Gingham mania!

I came across some gorgeous blankets on a crochet blog a few months ago and they were based on the classic gingham pattern (remember the old café tablecloths and curtains and picnic basket linings)?
I love the look of gingham but had never considered it for a crochet blanket pattern - until I saw this: Gingham blanket pattern from Daisy Farm Crafts.
I was hooked (pardon the pun)!

Problem was, it was in American crochet terms (not my go-to) and I don't like having to "carry" yarn across work 😞 So I shelved the whole idea as "out of my league" and went on with other projects.
Then, a couple of months ago, I came across this post from a U.K. blogger: The Patchwork Heart gingham blanket - a post that provided a tutorial on how to crochet a gingham blanket using the C2C pattern and incorporating the JAYG (Join As You Go) method to put it together.

U.K. terms and no having to carry yarn - yay!

So, I decided to try my hand at making my first crochet gingham blanket.

TaDa!

One of the essential things I learned from the Daisy Farm blog is that, to do a gingham blanket correctly, you only use three colours: a neutral colour and then a dark shade and a light shade of your main colour. Otherwise, you will end up with a patchwork blanket and not the proper gingham-look pattern.

The lighter shade of the main colour is used in every row and is alternated in each row (see above). The neutral colour and the dark shade are used in every second row. 

The border was my youngest son's creation, a mixture of double and half-treble crochet stitches in the three blanket colours.

I used Four Seasons Marvel in Cream as my neutral colour, Porta Craft Lavender as my light shade and Four Seasons Marvel Violet for my dark shade.
These are 8 ply yarns and generally call for a 4-5mm hook but I like using bigger hook sizes as they make the blanket feel softer and more drapey (is that a word?) in my experience.

I was so pleased with how this turned out that I've decided to make my better half one (in his preferred colours).
I can see a flurry of gingham in the near future and am already picturing in my mind's eye how certain shades might look together.
 I love choosing colours for projects 😊

I hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm (or cool, depending on your season). We're almost halfway through this crazy year! Wonder what's next - I'm sure we'll find out soon enough from the corporate media complex.
All musings aside, if  I was only able to say one thing to anyone who reads my blog it would be this - do not put faith in the mainstream media (MSM) to tell the truth and report facts. About anything.
When I woke up to the fact that many (if not most) of the MSM were not journalists, but rather puppets for a propaganda machine, things began to make more sense.

 Truth is out there but it is rarely found in the MSM.

Edit post: my latest gingham blanket is now finished and features below.

My better half and I recently celebrated our anniversary and this was his present from me. He loves it 😊

His present to me. We both love tea: loose leaf tea made in a proper teapot - nothing like it!
This teapot pours beautifully. Anyone who enjoys proper tea knows the importance of a good pourer.

Take care and God bless.

Nature's Walk and another year...

This last year of the second decade of the 21st century is already over a week old and I'm only just logging on to the lighthouse - belated Happy New Year to everyone 😊

We went away for the Christmas period and spent a quiet, low-key few days with family; it was blissful.
On 1st January some of us headed down to a café at the marina and enjoyed our surroundings:

There was a very slight breeze and it was balmy - absolutely glorious.




A dear friend celebrated her birthday just before Christmas and, now that she's received her present, I can show it on this blog!

This pattern is Nature's Walk, from a wonderful blog called Cherry Heart
I loved everything about this blanket but especially the colours. I matched yarn with Sandra's choices on her blog as closely as possible and was rapt with the results. My friend loved her birthday gift.

Another friend, who loves red, also celebrated her birthday around the same time so I made her some doilies to match this etched glass candle holder. Such a great find and something rather different.



May 2020 be a blessed and enlightening year for all 🙏

Creations

The last couple of months have been emotional, to say the least.
My bio mum died in late September and I found out mid-October. I can't really adequately describe the impact the news had but I realised a few things afterwards, one being that I have probably being grieving the loss of my mother all of my life; a low-grade grief, rather like a low-grade infection, that never completely incapacitates but does have an ongoing effect.
The news brought a sense of finality and ending, almost, but not quite relief, more of the realisation of a door shutting permanently. A finality that lifts a weight.
Crochet has been quite a therapeutic pastime through this period and I've turned out a few blankets and some other items.
So, without further ado, my latest crochet projects:

This started off as a memorial blanket  for my brother, whose anniversary is in November. I found the pattern online: here
My wonderful sister, whose birthday is also in November, ended up with this blanket for her birthday - she loved it :)

Another blanket for a daughter's birthday. This was a mish-mash of beautiful granny square patterns I found online, mixed with basic granny squares. I had originally planned it to be a large bedspread but ran out of "oomph" and just wanted to finish it in time. Hence, a bit smaller than planned but still pretty.

