors don't make escape bids anymore.

Once the bag was done (hint, it is far easier to line BEFORE handles are sewn on the bag!) I still had loads of material left so a basket got lined as well, I made some fabric ties and threaded them through and now the yarn doesn't snag in it's lair. It is now a re-purposed basket, ha ha!

It has been so grey and so wet for so long that sun was a surprise last Tuesday. I managed to get out for a good walk with the dog and got a bit lost in the woods, it feels very suburban here compared to our old house but  there are still plenty of country walks that don't involve getting in the car first, thank goodness. I found my way out of the woods and found these snowdrops nestling the bank of the stream. The grass even dried out enough for me to mow it twice, and scarified. How a pocket handkerchief piece of grass can yield 10+ grass container loads of grass is beyond me, the house had been empty since the summer and I am not sure the grass had much attention since the summer. I was going to cycle the Sustrans Route 33 bike path today but it is so windy I fear I may end up blown on the railway line!

Roll on Spring!

 

One-a-Day 8th Jan 13 Tuesdays Tallies

Happy New Year! Yes I know I am a little late with Tuesday's Tallies, but New Year's Day itself was a little too early for a Tuesday's Tallies progress post, unless we were totting up the empties, or in my case ripped out rows due to missing a stitch the night before!

How many of us have started a new project, and how many of us are determined to finish their WIPs BEFORE starting anymore?! I managed to finish my Vintage Granny in time for Christmas and have been immersing myself in a self indulgent project with Drops Merino Extra Fine aka "posh" yarn. It is stripey so hopefully I can say 2-5 rows a day. I have done around 75 rows in the last couple of weeks. Here is my French Stripey Throw story to date.

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I do have a few concerns, mainly "will I have enough yarn?" but fortunately it is a pattern I can just keep on going until the yarn runs out. It is 110cm wide and measuring about 35cm to date and I have used about 8 balls of my 28 balls. I think I may need more! I am wondering if the wisdom of this dense pattern was wise with my posh yarn but it's too late to rip now as I have sewn in so many ends. I am determined to keep up with my ends this time.

What are you working on? Even if the aim is a square or a strip or a few stitches every day then progress builds over time. all are welcome to join in even if this is your first or thousandth project,  we can all enjoy our projects and be inspired.

I made bagels for the first time at the weekend, it was really strange to boil dough before baking but they turned out OK, if a little misshapen! They tasted great

See you next week. Happy knotting.

French Stripe Throw - the beginning

A New Year and a new project. This one I have been anticipating for some time as I bought the yarn with birthday money back in September. Choosing the yarn and then deciding what to make with it has kept my brain occupied much of the time I have spent working on my Vintage Solid Granny Throw that was finished in time for Christmas, phew!

Since rediscovering crochet and knitting in the last couple of years I have used Stylecraft Special DK for almost everything, especially crochet throws. I have loved working with it and although I am very satisfied with the look and feel, I have had a hankering to use "posh" yarn, as so many others do and somehow their projects look so special. I would love to try something like Debbie Bliss Cashmerino or Rowan Cashsoft but at over £5 for a 50g ball there is no way I could justify even hankering. However, I had seen Drops yarn, and knew their yarn was far more reasonable. When the autumn sale was announced I pounced. I purchased Drops Merino Extra Fine in 9 colours from the fantastically helpful Wool Shed. They scoured their stock, waited for a delivery to come in, and sent exactly what I needed in 2 parcels optomised for postage, 28 balls in total. I went with a mixture of blues and heathery tones reminding me of French lavender fields and the sea. 4 balls each of 5 colours and 2 balls each of 4 others. The washable yarn is so soft and 100% merino wool, a light double knit weight. It is good value at £3.10 for a 50g ball, but I managed to secure the 25% off sale price. So it is over twice the price of acrylic but not 5 times the price!

This is what I am making, stripes, lots of stripes, inspired by Clicky Needles' Beach Stripe Surf Blanket

The idea is just to keep on going as long as the yarn lasts, the pattern is 1dc 1 ch, then the next row you work the double crochet into the one chain space and then a chain, so it all interlocks and gives a lovely dense yet flexible fabric which is soft and very warm.

Garnstudio Drops Merino Extra Fine L to R: 15 Lt greyish green:14 steel blue:01 off white:22 med purple:21 purple:13 denim blue:20 dk blue:19: lt grey blue:26 pistachio

The photos are washed out, although it hasn't rained that much today we have had enough of dank, miserable and wet weather around here the past few weeks, it's hard to get decent photos even in the conservatory!

