Cosy Dutch Ripple Throw - DONE!

I have been quiet on the blog, plenty of knitting and crocheting in the last 18 months, but writing it up has passed me by, even if a lot has happened in that time!

My Cosy Dutch Ripple Throw was started at the beginning of May this year, and as ever the project accompanied me in the car, on the ferry, to knit and natter and friends' houses.It went to France three times, watched a lot of cycling on TV and has seen the seasons pass by. I worked on it outside in the summer and autumn, and finished inside as November started closing in.

The colours were chosen by my lovely eldest daughter to coordinate with her living room, and it will be flying off to Holland to live with her as her 26th birthday present.

I got a lot done watching the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España highlights every evening in June, July August and September. Extra bonus was the Rugby World Cup!

I had a very large birthday in August.

 Many Sundays after a long bike ride, I rested the aching legs and crocheted. The odd piece of cake may have been consumed (chocolate and beetroot here)

 Fitting in the odd row on the kitchen sofa whilst cooking.

 Until it is finished!

 A double crochet (parchment, walnut and burgundy) and scalloped border (burgundy), after filling the gaps in parchment.

 I repeated the ten main colours four times, but randomly. A parchment section (colour 11) every five colours to bind the design together.

Cosy Dutch Ripple finished 5th November (started 1st May 2015 so six months, very slow.)

YARN: 
Stylecraft Special DK

Couple of balls of each, 3 of parchment
1035 Burgundy
1054 Walnut
1061 Plum
1062 Teal
1063 Graphite
1064 Mocha
1065 Meadow
1067 Grape
1080 Pale Rose
1123 Claret
1218 Parchment

Purchased from Get Knitted

HOOK: 4mm 

PATTERN: Attic 24 Neat Ripple

How much?!

It is quite flattering that my rainbow ripple has been admired, both in blogland and in real life, not that blogland isn't real life but you get my drift? I have had 3 enquiries as to "how much?" would I sell it for.

Rainbow Ripple

A lot of hard work, sweat and enjoyment went into my first proper throw. It wasn't made for sale, but then again everything has a value, whether it be the raw materials, labour involved or aesthetics or most usually a combination of all of the above. The value is only what one person is prepared to actually pay though, as all of us trying to sell a house at present know well!

So far a friend wanted me to make one if she bought the yarn, I refused that offer. At present it is in my local yarn shop window and two customers have enquired as to "how much?" So far the price I quoted has not been responded too. I suspect they want to pay cost of yarn & £10 as well! Oh well, I am happy, I don't particularly want to sell it unless someone pays quite a bit to fuel other projects.

I don't think I have ever been at the receiving end of a "if you have to ask you can't afford it" enquiry before, but if you are not prepared to give my time some value then it is not for sale.

It is flattering that people like it though. How much do you think?  I used about £35 worth of yarn, it took about 80 hours and fits the top of our king bed, so generous for a double. That was a rhetorical question, it's a silly amount even at half minimum wage!!  But then again, some things sell for silly amounts.

Rainbow Ripple Throw .... done!

Rippling waves......the rhythm and patterns in sand and sea and rippling muscles on those Tour de France thighs.... phwoar! Well the British boys did us proud; Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish, Olympics next, no pressure. Both types of ripples were inspirations for my rainbow ripple that I completed last week. It was still very cold then and I was keeping warm whilst rippling along with the boys.

Watching Tour de France rippling muscles whilst rippling!

I started my ripple blanket on 27th May 2012, following Lucy's (of Attic 24 fame) iconic neat ripple pattern.  I'll post all the stats at the end!  Here is my diary:

Under way…I bought a 17 ball Stylecraft Special DK Lucy pack and added 5 extra colours and cream, 23 colours! At present I am planning to choose colours as I go, 2 rows old colour, 1 row new colour, 1 row old colour 2 rows new colour (new colour now becomes old colour) etc etc evolving colour wise but not in a true rainbow.

Started with 297 chains 21x14 stitches repeats +3, I think it will be single bed size, hopefully! 1 row down, the hard row, with no problems. Here we go!

I measured on 13.6.12 and the 297 chains are working out to be a width of about 60” or 152cm, and 75 rows are 29” or 74cm, so a cm a row is nice and easy to calculate!) Aster/ Bluebell/ Cloud Blue/ Cream/ Turquoise/ Sherbert/ Aspen/ Meadow/ Spring Green/ Cream/ Saffron so far.

