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Rusty's Mom

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Hi everybody,

Two days ago, I got the idea of making something out of my stash. I thought that I would like to make an afghan for myself.  First I will tell you that I have Red Heart Super Saver or Classic. I have many colors. I also have many skeins of each color (such as 2 through 8 skeins) and I am trying to get the colors to blend with each other at least. This may entail creating more than one project. So be it, but for now let's just start on one project which would be the afghan. I had thought of granny's daughters and almost decided on this until I saw a picture and ruled this out because I would have to have a large amount of any color that I chose to go around the granny's daughter and I don't know that I have that much. My original idea for the afghan was to knit in strips and then crochet them together. I was going to use number 8 needles (U.S.) and do stockinette stitch.  However, I need some help in this because the question arises, what do I do afer I knit the first strip? I had thought to make the strips two inches wide, but I wonder--would this be wide enough or too wide? I have many skeins of yarn and many colors. I also had thought of knitting several rows of one color but then that is where I need help from you nice people.  After the first row is knitted, what then? I know that the obvious answer is join and knit another color, but there is where it gets' tricky.  Do I choose a color for the second row and hope it matches or blends (this is my first choice) or do I simply pick another color whether it matches or not? I really don't want to do this, because this style of afghan never has been pretty to me.  That is just my opinion and since I am making this for me, I wanted colors which go together. If I have one or several which do not go, I will put them aside for another project.  I would appreciate your thoughts on this and any suggestions that you have (please!) would be most welcome.  I have had some of this yarn since the early 90s and I want to use it so that I can buy some more.

 

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If you want to do granny daughters, you could join as you go with the color of each little square, you don't need a unifying color to join all of them.

 

For colors...my thoughts...group your stash in different ways, either in your head or 'really'

-by color family, example reds/pinks, blues/greens, etc. 

-by color intensity -brights/darks, pastels/neutrals

 

If you've never worked with a color wheel, google it and look at the different schemes - you might be surprised how colors 'go' together.

 

If you do knitted strips...I'm picturing a strip of 1 color, 2" wide by 5'-6' long..you could go a couple of ways, you could join as you go (I'd crochet the joining, personally) without breaking the yarn (using the stip colors) or join with a unifying color.  I wonder if all these strips would curl, though.  I knit, but have never tried this.

 

I wouldn't try to 'match' adjacent colors...unless you wanted to do something tricky and go for a rainbow effect from one side of the blanket to the other.

 

Take a look at this blog for color ideas! http://www.attic24.typepad.com/

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Thanks for replying Granny Square. You have some good ideas. This helps quite a bit. I checked out the link you gave and want to subscribe to the blog, and so I clicked on the Subscribe link, and I received a surprise when I did. I was taken to a page with lots of code, which was evidentally the wrong page so can't subscribe.  Thanks for the help, especially the mention of the color wheel. I will check this out. 

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Thanks for replying Granny Square. You have some good ideas. This helps quite a bit. I checked out the link you gave and want to subscribe to the blog, and so I clicked on the Subscribe link, and I received a surprise when I did. I was taken to a page with lots of code, which was evidentally the wrong page so can't subscribe.  Thanks for the help, especially the mention of the color wheel. I will check this out. 

Go to that page again---I just did and it worked fine!  I didn't go to the subscribe link, but I did see the article on the different colors.  Good luck!

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Oh, sorry you had a problem - I just meant to poke around and look at her projects and patterns, Lucy has an amazing color sense.  Pretty stuff I would never have thought to put together colorwise.  A yarn company has even put together an "Attic 24 color pack" for sale http://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk/yarn/stylecraft-special-dk-attic24-colour-pack

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A Color Stripe Generator may help in setting up your color scheme.

 

 (bisquitsandjam.com has one.  I usually use the Link tab above, but, for some reason I'm having problems with posting as of yesterday)

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When I choose to make something for myself, it is usually with the intention of teaching myself.   It does not have to please anyone but me

 

Why not start with a stitch pattern book

 

Looking at your stash, what colors, that YOU like the most, do you have the most.  Now start pulling colors that you like together and have at least two skeins. 

 

Next using a stitch guide, choose a variety of motifs.  Find the one with the longest repeat and use that as "base"

I have a number of those early leisure pattern leaflet with "62-63-??" stitch patterns

 

Make a note of the pattern repeat (usually noted as something like "chain 5 + 2" 

 

So lets say you have done a small swatch with the yarn and know that their will be 5 SC stitches to the inch. 

You want your blanket to be approximately 40 inches wide (I make them wider, but I am wider)

You will need to create a base chain of 5 sc times 40 inches = 200 stitches PLUS TWO  I always add 5-10% extra, because then if I count wrong, I can "fix" the error.  The leftover tail reminds me that when it is on my left, the right side is facing me.  

     This would be in the  "base color"  

Choose your next color, join at end of the row and work the first motif you have chosen for a few inches - I find that I like to work at least 3-5 rows in pattern.  IF by the end of the 5th repeat I have pretty much stopped looking at either the Symbol chart or the written instruction, end that the color.

 

I have been "pulling up the base color along the side, so easily pick it up and work a row or two of SC to "outline" the section.  My niece tells me she has always like the crab stitch in between colors version best.  Your project, your choice.  You have no one to please here but yourself.

 

decide on the next color and motif, and repeat.   The width of each "stripe" does not need to match, although I do try to keep something of a Fibnacci sequence going to the center height. 

 

My center stripe is usually the widest , but does not have to be. 

 

Then, I reverse from the center to the lower edge for colors, but not always for the motifs. 

 

Finish with the SC and then I reverse SC around the entire project for a few rows.

 

Like I said, it is your project and no one has to like it but you,  just suggesting that well, I am not so much a fan of making granny's., want as few things as possible to sew together when done (don't mind weaving in ends just don't like joining square after square.

 

Whatever else you do, make sure you

 

Enjoy The Making

 

Wheat

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