I will be back on Tuesday to restart the One a Day crochet-a-long (cal) for the New Year, this is my project. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for some much nicer photos.

I will leave you with some inspiration, Kristen's original Beach Stripe Surf Blanket from her lovely Cozy Things Blog.

Edited to add, here is my French Stripey Throw finished!

Vintage Solid Granny Squares Blanket Throw - Done!

As promised, here is my Vintage Solid Granny Squares blanket all finished and DONE! I really enjoyed making it over the last 3 months, it has moved house with us and now has gone to live at mum's in Cumbria, it was her Christmas present and I think she loved it!

There are 16 colours of mainly Stylecraft Special DK for the squares and the 17th is teal used to do the double crochet join (just the inner two loops wrong sides together) and the border. It tones with mum's patchwork quilt and living room colours, although the gold is a bit off the wall. The colours are listed at the bottom of this post here. I forgot to take a picture in the room it was designed for.

The squares are from Little Tin Bird's lovely Elmer or Solid Granny Squares pattern, I got addicted to them making the Provencal style gingham cushion.  

The border was made up as I went along, as far as I can make out, a round of treble in teal, then double crochet in pale rose (I alternate direction working the border so it doesn't curl) then treble chain etc the third round in teal, then double crochet all around in Mint, then a staggered treble chain space round again, then double crochet in grape then a round of trebles in teal and I finally finished off with Attic 24's picot border again, just like on the cushion.

I love these neat squares, more so than ordinary granny squares, they seem more contemporary. One can be worked up in 20 minutes and carrying a ball of yarn around is so easy.

I loved the way they sat in piles on the footstool, I kept counting them.

However joining them all together, so the slightly different sized squares looked the same size, was very satisfying. I do find random very difficult though. I approached it in a Sudoku style, a colour should only appear in a column or a row just once, occasionally twice.

Here come some more gratuitous pictures, wish I could do the fancy photography others manage!

The tree was up when the border was being finished off.  

Vintage Solid Granny Squares Blanket finished 18th December 2012, it took me about 6 weeks as I started it as we went to France at half term! I was not overly happy that the border was a bit wavy, but other than trying to take the flat photo who notices? No I am not a perfectionist, but I am pretty happy with it!

FINISHED SIZE: I forgot to measure, each square was about 10cm so about 180cm x 130cm I should think with join and border.

YARN:  Stylecraft Special 100% acrylic Double Knit in 15 colours, each square is about 15m yarn. Mint and gold were other makes as they were colours lacking in Stylecraft. 17 in total. Colour inspiration was from the super talented Sandra of Cherry Heart fame and her Giant Grannie Patchs blanket
Mocha 1064
Copper 1029
Meadow 1065
Silver 1203
Gold (King Cole Big Value DK 323)
Mint (Stylecraft Life DK 2342)
Pale Rose 1080
Sherbet 1034
Claret 1123
Parchment 1218
Apricot 1026
Raspberry 1023
Soft Peach 1240
Grape 1067
Walnut 1054
Aspen 1422
Finally Teal 1062

Hook: 4mm

PATTERNS: Solid Granny Squares (or Elmer Squares) pattern by Little Tin Bird
The border was as described above finished off with Picot Edging by Attic 24

HOOKY HAPPY INDEX: 9/10

Links to the One a Day/Tuesday Tallies posts on my Vintage Granny progress are here:

Vintage Solid Granny Blanket Week 1
Vintage Solid Granny Blanket Weeks 2 and 3
Vintage Solid Granny Blanket Week 4
Vintage Solid Granny Blanket Week 5
Vintage Solid Granny Blanket Week 6

Vintage Solid Granny Blanket - Wks 2 and 3 - Tuesdays Tallies

Crochet is fabulous. However bananas life goes you can carry yarn and find 10 minutes in a day to squeeze in a square. Dead time becomes profitable. so progress has been good on my Vintage Granny despite an update not happening last week. I have finally decided on 16 colours for the blocks and a 17th to join. Yes I know, a prime number! I love the maths and counting and repetitive patterns in squares.

So I am making 12 squares each of my 16 colours. So far I have ten of each so the missing siblings should be finished this week.

I love the way the squares all curl in the same way.

I have spent quite a bit of time jumping ahead of myself and contemplating the joining method. Originally I was planning a final round in teal for each square and then a join as you go technique suitable for the solid squares. It was not right. In the end I think I have settled on a double crochet join but through the back loop of each stitch when wrong sides are together. So the join is a feature of the design. Last time I joined in this way on my flowery throw I joined through both loops (so through all 4 loops in the two stitches) and it was not very neat.

