Colorburst Collar

My dear friends!

Thank you so much for your words, they did make me feel better and breathe deeply and relax a bit more...Infact i felt that every mother will go through this and I should grin n smile and bear it and now things are becoming a bit better. I feel the more I compartmentalize and prioritize, the easier the going gets :)

While working on my Little Miss's Pink n Purple blanket, I was distracted by the colorful thoughts of making a collar. It refused to go away and I had to hook this for a simple t-shirt of hers.

 

 The pattern is from the head of yours truly. But its really very simple. I am sure all your smart ladies out there can figure it out!

Intended to make this as the sleeve of her sleeve-less shirt. But in the last couple of days my girl has just had a growth spurt and none of her clothes, i literally mean none, be it her jeans or right down to her bare essentials, all are TIGHT! So now i need another shirt for this collar. What color do you guys suggest?

The latest addition to the blanket are these squares. This is the very lovely pattern known as Circle of Friends pattern by Priscilla Hewitt. You can find the free pattern HERE.

It really is a very easy pattern and not at all as complicated as it looks. The color combination options are endless and each will produce awesome effects! Highly recommended pattern :)

 

So off my friends I go, to attend my motherly duties now. The feeding and the cleaning and the sleeping and the story telling! Get crafty and save your sanity, it is working wonders for me :) and blog about it also, it helps a lot to just vent out somewhere..

Love and more...

xxx

 

No one can hook just one...

..No i really mean it.

Do you guys have this world famous book? 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton? If you do, then you know where i am coming from.. You simply CANNOT ,for the love of dear god ,settle down on a single square!!

Here is my list of hooking fun from this book :

Oooppssss!! Not this one.. This is the Sunburst Granny from Priscilla's crochet with a great photo tutorial HERE. This is one of my all time favorite and i had to include it!!

This one below in purple shades and the one below it in plain single color..

 #113 Wisteria

#137 Criss Cross

 #16 Waterlily

#81 Sunshine and Showers

African Flower - Another personal favourite from dear Barbara of Made in K-town. Find the great pattern HERE.

#117 Granny in the middle

 

Now my hands were itching to make a blanket again... The temptation is too great. I have to have a big project going on else i feel restless and the small projects do satisfy my creative urge but i spend hordes of time browsing and then even more time regretting that i browsed so much instead of hooking/crafting!! After many trials and errors i decided i am going to do a sampler blanket. But not an ordinary total sampler blanket. Because i need to have order even in chaos!!!

I need a plan..

I need to know how each square will look..

I need to lay them down and test the combinations..

I need to know which block looks good next to which and in which shade..

I was limited in colors and this is for my princess and she wants it only in PINK N PURPLE!! 

I do not want patterns which are too complex and which need a reading after every round and a counting after every few stitches..

I concluded that i am a crocheter from diagrams and NOT FROM WRITTEN PATTERNS!!

I threw out the idea of a hexagon blanket in muted shades with spots of red, blue, green amidst the greys and browns n tans...

I finally decided on a gingham kind of sampler with 1 row of purple blocks and 1 row of pink blocks, alternating the dark pattern blocks with simpler mostly single shaded blocks..

The pattern squares are below:

The simple , mostly single shaded squares are below...

The pinks are on order from the store..and i am eagerly waiting for my mail!!

These are my favourite blocks for a sampler afghan.. There are n number of pretty blocks out there, but i did not want very holey or lacy ones..at the same time not too solid ones..

I have modified each pattern in the book so that my block measures 5" instead of the 6" in the book.. Again a silly quirk of mine in which i feel a 6" block looks too big for the blanket and i wanted only a max of 5 " block..

How is your crafty space? Do write in as i love reading from you guys :)

PS: Love all of you for such sweet words on my Puff Flower Bag.

♥

♥

Thanks Kara from Petals to Picots for the feature too..You can see it HERE .

Love,
xxx

Blue Waves Ripple - Ta-daaah!!

Hello my dear lovely readers!

How are you doing? Today i am really pleased to show you my Ripple Blanket. I have been in awe of Lucy's Ripple for ages..But somehow the ordinary ripple did not strike me as very special...I need a twist in everything i think..so when she did her Interlocking Ripple i knew i had to hook it..Thus began the process of deciding the colors for the blanket. After doing my Giant Granny Patch Blanket i was not very keen on this multicolor design in any form. It was at the same time that our guest room needed a new blanket as the old one was getting too ..uhhmmmm OLD! Then i decided that it is going to be a Ripple. I decided on this color palate.

Then started the process of rippling along..I began late in January.

 

and then here it is in February..

