HRYC

June 23, 2015

Summary of 2015 Blanket CAL patterns

Although links to each month's patterns are still available in the Ravelry forum, the older ones can take awhile to find. Here is a handy list of the CAL patterns to date:

(To see all our participant versions of these squares, check out our Facebook album)

 

February (patterns using only basic stitches)

Mums crochet sampler blanket
Block Stitch Square by Ana Benson (aka mosaic or dot stitch) (phototutorial)
Mums crochet sampler blanket
Pineapple Granny

 

March (patterns include back loop only and/or cluster stitches)

Bold Squares
CAL March Block 3
Catalina Square
Catalina Afghan Square by Julie Yeager (US$3) (This actually has a few post-stitches)
Amies Veronicas Rose Square.jpg
Flower Tile Afghan Square
In Treble Afghan Square
In Treble Afghan Square by Julie Yeager (US$3) (This actually has a few post-stitches)
Holland Road Yarn Co CAL 2015
 

April (patterns include post stitches)

Shape Shifting in 12
Ribs and Lace Afghan Block
Yarn Clouds Square

 

May (more patterns with post stitches or with slightly complicated/unusual constructions)

Sweet and Fair Afghan Square
Prince Protea Square
Kismet Square
Crochet sampler blanket
Fireworks Surprise by Amy Schwab (phototutorial) (CA$2)

 

Bonus square (pattern includes spike stitches; original pattern in French):

Carré Sacha Square
Carré Sacha by GrannyMania (phototutorial)

 

June (patterns include crochet diagrams)

Picture Frame
Lotus Blossom Square
Mums crochet sampler blanket
Circle Star
image.jpg
Ripples on a Coral Reef

 

July (patterns include stitches worked multiple rounds below) 

Mums crochet sampler blanket
Starburst Square
Geometric Flower Square
Sun Catcher Square
Mums crochet sampler blanket

August (patterns include spike stitches and picots)

Mums crochet sampler blanket
Magic Spike Mandala Square
Counterpoint

 

September (patterns include puff stitches and more advanced construction)

sunflower.jpg
The Longing Light of Evening Square
Beauty In Excellence
Mums crochet sampler blanket
Eight Pointed Flower by Julie Yeager (US$3) (phototutorial)

October (patterns may involve more complicated color work)

Spiral Circle to Square
Snow at Midnight
Mums crochet sampler blanket

November (generally advanced patterns or patterns that were published mid-year and didn't fit anywhere else)

Dream Circle Square

This last option is a bit of a challenge. The pattern is no longer available, but between the notes on Kate33wlu's project page & the other project photos you could still make it:

Celtic Cross Mimic

 

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May 26, 2015

Sampler Square Blanket CAL

As I've been a bit remiss in blogging about our Crochet Blanket CAL, here's Kate with the down-low. It's been so fun watching the projects grow (and thanks a million to Kate for taking this on!). - Tash

Our Sampler Square Blanket CAL is running all year – it’s only May, so it’s not too late to join in!

Pattern options for 12” squares are posted each month, focusing on different techniques. These squares are a great way to challenge your crochet skills and try out new things. If you want to start with more basic patterns, check out the February and March options; otherwise, just pick the ones you like best from any of the 21 patterns already posted.

 

Basic stitch pattern options:

   

Block Stitch Square by Ana Benson (Rachel’s version) 

Double-Framed Lace by Chris Simon (Amie’s version in Vintage DK)

 

Carré Sacha by GrannyMania (Kate’s version in Cascade 220).

 

Ready for a little more of a challenge? Try the Catalina Afghan Square by Julie Yeager to focus on clusters or the Yarn Clouds Square by Amelia Beebe to practice back-post double crochets.

 

  

Catalina square

 

Yarn Clouds square

 

All of the patterns were designed for 10ply yarn, but we have participants making squares in 8ply and 12ply as well. You can make the squares in a single colour, combine a few of your favourite colours, or use up your stash.

 

   

Bridget’s Crochet Clusters Afghan Square by Julie Yeager in a single colour of Silver Lining 8ply.

Claire’s Ribs and Lace Afghan Block by Joyce Lewis in Ashford Tekapo 12ply.

 

We’ll be aiming to join our squares together in November and December. If you’d like to make a small throw, aim for 12 squares. For a full-size afghan, you will need 24. If you just can’t stop making squares, go for 30!

