Homespun Border Patterned Blanket (Pattern Number: 40699) CAL

[sissie44]

Ginny I wanted it a little bit big for my hubby who sleeps most of his nights in the recliner and this way I will have a blanket to thowe over him:)

I got the second strip done today. Don't know if I will have time to work on it tomorrow are not. I have to work tomorrow afternoon and I want to get started on this shawl again. so we will see how things go:)

 

How is everyone else doing? we are being quit in here!

[Pink and Grey]

Sissie: I guess it's just us! Everyone must be watching the basketball tournament this week!

 

I finished two more squares, for a total of seven. I'm having to adjust the size of my stitches for the different colors--my fawn yarn is the thickest, plus because it's a light color a fawn square would look bigger anyway. The barley yarn is the thinniest, and I'm doing a light/dark pattern so the barley square winds up next to the fawn.

 

OK, thirteen more squares to go. I'm off!

 

Ginny

[nutz4crochet]

I got my yarn today. I have to finish up a doily I started this week. If I don't it will end up another UFO. It's hard to focus now with all that yarn calling me.

[Pink and Grey]

I got my yarn today.

 

Woohoo!! That took a while. Aw, go ahead, crochet just one square. It goes quickly!!!

 

Ginny

[nutz4crochet]

Ginny- I am going to start tomorrow. I'm wondering how my guage will be. I have some of the same colors. (Barley, fawn) I did notice the fawn looked chunky.

[Scorpio59]

Nice pattern !

 

Is everyone using HS for this?

I only worked with it once and wasn't too crazy about it.

Perhaps I'll try again.

[nutz4crochet]

Hi Lorraine,

Homespun is not a favorite of mine to work with either. For this project I am sticking with hs because I love the shades.

 

Nice pattern !

 

Is everyone using HS for this?

I only worked with it once and wasn't too crazy about it.

Perhaps I'll try again.

[Pink and Grey]

This is my first time using Homespun. I definitely did not like doing the first row into the chain. Crocheting the squares worked out fine once I started feeling for the place to put the next stitch. Counting the stitches is a pain.

 

The thing I'm really struggling with, though, is stitching these squares or strips together. I tried mattress stitch, which I had never done before, and it was a struggle to pull the yarn through again and again. Then it didn't look that great--definitely not invisible. So next I tried slip stitching them, and I still didn't like the look, and the seam on the back was so thick and unattractive. I don't know that whip stitch will be much better. I'm giving serious contemplation to starting again and making it a one-piece blanket--making a chain out of the color of the first border row and carrying along 4 colors!!! Ugh.

 

Ginny

[sissie44]

Good evening everyone, Hope we are all having a good weekend!!

 

Donna so glad your yarn finally got here:cheer:cheer

 

Lorraine yes I am using the homespun and once you figure it out it is easy to use.

 

Ginny I also have problem with the starting chain But since I am doing it in strips it is easy to just keep going. and i agree with you on the fawn being thicker!! but I am still able to use 29 rows in my count. I do like your thinking about maybe doing it in one piece!! let me know if you try that. I might try it also!!

 

I did get another strip done last night. I am still not sleeping so I crochet. This gives me three now and two more to go! now that you have said you are having a problem sewing them together I think I might better try that and see if it looks ok

 

have a great weekend everyone!

[nutz4crochet]

I got a chance to make a square. I made one that is 1/2'" to small using a J hook. Started a second one using a K hook my width is 10", too big. I want to peek at the picture again, maybe I will go bigger, and crochet until it is 9".

 

 

Ginny, I have thought about making it in one piece too. I stink at sewing and hs is difficult to see individual stitches.

 

Sissie, Sometimes insomnia is a good thing. Quiet time to get some crochet done.

[lauravee]

Hello all! I have not checked in for some time but now that I am home recovering I have plenty o' time on my hands. In fact I have so much time that I will be making two of these afghans. I plan on starting tomorrow. I wanted to start sooner but with the morphine and demarol I could barely see straight. Now I am on tylenol which makes my days a little more productive. I will check back in when I get started.

[sissie44]

Hello laura, glad to see you are home! this blanket is easy to do so you should enjoy doing two of them:cheer:cheer

 

I looked at your blog and read what type of surgery you had! I have thought about thatmyself:( Hope you are feeling better soon!!

[Pink and Grey]

Laura, glad you're back and recovering. I'm making two of these blankets too!