Another birthday gift for another precious daughter. This was also an online CAL:here
I chose the squares I liked and named the blanket "Orient Express" as I happened to be listening to the audio book when I started the blanket.





I have a few more blankets to share but they can wait until next time.

New projects

I've been meaning to write another blog post for at least a month now but life always seems to get in the way!
Back in August we spent almost two weeks in Perth, celebrating two birthdays and a graduation. Since then, I've been catching up with a backlog of domestics and, of course, crochet :)

Which brings me to the subject of this blog post - blankets!

I've made several since my last post, one of which is winging its way to my sis as I write. I'll show that one in my next post (I don't want to spoil the visual surprise for my sis).
I'm also continuing with my seasonal temperature blanket, which will finish at the end of November.

This photo shows my temperature blanket back in August ,when I was working the Winter palette colours (bottom of blanket). I think the seasonal demarcations are shown fairly clearly in the palettes.

...and this is my latest creation. The pattern is called Spice of Life and can be found (here)
I chose my own colours for this blanket, as I am more of a blue-toned person, but the original pattern colours are lovely in themselves.

This shows the various stitch patterns a bit more clearly. I loved making this blanket, it was an opportunity to learn new stitches as well as blend my own colour selections.

Finally, this is a tentative colour palette for my latest blanket project, titled Dance in the Sea;
details can be found (here)
Reading about this blanket pattern was bittersweet. The designer was a talented lady who took her own life several years ago while working on this pattern. Some crochet friends got together and finished the pattern in honour of her memory.
My brother's anniversary is coming up in November and, to honour his memory, I'm going to make this blanket. I don't know if it will be finished by mid-November but it doesn't matter if it isn't. I'm just going to take my time and enjoy every stitch.
My sis and I are collaborating on this blanket and the colours are not yet finalised (hence the use of "tentative") but we are having a wonderful time reminiscing about the colours of his many Lacrosse polo shirts and his various favourite outfits.
Stay tuned for more updates on this new work in progress.

One last photo - the first square of my brother's blanket - I think it represents kelp, the fat, grapey-looking kind that you feel like you could "pop" with your fingers, except it's too tough to do so!

Until next time, God bless everyone and Shalom to you and yours.

Winter chilling.

Winter has set in here (last night was the Winter Solstice) and the days are chilly, which means more time inside and, hence, more crochet-time :)

Here are some of my latest projects:

A lap blanket for someone very special to me (the mum I would have chosen had I had a choice).
Made with three cakes of  yarn in Turkish Delight (Caron Cakes), Sea, Sand, Sky (Portacraft Ice Cream) and Ocean Swirl (Portacraft Ice Cream).

I used an 8mm hook and the border was done in linen stitch.

I'm currently working on a patchwork Four Seasons' blanket (which I will detail in another post) and decided to make a cushion to go with it, using four of the colours from each season's palette.
From left to right, vertically - Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring.
I hadn't chosen the Spring palette when I decided to do this, so the colours are just four colours I liked that I will incorporate into my palette when I finally do get around to making the colour choices.

The other side of the cushion, with the seasonal colours going horizontally this time - Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring.
I did a border of trebles (U.K. terms) and then used four red buttons, purchased from a local op. shop, to close the cover (you can see them in the first cushion photo).

One of my "big" projects is this blanket that I call my "Buttercream blanket" (so named because I used Caron Cakes Buttercream for the main body).
6.5mm hook and the stitch is called blanket stitch (it's wonderful for blankets as it's such a lovely texture and the lack of "holes" means it's warm).

Another look at this yummy blanket, in better lighting.

Squishy and soft and so comforting.

