Hexagon blanket

This week I finally finished my hexagon blanket! This blanket has taken me quite a while - I started it back in May, do you remember?

For those of you who like to know this sort of thing, here are some blanket statistics for you, this blankt is:

195 hexgaons

double knit yarn (various types)

single bed size

lovely and snuggly!

I am so glad I have finally managed to make this blanket - after a couple of false starts over the years.

Hope you have a creative Sunday - now I'm off for some more happy hooky!

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Hello July!

It's now technically what I think of as 'high summer' here in the UK. Wimbledon is on, we're all eating strawberries and cream (yes really, it's not just a cliche!) and the sun is (gasp) actually shining!

I am really going to try for a more positive, one-day-at-a-time approach to life from now on. The last couple of months have not been easy for me. I often feel bad for any complaints I make about my life on here, realising that I really am so lucky on the whole. However, recently I have been dealing with what I can only describe as buried problems which are of many (many) years standing. Although they aren't of anywhere near the magnitude of troubles that I know some of the lovely people reading this have faced and do face in life, they have been difficult for me to deal with.

The last few weeks I have really started to feel that I can conquer these things though. Thank you to those of you who responded to my recent post here. I'm still trying to push forward with these ideals in my life, and it's lovely to know that some of this strikes a chord with other people too.

I think its good to focus on appreciating what you have in life and look at the beauty in small every day things. The roses in the pictures above are an example I guess. They were taken in Hampton Court Palace rose garden on my recent holiday. Like any flower, they bloom for a while, but don't last forever. You have to take the time to stop and see how wonderful these things are in the moment, because those moments will never come again, and you may not realise how wonderful they actually were until they have passed you by and are gone forever.

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So, enough introspection and on to the main purpose of this post, which is actually an update on one of my major crochet projects of the moment.

This is my progress so far on the Erika Knight Patchwork throw which I started in the middle of May (it feels like ages ago now!)

I'm really pleased with the way it's coming along, and although it's a big woolly blanket, and far too warm for this time of year, the colours just scream summer to me.

It's been a joy to make. However, I think I may have to set it aside for now as I'm really about to run out of yarn.

I'd like to make this a really big blanket in the end, so I think I will wait a few more weeks until I can get some more yarn, and then carry on with it, rather than doing my usual process of making it as big as I can with what I have and then finishing off. I have a lot of single bed size blankets, and I'd really like a nice generous double bed size blanket! So, I'm going to try and make this that blanket!

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Patchwork throw, by Erika Knight

So, last week, or maybe the week before (time flies, even when you're not having fun apparently!) I gave you a sneek peek of my latest colour crochet project, and promised more details!

I've made quite a lot more progress since the last time I mentioned this project.

The pattern is the Patchwork Throw, from Erika Knight's book Essential Crochet.

I love this book, its almost the first book I bought when I was learning to crochet a few years ago. I've tried to make this throw before but things got in the way.

Firstly my lack of skill - my motifs all kept coming out slightly different sizes! Looking back I don't think I had understood the pattern instructions properly!

The pattern also recommends a mercerised cotton yarn - Rowan Cotton Glace. When I tried to make this before, I went with that recommendation. However, much as I love mercerised yarn for small crochet projects such as bags, doilies etc, I just didn't feel the love when it came to trying to make a throw. I don't know why but I just prefer 'wooliness' in my throws!

Well, this time I am determined not to be defeated. I have bought a big stash of colourful yarn (probably a little heavy on the purple as usual) and have been hooking away my woolly hexagons and loving it!

So far I have about 80 motifs I think, but still a long way to go - the pattern calls for nearly 300! Hmm, not sure I will make it that far before my attention span (and my purse) give out! 

I am determined to complete a proper size blanket though - watch this space!

Actually I have a back-log of posts related to various craft projects at the moment, so maybe another post tomorrow if I get time!

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Pastel projects

I am having a serious pastel moment right now, and loving it. I'm not normally a pastel person when it comes to colours for clothes, crochet projects or anything really! I usually gravitate to brighter richer colours.

However, I have been really taken with some pastel yarn colours that I have seen in shops and the ways in which they appear when combined with other pastel colours. 

I thought I'd share some of my pastel-love with you!

At the moment I have 2 pastel projects on the go, both using the same yarn shades. The hexagons you can see are the start of a small blanket.

The ripple stitch item shown is for a cushion cover. This is the same pattern as I made earlier in the year, and ever since finishing my earlier ripple cushion I have just been itching to see what a pastel version would be like!

I think of the shades I have chosen as 'edgy pastels', particularly for the cushion cover. I think the colours I have used together have managed to not look too girly (I think pastels have a bit of a reputation for being girly and cutesy). I'm attributing their slight edge, and sophistication to the inclusion of some grey and silver-blue shades alongside the more traditional pastel shades of duck egg, pale pink and lilac.

I'm really loving making these items and can't wait to share the finished products with you! The hexagons for the throw are my own pattern, and I hope to have time to share this through a tutorial soon!

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New projects

There has been less progress on my Cathedral Blanket than I would have liked since my last post. This is due to my having miscalculated on the amount of yarn I would need for my edging and seaming! So I've had to stop, tantalisingly close to the finish line - only inches left on the final row of edging! You can just about see how close I am in the photo below.

Hopefully I can get an extra ball of black yarn soon and finish this off by next week.

As I'm sure you guessed, just because I had to stop working on the blanket, it doesn't mean I had to stop crocheting! After a brief period of afghan-induced ennui (i.e. me feeling really tired for one evening and unable to contemplate the starting of a new project while in the grips of yarn-deficiency) I soon dug some more DK out of my stash and started working on not one, but 2 new projects.