 

I have loved every moment of it!! It is very comforting project, everyone must always have a ripple on their hook i feel :) Sometimes it gets a bit boring as it is not much of a challenge but hey we are mothers, wives, working professionals, multi-taskers - sometimes we do need easy things to chill with.I used to plan my 10 rows in advance and just refer to my picture for reference.

So are you guys ready for the big moment....

...

.....

Here it comes!!!

Blue Waves Ripple Ta-daah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How hard it is to get a shot?? I stood on  a stool for this...yet could not manage a 100% shot

The border is something i am very pleased with. Simple and yet very elegant. I did not want any girlie finish..No shells or not frills. Something boyish but not just granny stripes..The border is from Border #42 from the book Around the corner by Edie Eckman. A must have book and you can read more about it in THIS post. Can you see how NEAT the corner is?? Thanks to Edie!!!

This blanket also has a lining. Honest recomendation - Line your blankets!! They are soo cosy and also i feel less chances of those toes getting into the crochet stitches..Especially the granny square ones..I used flannel blankets from Ikea for the same. They are very light and the washing instructions are same as the Stylecraft yarn. But do a test wash and then only stitch it. I used a simple hemming stitch to attach the flannel to my blanket..

Cannot get enough of this border!

My favourite stretch of ripple!

Some rippling facts for you :

Yarn :: Stylecraft Special DK
Colors ::

 

In order of appearance top row - right to left :)

1.Sherbet

2.Cloud Blue

3.Turquoise

4.Aster

5.Denim

6.White

7.Cream

8.Silver

9.Camel

10.Aspen

 

Hook :: 4.0mm Polymer Hand  made hook :)
Pattern :: Neat Ripple Pattern of Lucy's Attic24.
Starting Chain :: I started on my new adventure with 17 ripples. ie 17 * 14 + 3 = a foundation chain of 241.
Rows :: 169 + 2 more to straighten the ripple
Measures :: 62" x 77" (It is a single blanket, but my boys roll over so i wanted a bit wider one :))
Weight :: approx 2000 gms
Balls :: approx 22 - have a few left overs..
Time :: 1 hr for 2 ripples so that's 170 hrs + 5 hrs for the border + 10 hrs for finishing & sewing = ~8 days of continuous crochet i mean 24 x 7! But hey! it took me just under 4 months... ha ha

Phew.. that's a detailed post!

Thank you my dear friends for sticking with me on this wonderful journey and all your lovely feedback and comments on my previous ripple posts. Do let me know what you think of this rippling waves..

Till then..c u and happy happy hooking!!

PS: I have decided not to touch my hook for 2 days.. a break sorta..lets see hha ha ha

Love and more,

xxx.

 

Vibrant Cotton and a Must-Have Book

Helllo my LOVELY people.

Hope you ladies are fine and all that...

Today, its a bit of a rush post as my hands are waiting to hook - i have an almost 99% finished ripple to show off and yummy delicious cotton threads waiting to be made into something fun, useful and decorative!

I had to show you guys my new yarn. Its the RICO Creative Cotton ordered from Deramores. Link HERE.

 

The colors..oh the colors...they are toooo good to be true...Yummy, colorful and delightful. Every crocheter's delight! For my readers who are in India, the thickness is very similar to the Laura Cotton you are familiar with. But the texture, it is very different.

Very soft and very thin threads not so split y as Laura but it is much softer than Laura. The color shades are much wider here and have a great finish to it. But the similarity is that both are fast colors. I tested the usual suspect - Red and Purple, first wash of the strand yielded a bit of color bleed, the second time not much. So guess the first wash has to be at the dry-cleaners :) Recommended for home decor projects, mandalas , buntings, purses and such stuff. Not recommended for use on clothing.

Now, as i promised earlier - A Book Review of Around the Corner Crochet Borders by Edie Eckman.
A must have book for any one who loves making blankets and adding a touch of crochet to home items.

Doing the border from my ripple using the Border #42.

 Best part of this book is how she has told us to do the corners. I now have a perfect cornered blanket :)
2 more rows to go and i will have a Ta-daah for you very soon!!

 The hand towel is done with Border #73 and Rico Cotton.

A few more on my to-do list..

 This would look great as an edging for any girl's dress, what say?

There you are my lovelies... New yarn, new projects, new books - a world of possibilities i must say :)

Finally, a dear fellow blogger Nata from Nata's Nest gave me a pleasant surprise and passed on a sweet award to me HERE.

Thank you so much dear for this appreciation! She is very creative and you must pop over at her place for a visit and wont be disappointed!!

So off i am dearies, got to get busy with the border and be done with it.
Till then, have fun, be crafty and stay happy :)