A close up of the border:
I did the spot-on edging pattern from Lucy of Attic 24 (here)
The "spot" row (R2) was done in Portacraft Ice Cream yarn in Purple Haze (yes, it's pink, I know. Personally, I think I would have called the colour Strawberry Parfait or some such, but that's me.) 😊

This blanket was a present for my baby girl, who loves it and has since "requested" another blanket in a different cake yarn! (I'm partway through that one as I write.)

Finally, a photo of the Winter Solstice sky here in my home town.


Take care, everyone, and stay warm (or cool, if you're in the Northern hemisphere - though, going by the cricket, that's not a problem in some places!)

Seashells in dune colours

Lucy from Attic 24 blogged about her latest blanket design a few weeks ago (here) and I decided to give it a go.
I loved her colour choice but my preference was for thicker stripes so I decided to make each stripe twice as wide as the pattern suggested.
As well, I wanted to follow a more ordered, flow-on colour choice than Lucy's random pattern and, true to her lovely, thoughtful form, Lucy had anticipated this and also listed her chosen colours in a colourwash palette - which I followed.
And hereunder is my dune blanket:

If you read the Attic 24 post above you will see why it's called the seashell stripe and in dune colours (Lucy's post is worth reading, trust me 😊).

Here's a close-up of the seashell stripe pattern and the scrumptious colours (I love, love, love these colours).

The border: I used the spot-on edging from the blog post in five of the blanket colours (which I'll detail at the bottom of this post).

A photo showing the blanket folded and looking soft and squishy! I used a larger than suggested hook size as I've found this seems to make the blankets feel softer and I am all for soft blankets 💖

My "Blankie Basket" is slowly being filled.

An outside shot in the glowing Autumn sunshine.

From a distance it's easier to see the beautiful flow of colour along this blanket; it's just gorgeous!

Now, on to the material details (for anyone interested) -

I used a variety of 8 ply acrylic yarn in the following brands:

Stylecraft, 4 Seasons, Porta Craft and Panda.

Colours:

Storm Blue, Laguna, Mintox, Sage, Mocha, Camel, Fawn, Parchment, Pink, Fuzzy Wuzzy, Light Mauve, Parma Violet, Silver Grey, Duck Egg, Denim.

Border Colours:

Light Mauve, Camel, Mintox, Pink, Storm Blue.

6.5mm Boye hook used throughout (larger than suggested for these yarns but, as I said above, it seems to make the blankets softer if you go up a size or two - personal preference is the best guide).

It's a toss up as to whether this blanket, or my patchwork blanket (see here), is my current favourite blanket. Winter is on the way here so I'll get lots of opportunities to test out both!

Shalom and God bless

A secret garden

I haven't been in the best of health lately but an upside to this is that I've been able to finish some crochet projects - namely some blankets :)

The first one was a present for my youngest girl and I made it with the thought in mind that it had to be bordered in that particular blue, which she loves.
I wanted it to be a lap blanket or one that goes on top of her bed for decorative effect.

I chose five colours for the flower:
Bottle Green
Aqua
Mintox
Taupe
Wheat

All except wheat are from the Porta Craft acrylic 8 ply yarn range and the wheat is an 8 ply acrylic yarn from Textile Traders (their bricks and mortar stores no longer exist)

I chose two colours for the squared-off border:
Fawn
Hot Blue

Both these colours are Porta Craft 8 ply acrylic

The flower part pattern of this one above is called "Secret Garden" flower and is from this blog: https://www.dadasplace.com/2015/10/secret-garden-shawl-free-crochet-tutorial.html

I squared it off myself (the first time I've attempted to do so and I was very pleased with the outcome) and then joined each square, using the join-as-you-go method, with the Hot Blue colour.

If anyone would like the square-off pattern please let me know and I will type it up and link it here :)

The border was done in four rows of moss stitch (a.k.a. linen stitch) and then finished off with a row of dc (sc in the U.S.)
Border colours:
Taupe
Aqua
Wheat
Hot Blue (also colour for final dc row).

Here it is displayed on my fancy couch. Only seven colours but I was really pleased with how varied the flowers looked.

More blanket posts to follow!

Colours of the moor

I recently finished another lap blanket using colours inspired by a blog post from Lucy of Attic 24, showcasing her Moorland Blanket and the beautiful colours chosen (see here).