 

Mel’s fabulous first six squares (in Vintage DK)

 

It’s been so exciting seeing different interpretations of the same square! Here are some participant versions of the Spring Fling 12" Square by April Moreland:

Amie's version

Bridget's version

Claire's version

 

Mel's version

 

Rachel's version

Kate's version

 

We’d love to have you join us! To participate, join here and post comments and/or photos in our Ravelry forum (full list of patterns available here). 

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May 16, 2013

Crochet Blanket Addicts: Progress

The next edition of Crochet Blanket Addicts is this Saturday, 18 May. It will be our fourth meet-up - and I think it's the perfect time for everyone to bring along their progress so far for a bit of a show-off.  I haven't had as much time to work on my blanket as I would have liked since the last session, but this week I was determined to add the only bit of yellow on the giant blanket.




It has about 8 stripes left to go and is officially much too big to haul around the place to be worked on. 

The cake for this month's Crochet Blanket Addicts will be an Orange Almond cake. MMmmm. If you want to join us with your hook in hand, feel free! These sessions are open to all. Our resident crochet expert, Sofia, will be there if you have any crochet questions. See you on Saturday from 11!



Crochet Blanket Addicts is a monthly meet-up at Holland Road Yarn Co for those addicted to making crochet blankets. We cheer each other on, consider colour combinations, mull over problems and eat cake. It's free to come along, just BYO project.

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March 22, 2013

Crochet Blanket Addicts (anonymous): the second

 The second session of Crochet Blanket Addicts (anonymous) is tomorrow. Already! So soon!

Since the last session, our addicts have been busy. There has been talk of spreadsheets to plan colour arrangements, obsessive pinning of finished circles and squares and hexagons. I've also been witness to some very tricky colour decisions.

I, too, have turned into a crazy crocheter. The lack of large knitting project on any of my needles means that some serious work has been done on my granny stripe blanket.


From small beginnings

to


a selection of grey, blue and green tones

to


obsessive colour planning

to


wanting to work on it so desperately I took it to the pub

and now


it has seriously grown.

Crochet Blanket Addicts (anonymous) meet in the shop once a month to blabber with delight over hooking blankets. If you want to join us - please do! This month it is on Saturday 23 March (tomorrow at the time of posting) from 11am - 1pm. 

Hooray!

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March 14, 2013

Holy Tardis Batman!

Below is the first in a series from a person many will call crazy. I do. When Awilda first messaged me, I thought 'Awilda, YOU CRAZY!'. But i'm all for crazy and ridiculous plans, so how could I turn her down? As our discussions progressed, we agreed that this absurd project needed to be shared with the world. 

Here you are: the first in a series on Awilda's epic project.


 It all started with an act of kindness—a group of friends and I were putting together an auction to raise money for a friend who was having a hard time around Christmas. I have always enjoyed making things for other people, so I decided the best thing I could offer for the auction was myself as a knitter for hire: the winner could chose any pattern they’d like, and I would make it for them. The winner chose the Doctor Who TARDIS Afghan, a colourwork blanket of epic proportions. It was a bit intimidating, but I do love a challenge, so I enthusiastically agreed to take it on. Not make it—take it on.


I had a pattern, a recipient, and unlimited time… all I needed was the yarn. The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn to make a bed-sized afghan. My recipient didn’t want something that big and heavy, and if I was going to spend half my life knitting something, I wanted to do it in a yarn I love. Something that would stand up to months of being carried around in my bag and life as a well-loved and well-used blanket, and still remain as bright and gorgeous as it was in the skein. 

For me there was only one choice—I would make it out of Knitsch. The sockweight size would allow for a more manageable lap blanket size, and allow me to make it out of a yarn I love. After some excited Ravelry messaging with Tash, we decided on a colour palette and how much yarn would be needed to take on the TARDIS blanket: Five colours (Tennant, Silver Lining, Pencarrow, Dark Side, and two skeins of undyed base for white), 40 skeins, 6680 meters. 



The afghan is 569 rows of pattern; I’m currently on row 45, and that’s not even to the base of the TARDIS yet. That doesn’t start until row 87. The only change to the pattern I’ve made is adding a 10-stitch seed stitch border to the edge, to give it a bit of texture and keep it from rolling. So far, the only real difficulty has been keeping the balls from tangling, which I have been successfully managing by separation: I leave one ball in the project bag and putting the other in a yarn bowl. We’ll see how well that continues to work when I’ve got five going at once! 


It’s only just the beginning for us, the TARDIS afghan and I. I have only used one entire skein of Dark Side—those two balls in that picture are #2 and #3, and the other 37 are still safely in their box. I’ll check in from time to time and let you know how it’s going. This is going to be good.

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