The first is to be another blanket (yes, I know another blanket - after I said I wouldn't!) using various pastel shades that I have been collecting recently. The colours are:

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK in

Purple 18045

Lilac 18017

Airforce blue 18028

Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK in 

Julep 0307

Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK in:

Piglet 001

Vanilla 003

However, I have a horrible feeling that the Debbie Bliss yarn may be about to be discontinued, which would be a shame as it's a lovely yarn. It seems to be reduced or out of stock at all the online retailers I have checked today. If anyone reading this is in the know on that score, let me know!

My second project is a simple crochet scarf using a grey 4 ply wool. More on that next time though!

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Crochet out of control

The other day I had a little look around at all the various projects which I have started in the last few weeks and stashed in various places, and realised something - its getting out of control!

So, time for a little reality check, which is what this post is all about. I have:

1. Ripple throw

This uses Rowan Pure Wool DK, and I started it after randomly deciding last weekend that I needed to be working on another Ripple Throw! This one is supposed to be more autumnal colours to go with the changing season here. It uses colours

051 Gold
019 Avocado
026 Hyacinth
007 Cypress
052 Orchid

2. Starburst Hexagon Throw

I also still have my lovely hexagon throw to work on. I've now put the pattern up here and on Ravelry in case anyone else would like to try - I've spotted one person already who has! I hope it works out. Its really putting me to shame as I still have a long way to go on mine! Here is it so far:

I'll put up details of the colours used here when its finished - there's too many to count right now!

3. Lace flower afghan

I'm calling this an afghan, but to be honest I'm not sure that it will get that big. The lace flower pattern is something I designed myself this week. It sort of reminds me of the Ariel washing powder logo! Anyway, I'm worried they may be a little too flimsy for a throw, but maybe I can turn it into a bed runner instead. If anyone has suggestions for what this could be, I'd love to hear!

The yarn used is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in colours:

051 Gentian
060 Hot Pink
600 Light Pink
069 Lilac Pink

4. Rainbow hexagon throw

Inspired by a beautiful throw I have seen this week on the MeMe Rose blog, I wanted to make a throw using hexagons in one colour arranged in a rainbow order so they look like they are fading through each other. So far, I have a small pile of hexagons, but I plan for this to be my main project over the weekend, so I may have more snaps of it to share with you next week when it has grown a little!

I'm using Stylecraft Special DK for this, which is 100% acrylic. Normally, I have to confess, I am a bit of a yarn snob, and tend to want to stick with natural fibres like wool or cotton. However, with the amount of crochet and throw making I have done lately, the spend was starting to get a little out of control! Also I had seen a couple of projects on other blogs (not least the MeMe Rose project mentioned above, but also a throw on the Sandra's Cherry Heart Blog) using this yarn, and thought the colours looked beautiful! So, I'm giving acrylic a try and so far, I have been really pleasantly surprised! The colours look as lovely in real life as they do in pictures, and the feel of the yarn is soft, but with a nice weight feeling too!

Full details of the colours I'm using for this when its done, but here's a little taster of some of them:

Wow, so that's the end of the reality check for today! I probably have other small projects stashed away in the cupboard that I have forgotten about too. So, I am officially not allowed to start anything else until I finish at least 2 of these projects. Hmmm, we'll see how long that resolution lasts.....

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Crochet starburst hexagon pattern tutorial

I've wanted to try and post a tutorial for this motif for a while, and now I've been able to take some photos to accompany it, so here we go! This is what I am using to make my hexagon throw.

Starburst hexagon
Materials: Rowan Pure Wool DK in 4 different colours (I used shade 026 Hyacinth, shade 025 Tea Rose, shade 037 Port and shade 052 Orchid - my favourite shades at the moment).
4.00mm crochet hook

Using colour A, chain 4 and join into a ring with a slip stitch.

Round 1: chain 3 (counts as first stitch) and work 11 trebles into ring. Finish round by slip stitching into top of 3 chain from start of round. Fasten off colour A.

Round 2: Join in colour B, joining yarn into one of the spaces between two of the stitches from round 1 (it doesn't matter which space you use). Chain 3 (counts as first stitch), work 1 treble into same space, then work 2 trebles into each of the spaces between the stitches from round 1. You should have 24 stitches at the end of the round (12 groups of 2 stitches). Finish by slip stitching into top of 3 chain from start of round. Fasten off colour B.

Round 3: Join in colour C, again joining yarn into one of the spaces between the groups of trebles from round 2. Work 3 chain (counts as first stitch), then work 2 trebles into the same space. Into each remaining space between the pairs of stitches from the last round, work 3 trebles. You should have 36 stitches at the end of the round (12 groups of 3 stitches). Finish round by slip stitching into top of 3 chain from start of round. Fasten off colour C.

Round 4: Join in colour D, joining yarn into one of the spaces between the groups of trebles from round 3. Work 3 chain (counts as first stitch), then work 2 trebles into the same space. *Work 3 trebles into next space, then 3 trebles, 2 chain 3 trebles into next space to make the first corner of your hexagon. Repeat from * 4 more times. Work 3 trebles into next space, then 3 trebles 2 chain into last space (which will be the same space which you worked into at the start of the round. Slip stitch into top of 3 chain from the start of the round to complete, and fasten off.

And there you have it (I hope!). A nice little hexagon which you can now use for whatever takes your fancy: cushions, throws, bags - the only limit is your imagination. Sadly with me my imagination seems a little limited at the moment, so I'm making a throw!