I decided on the trinity stitch for my blanket (also called bramble, blackberry, raspberry and cluster stitch) and finished it in just over a week. I love this stitch; it's perfect for blankets as it feels quite thick and lush and, once you get the hang of the repeat, it's so easy to work up that you almost feel you could drift away while working on the blanket!

I used mostly Portacraft 8 ply yarn, matching the colours as closely as possible to the Attic 24 equivalents, but did manage to include some Stylecraft Special D.K., thanks to a wonderful new craft shop that's recently opened in my town.

Et voilà 

The lighting is not the best (looks a bit yellowish) but I love the colours of this blanket; they are scrumptious!

A close-up of the border: several rows of linen stitch (a.k.a. moss stitch) finished with a row of small scallops. The colours were chosen from the blanket palette.

Folded and ready for use; another one to add to my Blanket Basket Collection :)





On a different note, one of our grandbabies celebrated a birthday this week so, amongst other gifts, I made them a basket of "food".

A carrot, a banana, broccoli (more like broccolini, considering the size), a gigantic pear (just the way the pattern worked out), a lettuce, tomato and cheese sandwich and a small carton of milk.
The milk was my own pattern and, while it doesn't look anywhere near as neat as others online, I think it's cute!




I'm trying out some new stitches, practising by making dishcloths and washcloths, and they are looking quite pretty. Stay tuned... 😊

More waffle!

The green blanket is finished!

The pattern is a waffle stitch I followed from a Bella Coco tutorial and the border is my own concoction - a mix of treble moss stitch and double crochet (U.K. terms used).

I used Caron Cakes Tea Cakes, a mixture of acrylic and wool, in the colour Green Tea. All in all, just over four cakes' worth. This yarn is beautiful, soft and heavy, perfect for a rug.

I realised not long into the blanket that I'd made it too wide for a lap rug so I decided to turn it on the side; having done that I then had to make a rather large border to compensate for it being too short the other way (excuse me if that sounds like gobbledy-gook, it worked out in the end and that's what counts!).

Improvisation is the mother of crochet success 🌝

...complete with "label" ⛯

I like this pattern so much that I also used it to make a pram blanket for a friend's grandbaby.

(I don't bother blocking blankets, hence the uneven look. They're meant to be soft and squishy and uneven, in my opinion.)

A softer label for this one.

This blanket was made by rolling together six (yes, six!) balls of 4ply baby yarn, making for the softest, squishiest baby blanket ever! This would make a wonderful underlay for a baby's pram or cot, it's soft and thick and scrumptious. My whole clan scrunched it and loved the softness!

Honestly, the hardest part of this blanket was the actual winding of the yarn but, believe me, it was worth every moment as it was so easy to work with when it came to the actual crocheting part.

I thank the Lord for creativity, it has been so much more than just a hobby recently.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.    James 1:17 (KJV)

A "Green" day

No.1 son's birthday is not far away so I have decided to make him a blanket - my thought was shades of green but I checked with him first, just in case he preferred another colour. Turns out, green is his preference, too :)

So, I headed off to a yarn store this morning and bought four balls of Caron Tea Cakes in Green Tea, a rich, deep, variegated colour scheme, perfect for our young man, methinks.

This yarn is thick and soft and lovely with which to work (yes, started it already!) and I am very much looking forward to seeing the colour change as it progresses.

Big, soft, squishy balls of yarn - love 'em :)

Wonderful (and different) colour variations throughout each yarn ball.

The first few rows already done!

A close-up look at the pattern - the waffle stitch (courtesy of a Bella Coco youtube tutorial; she is a great teacher) The yarn calls for a 10mm hook and I'm using the Boye brand, one of my favourites.

As well as starting a green blanket I've also been stewing the first batch of home-grown rhubarb that I've ever harvested from my garden!

I planted the plants two years ago and, according to the gardening experts, it takes two years before they grow well enough to be harvested. I can vouch for that as last year there was not much growth, stalk-wise, but mostly foliage. 

My first crop of rhubarb

Bubbling away nicely :)

It's cooling at present but I'm already planning stewed rhubarb and custard for a special dessert treat this evening. 

Memories of childhood comfort food...