 

I've made no additional progress on my first blanket. I've not yet decided if I'm frogging what I've done and making it a one-piece blanket or not.

 

Ginny

[nutz4crochet]

Hi Laura, glad to here you are feeling better.

 

I made my first five squares, but I figured out my color sequence and only need four of the squares. I wasted so much time playing with color placement that I was so tired when I was though and went to bed. I copied the swatches from lb site and pasted them into word. My husbund was getting ocd on me. He wanted to make a tetris pattern.

 

Ginny, I hope I'm not making a bad choice but I am going to make strips. I hope I don't run in to the same problem. Hs is tough to see stitches.

 

Sissy, Did you finish yours?

[Shaylen]

Laura..im so glad you are home and doing good.

 

Donna..i think tetris would look cool, lol .

 

Ok im on the 3rd strip and moving along very slowly,tring o get the shawl swap done and im making baby afghans for three new grandbabys..im starting to feel really old here lol

[Pink and Grey]

No progress to report, but I wanted to let you know I'll be away from my computer until Tuesday--I haven't jumped off the face of the earth. Have a great weekend!

 

Ginny

[Everyday Crochet]

What a beautiful blanket!

 

 

 

Oh, I just finished this one! I made it larger than the pattern and added an additional color. It was fun, easy, too. I gave it to my adult son. It is nice and masculine and cozy for Wisconsin where we live.

You'll have fun with this. Good luck on your CAL:cheer

[sissie44]

Hi Donna, No I am not finished yet:) I have three strips done and two squares on the forth strip done.

Sorry I haven't been here for the last few days Been having a flare up lately but I am back on track now:) so I hope to get more done on here plus I am still working on my stole swap so I am so ready to get busy again:cheer

 

How is everyone else doing?

[Pink and Grey]

Sissie, that's great progress!! I can't wait to see it when you sew it together

 

I'm afraid I've regressed instead of progressed. While I was away on my trip I decided to redo the blanket in one piece, without all those seams, so I spent an hour or so frogging what I'd made. So tomorrow I'll be starting again with four balls of yarn at once. Once I get the starting chain and first couple of rows the correct size I'll be off and running. Today, however, I get to unpack and do laundry!

 

Ginny

[nutz4crochet]

Oh I haven't touch mine in a few days, but I finished my doily:) I have to start a new project. I was more motiavated working on two projects. I do have 3 strips done, one more to go.

[sissie44]

hi donna and ginny like you I haven't done much lately I was getting close to deadlines on swaps so I need to get them finnished!

then I am back to this and my strips cal!

[Pink and Grey]

Yea, finally restarted my blanket! Over Thursday and Friday I completed one row of four blocks. Switching colors every 24 stitches slows me down a bit, but I'm happier with the look of the blanket this way than if I had sewn it together. Since I'm doing one long row I have to adjust my tension per color because of the variation in the thickness of each yarn.

 

Oh, I wanted to give everyone a heads up for when you get to the border. I looked at the border pattern to calculate the changes I'd need to make for my 4x5 blanket (instead of 3x4). The number of stitches for the side borders (the longer sides) seemed off when I compared it to the gauge. The top and bottom borders match the gauge of your rows because you do the border one stitch in each stitch across (plus extra chains to make it longer for the part that extends out to the side). But for the long sides I think we will need to add extra stitches. I looked at Artemis' photo, and it looks like she has more "ripples" or "shells" on her blanket than you would get by extending the pattern to account for the larger 4x5 square blanket. When I get some time I'll check my calculations and let you know what I came up with for the number of stitches for the long sides.

 

Donna and Sissie: I'm glad we've all renewed our enthusiasm for this project. I know they're going to be so beautiful when we finish!

 

Ginny

[sissie44]

Thanks for the heads up on the border! I had not even thought that far ahead yet:)

[Pink and Grey]

I made a little progress over the weekend--I finished a little over three more inches of the blanket, the equivalent of about 1 1/3 squares if I were doing them individually. I love that I can see the colors coming together now that I'm into the second row of squares.

 

I also wove in all my ends from the first row of squares. That task always seems to take more time than I think it should!!

 

How's everyone else doing?

 

Ginny

[nutz4crochet]

I finally started working on it some more yesterday and plan on some more today. Only 1 1/2 squares to go. I didn't join any of the strips yet, I hope it goes smoothly. I'm thinking of using a different yarn to sew it up.

 

Ginny~I was going to try working it as one piece too because of the sewing. Did you get time to work on it?