knit & crochet design: Stylecraft Blog Tour

I’ve mentioned many occasions that I’m not a fan of granny squares and I do not actually get this complete craze for regurgitating current crochet designs resembling granny squares or chevron patterns again and again in various ‘new’ color combos, however it is because I actually get pleasure from a technical problem and due to this fact do not actually need to design ‘straightforward’. I try to design in a means that creates a brand new curiosity on each spherical or row, partly as a result of I get bored simply (5 or 6 repeated motifs is my most) and since I need to give different crocheters one thing to actually get their enamel into. All this mentioned, the factor I do love a few granny sq. is the truth that it will probably let you actually play with color and they could be a enjoyable senseless method to give you a color palette. The new mushy again cowl of my e-book The Ultimate Crochet Bible has a stunning mixture of Granny Squares on the duvet:

My Great Grandmother was an avid crocheter – she learnt to make Granny Squares in her 70s and she or he lived to 98, so she had almost 30 years of Granny Square making! I bear in mind sitting by her facet whereas she selected her yarn shades and laid out her blanket squares (of which she should have made actually 1000’s) able to make her blankets. My Great Aunt used to say that my Nanna fairly merely had an absolute love of yarn and color, so I’m guessing that’s the place I get it from! The picture beneath reveals one in all Nanna’s beautiful blankets folded with a few of my very own tasks.

Storm Blue 1722

Emma Varnam kicked off the Blogstar tour yesterday together with her weblog about her beautiful Blencathra Blanket which makes use of the choice pack of colors pictured beneath. Both yarn packs can be found by way of Stylecraft stockists and we may have a restricted quantity of inventory on the Janie Crow web page.

When I work on a blanket design, particularly the extra difficult CAL designs, I have a tendency to finish up with a whole lot of left over concepts and motifs that did not make it into the ultimate design. As the color palette for the Blog Tour had already been determined for me I assumed it might be a good suggestion to make use of a hexagon motif that did not make it into the ultimate Frida’s Flowers blanket to mess around with color combos. For virtually all of my tasks I design the motifs and sew variations from scratch, not often referring to sew libraries or the work of different designers. I do that for my very own sanity (as I mentioned earlier than I’m the kind of person who continuously must problem my mind) and since I do not actually see the price in merely recolouring current designs.

I’m going by way of a really particular orange part, so the primary shade I used to be drawn to after I opened my yarn pack from Stylecraft was ‘Spice’. A buyer just lately informed me she hated orange and that she would by no means purchase a design with it in, however I believe it’s a fabulous color and might actually make a color palette work. My first motif used Spice in 2 rounds with Parchment because the edging. You can see the development of my yarn selections on every of my repeated blocks beneath and the sample is posted with step-by-step photographs additional down the submit.

Block 1

I used to be comparatively happy with this motif, however felt that there was an excessive amount of orange in it – regardless of my new discovered love of the shade!

Block 2

For Block 2 I swapped the shades round utterly and left one shade out. I like this block, however possibly the sunshine pink shade (Pale Rose) will get a bit of misplaced and merges into the surface edge shade (Parchment).

Block 3

Using the darkish pink (Pomegranate) rather than the Pale Rose made Round 9 stand out much more, however I started to marvel about my selection of Parchment for the ultimate 2 rounds, so for the following block I swapped in Gold for Rounds 10 & 11 and altered the opposite shades round once more too!

Block 4

I like Block 4! I like all of the blocks for various causes, however on this one I actually just like the subtlety of the sunshine inexperienced (Pistachio) after the blue shades of the central flower.

Block 5

For Block 5 I swapped the shades round in order that the central flower had the pink shades and the outer flower had the greens and blues.

Block 6

When I accomplished Block 6 I used to be actually proud of the colors. I actually just like the inexperienced flower within the center and the pink to purple shades within the outer rounds, nonetheless I then determined that I had completely neglected one of many different colors on this pack – Storm Blue (one in all my all time favorite shades within the Stylecraft vary), so I made a decision to do my seventh block in the identical shade order as Block 6 solely with Gold and Storm Blue swapped over. This is the additionally the block that I used for the step-by-step photographs. It is proven beneath surrounded by the opposite blocks:

Block 7

My motif has 11 rounds and there are 10 shades of Aran within the Special packs so it is a nice motif for enjoying! I needed to cease after 7 blocks purely due to time restraints, however it’s extremely tempting to start increasingly blocks!