Waves upon waves

5.6.12 Thanks to the extended Jubilee Weekend I have had lots of knotting time :) 40 rows down, I am up to saffron in colour spectrum and as pleased as punch, especially as having to go down the very cheap yarn route doesn’t matter, it feels light and cottony and not at all nasty acrylic! Note the mistake....as we were away for 2 days and I had not brought on colour I still needed a deliberate mistake was worked in, so glaring to me but in the big scheme of things never mind!

9.6.12 Slowed down a little bit, up to Lipstick and about to embark on all the pinks and purples….not at all happy with the Shrimp colour at the moment, thought it would look more orangey.

13.6 Slow and steady progress, a few rows a day. Working on plum rows! I have just measured it out of interest and added dimensions above, I like to know things like that looking at others work so I hope it helps someone.Aster/ Bluebell/ (Denim on 2nd repeat too)/ Cloud Blue/ Cream/ Turquoise/ Sherbert/ Aspen/ Meadow/ Spring Green/ Cream/ Saffron/ Sunshine/ Shrimp/ Matador/ Lipstick/ Cream/ Pomegranate/ Fondant/ Raspberry/ Plum/ Magenta/ Cream/ Clematis/ Wisteria/ Lavendar.

30.6 Just love this, I think two full repeats of the 22 colours will be too much, I do a cream section every five rows and love how this just holds it together. 

Back to Meadow on the second repeat now! It’s getting cumbersome to lug around to crochet in the car whilst waiting for offspring! I got some looks crocheting on the cross channel ferry this week too. At the start of the second repeat, the colours go Aster/Bluebell/Denim (which I forgot first time through) etc as above keeping a cream section after every five colours.

8.7.12 I am up to plum on the second repeat now…so nearly there and torn between desperately wanting to finish and see how the border works (will be simple I think) and not wanting to let it go! Oh well, got to watch Murray this afternoon at Wimbledon, and only 3 more colour repeats and the fill ins to do.

19.7 Aggghhhh run out of denim on the 4th side of the final scallop edging this morning…hoping 2 squares I have made for something else in same colour will yield enough to finish as my local shop has just about every colour in BUT Denim!!I filled the troughs at the ends by Tr2Tog in the dips then a tr then 2 HTR then 2DC then 2 sl st on the peaks then 2 dc 2 htr 1tr Tr2tog then 1tr etc etc etc all in lavendar, then:

2 rounds dc lavendar
1 round dc denim
1 round scallop (right side to finish) denim, same pattern as the crochet pillowcase edge I used before.

I didn’t go round and round the edging but turned for each one, so it lies flat, so 1st round dc was back and last scallp row on right side.

Here come an awful lot of pictures! Really pleased with the edging.

 A riot of colour, "subtle" is not a tag applicable to this ripply crocheted throwy blankety thing!

Is it on to ripple your ripples?

...and finally (as the Two Ronnies would say) here it is finished!!

Rainbow Ripple Throw

That's it folks...sad to be finished but oh how so many more hooky projects to embark on.

Rainbow Ripple Throw finished 20th July 2012, took me under two months!

FINISHED SIZE: approx 220x165cm (83"x65") 198 rows

YARN:  100g ball each Stylecraft special 100% acrylic DK in 25 colours

Bluebell 1982 *

Sunshine 1114 *

Wisteria 1432

Raspberry 1023 *

Matador 1010 *

Denim 1302 *

Lipstick 1246

Sherbert 1034

Turquoise 1068

Fondant 1241

Saffron 1081

Aspen 1422

Clematis 1390

Shrimp 1132

Spring Green 1316

Aster 1003

Lavender 1188

Meadow 1065

Plum 1061

Cloud Blue 1019

Pomegranate 1083

Magenta 1084

Cream 1005 * (4 balls, may have used less)

* extra colours not included in the 17 ball "Lucy" pack that many retailers sell or just buy loose! I have plenty left for lots of small projects :)
Bought from Deramores as they had all the colours in stock and a very good special on at the time, great service!

Hook: 4mm

PATTERN: Neat Ripple by Attic 24

HOOKY HAPPY INDEX: 8/10

This blog entry is my submission to the Deramores Blog Awards 2014. Deramores is the UK’s number one online retailer of knitting and crochet supplies.