It looks a lot neater through the two rather than four loops. I am also gleefully enjoying the fact that this is a very quick way to join with minimal ends to sew in as complete rows are worked up and down and then side to side. I think the border may also be teal heavy, after all I bought 3 balls of teal expecting to need a lot!

My work basket...some of the colours are hiding!

Stylecraft Special DK unless stated Left to Right. Row 1: Mocha 1064 Copper 1029 Meadow 1065 Silver 1203 Row 2: Gold (King Cole Big Value DK 323) Mint (Stylecraft Life DK 2342) Pale Rose 1080 Sherbet 1034 Row 3: Claret 1123 Parchment 1218 Apricot 1026 Raspberry 1023 Row 4: Soft Peach 1240 Grape 1067 Walnut 1054 Aspen 1422 Finally Teal 1062 (not pictured above) to join

Not Just Another Granny Square Blanket - DONE!

Another Granny Square Blanket, but with a simple twist of a giant granny middle. However, it is my first granny square blanket, not just another one to me. Not very radical, but I disobeyed youngest daughter, whose blanket it is, and decided I wanted to work in a bit more interest. Starting with the intention of a 12x12 sqaure throw ie 144 six round solid granny squares. I thought I would try join-as-you--go or JAYG for the first time. Except I didn't mug up on the method before going away on holiday at the end of August. Six rounds because I am lazy, and it is quicker to make as you have fewer ends to sew in.

But I digress, the brief from my 16yo was a "Cath Kidston snuggly blanket for TV slobbing" so it didn't need to be big but it is big, plenty big enough for her double bed under the eaves in the attic! It covers two on the sofa too, we tried it out tonight as I am holding off on putting the heating on still.

The blanket has taken about 5 weeks, I got a move on the first week as we were on holiday so no PC and no guilt crocheting in the evening or a few squares over a morning cup of tea in bed...holidays are like Sunday every day.
I was using 8 colours of Stylecraft Special DK as commissioned by the customer: Candy Floss: Cloud Blue, Fondant, Lavender, Lemon, Lipstick, Spring Green and White. I tried to be random, but keeping the lights and darks spaced and fairly even in each row. The giant granny was not that giant, and replaced the centre 16 squares, so 24 rounds it was.

 The edging is 6 rounds of granny clusters, how easy is that?!

I officially love JAYG, it is a bit quicker than sewing up, as you are sewing in an end that still has to be fastened off if you JAYG. I just love the country blanket stitch effect. I found it easier to do on a table to get the tension even on the join.

 The patchwork teddy was made by my mum aka Granny when our smallest one was born 16 years ago, she also made our other two girls one in different colours at the same time.

Not Just Another Granny Square Blanket finished 3rd October 2012, it took me 5 weeks!

FINISHED SIZE: 190cm square
YARN: 2 balls each Stylecraft Special 100% acrylic Double Knit 100g in 8 colours, up to half a ball of each left
Candy Floss 1130
Cloud Blue 1019
Fondant 1241
Lavender 1188
Lemon 1020
Lipstick 1246
Spring Green 1316
White 1001

Hook: 4mm

Solid Granny Square Pattern (UK terminology)

Ch=Chain Tr=Treble SlSt = Slip Stitch, Sp=space
Start with 4Ch join to a loop
Round 1
6Ch then 3Tr into loop
(1Ch 3Tr 3Ch 3Tr) into loop, repeat 3 times in total.
2Tr and join to 3rd chain
Round 2
Sl st into corner chains 6ch
6Ch then 3Tr into same corner chains
(1Ch, 3Tr into 1 ch sp, 1Ch, 3Tr 3Ch 3Tr into corner chains) repeat 3 times as before and finish with 1 ch 2tr and join to 3rd ch.
Round 3-5
Continue as set
Round 6
Complete first side to corner chain, Ch1 (not 3) then follow JAYG instructions on Lucy's Attic 24 photo tutorial. I chain 1 when turning a JAYG corner.

I have no idea if this is the correct method, just how I did them. Often there are no1 ch spaces on granny squares and just 2 chains to turn the corner, do what you prefer! I am also sure this pattern will have been written down somewhere before, I am not claiming to be original.

Happy Hooky Index: 9/10

I enjoyed taking part in the One A Day and Tuesdays Tallies on Carole's blog
Here is how it came together
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5