If you want to make your personal block the motif sample is beneath:

Diego’s Flowers – Crochet Hexagon Motif

Using your selection of shade of Special Aran and a 5mm hook make 5ch, be a part of with a ss to kind a hoop

Foundation Round: 1ch, 12dc into ring, ss to affix, fasten off. (12 sts)

Round 1: Using your subsequent selection of yarn shade be a part of yarn into any sew by working 1ch + 2ch (counts as 1tr), 1tr into similar st, 2tr into every st to finish, ss to affix, fasten off. (24sts)

Round 2: Using your subsequent selection of yarn shade be a part of yarn into any sew by working 1ch + 2ch (counts as 1tr), 2tr into similar st, 1ch, skip subsequent st, * 3tr into subsequent st, 1ch, skip subsequent st; repeat from * to finish, ss to affix, fasten off. (36sts)

Round 3: Using your subsequent selection of yarn shade and dealing in entrance of the earlier spherical be a part of yarn into any skipped sew by working 1ch + 5ch (counts as 1tr & 3ch), 1tr into subsequent skipped st, 3ch; repeat from * to finish, ss to affix, fasten off.

Round 4: Using your subsequent selection of yarn shade and dealing into sts made on Round 2 and on the similar time working excessive of the ch made on the earlier spherical be a part of yarn into the highest of the first tr of any 3tr group made on Round 2 by working 1ch + 2ch, tr2tog over subsequent 2sts, 4ch, skip tr made on earlier spherical, * tr3tog over subsequent 3sts made on Round 2 as earlier than, 4ch, skip tr made on earlier spherical; repeat from * to finish, ss to affix, fasten off.

Round 5: Using your subsequent selection of yarn shade be a part of yarn into any ch sp by working 1ch + 2ch (counts as 1tr), 4tr into similar ch sp, 1ch, * 5tr into subsequent ch sp, 1ch; repeat from * to finish, ss to affix, fasten off. (60sts)

Round 6: Using your subsequent selection of yarn shade be a part of yarn into any 1ch sp by working 1ch (doesn’t depend as a st) 1dc into similar ch sp, * 1ch, [1dc into st sp between next 2tr, 1ch] 4 occasions, 1dc into subsequent ch sp, 5ch, skip 5tr, 1dc into subsequent ch sp; repeat from * to finish omitting 1dc on ultimate sample repeat, ss to affix, fasten off.

Round 7: Using your subsequent selection of yarn shade be a part of yarn into subsequent 1ch sp (or equal ch sp between 2dc on one other a part of the motif) by working 1ch (doesn’t depend as a st) 1dc into similar ch sp, * 1ch, [1dc into st sp between next 2tr, 1ch] 3 occasions, 1dc into subsequent ch sp, 6ch, skip 5ch & 1dc, 1dc into subsequent ch sp; repeat from * to finish omitting 1dc on ultimate sample repeat, ss to affix, fasten off.

Round 8: Using your subsequent selection of yarn shade be a part of yarn into subsequent 1ch sp (or equal ch sp between 2dc on one other a part of the motif) by working 1ch + 2ch, tr2tog into similar ch sp, 3ch, [tr3tog into next ch sp, 3ch] 3 occasions, * 1dc into subsequent ch sp working over ch made on earlier 2 rounds on the similar time, 3ch, ** skip 1dc, [tr3tog into next ch sp, 3ch] 4 occasions; repeat from * to finish, ending final repeat at **, ss to affix, fasten off.

Round 9: Using your ultimate selection of yarn shade be a part of yarn into central ch sp made between 2 clusters on earlier spherical by working 1ch (doesn’t depend as a st), 5dc into similar ch sp, * 4dc into subsequent ch sp, [3dc into next ch sp] twice, 4dc into subsequent ch sp, 5dc into subsequent ch sp; repeat from * to finish, omitting 5dc on the ultimate sample repeat, ss to affix, DO NOT fasten off. (152sts)

Round 10: 1ch (doesn’t depend as a st) 1htr into subsequent st, * 3tr into subsequent st, 1htr into every subsequent 3sts, 1dc into every subsequent 3sts, 1htr into every subsequent 6sts, 1dc into every subsequent 3sts, 1htr into every subsequent 3sts; repeat from * to finish, omitting 1htr on ultimate sample repeat, ss to prime of 1st htr to affix, fasten off.

So, with 7 blocks below my belt I’m starting to really feel like I get someplace with the colors!

I actually just like the Storm Blue edge on Block 7 and like the way it works with the Gold edging on the opposite blocks. I believe it might be enjoyable to make this a blanket venture and I’ve a sense there’s presumably sufficient yarn inside the 10 ball pack to make at the very least 20 motifs, as long as the shades are jiggled round a bit. If I’ve time I’ll play with this a bit of extra, however in the meanwhile it might be nice to see a few of your color combos, so do ship them as messages to the Janie Crow Facebook web page or e mail them to mail@janiecrow.co.uk, alternatively you’ll be able to ship them to one of many Stylecraft Facebook teams.

If you want to win a pack of Stylecraft Special Aran within the shades I’ve used observe this link to enter the competitors.