I'd like to say I made great progress on the ripple blanket I showed last week, but it took me a while to get it figured out. I wasn't liking the pattern I started with and not finding one pattern that did what I wanted it to do, I looked over several and blended together things I liked. That said, there was a lot of crocheting and frogging before I hit upon the size of chevrons I liked and the number of chevrons that would give me approximately the size blanket I want to make.
And then once I got the chevrons down, I kept changing my mind about the slight contrast color being gray or black, and when I decided it should be gray I had to try two different shades of gray. Or was it three? All of this was kind of exhausting - and frankly, if my son hadn't asked for this and requested the colors (while giving me some discretion in choosing what I thought looked best), I might have just given up already. Or I would have made this a little more free-flowing than it's going to be. Anyway, the finally decided upon Dark Heather Gray doesn't show well at all in the picture below (it's between the blue and the white), but I think it works well in person.
Oh, and I almost forgot... I had to do the math (several times) to figure out how tall each color section should be - because I'm graduating the heights of the white sections while leaving the blue and gray sections the same - the end goal being a blanket that measures somewhere around 72 inches long.
While it will take me a while to finish this, hopefully it will be fairly smooth sailing from here on out.
BTW, Marsha asked me last week what color the blue is. It's Vanna's Choice in Colonial Blue - a brand of yarn that's gone out of production, if I understand correctly. Colonial Blue is a slightly muted royal blue - more muted than it appears in the picture above.
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And then there were a few hours of stitching on my Linens & Threads cross stitch. But not enough that a photo does it justice, so I'm not posting one today. I'm just letting you know it got some love this past week. 😊
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And I've got my Advent Project of Projects all bagged up and ready to begin:
I look forward to showing you next Sunday how much (or, I suppose, how little) I actually tackle of this.
I've already forgotten what's inside! Yay!
We're supposed to get snow this week,
and it looks like I'm ready to settle in and craft!
That blanket is very pretty. I can see the Heather gray and like the contrast it gives before the white. And naturally it is no longer in production. The yarn fairies knew I needed no more yarn lol. How exciting to start opening your advent project bags. Looking forward to see what is in each of them.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... I didn't think of taking pictures of the contents of the bags. I only thought I'd take pictures of each finished project. You've given me something to think about...
DeleteOh boy your calculations sound complicated, hopefully it will all work out, the design looks great so far. I had an idea to create myself a fibre advent for next year now and then by then I’ll have forgotten...then I came to write on my diary what I did since Last Sunday as I have got behind writing it and 3 days are blank as I have no idea what I did. So you forgetting already what’s in parcel 1 made me smile thinking yep..,that would be me too. 😀.
ReplyDeleteThe only real complication is that measurements aren't perfect, and I can only estimate how many rows I will make as I graduate the white sections. I will not tell a lie - until I get to the half-way point I think I'm going to be a bit nervous.
DeleteI won't get snow, but it is supposed to be cold for us by Tuesday. The shorter days do lend themselves to stopping and crafting. I have plenty of things lined up, so we will see how productive I am. My mom always does the chevron stitch. I actually think it is the only stitch she knows, so I have many like that and I truly love them all. My two faves are the Christmas red and green and the Auburn orange and navy.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't end up getting snow that stuck. It melted as soon as it hit the ground. And I'm totally okay with that. :) My crocheting aunt made many chevron blankets, too. I have vivid memories of these blankets made in yellow, orange, avacado green... from the 60's and early 70's.
DeleteYour blanket is going to be lovely, I know where you are coming from I'm the same when starting a new project it seems to take me ages to make decisions and actually get started but that's just us being creative and planning is key, once we get going it's usually plain sailing from then on. Your advent packages look very exciting. x
ReplyDeleteI've actually been dragging my feet a bit getting started simply because I didn't want to have to do the math. I still don't completely trust that I've calculated correctly, or that I'm not missing something. Otherwise, this is a super easy crochet project. :)
DeleteI think the blanket is going to be wonderful! Good job on all your choices in regard to this. I, too, am working on a blanket. More Lacey than yours but mine is for a little girl - and it is knitted.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine knitting a blanket - how long it must take. It will be beautiful, though, I am sure. I hope you'll show it on your blog. :)
DeleteThe blanket is going to be stunning! I find the hardest part of any project if the starting and many times I have to do it several times over! I love the Advent Project bags....great idea!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know others end up starting projects over - even several times. I am notorious for this.
DeleteYou are putting me to shame on productivity! It must be an age thing. I am definitely slowing down, lol. It all sounds and looks wonderful. The blanket looks stunning already. I agree that sometimes the beginnings can be very frustrating and time consuming.💖
ReplyDeleteYou're just doing different things, Susan. I have not been feeling very productive - in terms of yarny things, that is. I'm really hoping my Advent Project of Projects kick-starts me into feeling more compelled to work with my yarns and threads again.
DeleteThe ripples look good.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Salty. ;^)
DeleteI have so much repect for designers - frogging, trying again, doing math, and repeat.
ReplyDeleteWell done on figuring out something that makes you content with this pattern. That is a big accomplishment!
Yes! I've contemplated writing up the pattern I'm adapting, but I don't know how to figure out how many chains to start with. That's the very first thing someone would want to know when crocheting something. And my head is too full to try to figure out how many stitches are needed per "stitch pattern" - is that even how it's worded? I just chained something like 300 chains and I will frog back the unused chains to the beginning. It's a totally acceptable way to make a thing, but I'm thinking it's probably not acceptable to write a pattern that way. :^/
DeleteYou are a patient and determined woman! Of course, a request from one of her "babies" brings out the determination of a mother! Your son will love his blanket!
ReplyDeleteEh. It just depends, Cheryl. There are many things I simply will not make because I don't have the patience. And we're not even talking hard things - just things I don't have the patience for fiddling with. Yes, having one of my grown "babies" request that I make something is highly motivating for me to make a thing. :)
DeleteOh boy - math. Scary thought! It's going to be a beautiful blanket though! I love that shade of blue. I just finished the first of the two afghans I'm doing for wedding gifts and wish I had enough yarn for the second one. Will have to get an order in and hurry up and wait for it to come.
ReplyDeleteI am waiting in anticipation to see what comes out of those bags!
It's Day 2 of Advent, and all I can tell you is I'm already behind. ;^)
Deletebut....did you ever say what YEAR that day is? Hmmm????
Deletelol I'm pretty sure I will be opening bags in 2021. Hopefully before Advent of 2021, though.
DeleteWhat a handsome blanket. Chevrons? Chevrons requiring math? I'm out! 😁 Hope that you have had happy crafting times this week.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vee. :) Just to clarify... it's not the chevrons that require math. I won't explain any more than I have above (for now, anyway), but because I'm not working from a pattern that's telling me when to change colors, I would have to do the math regardless of the stitch pattern I was using. And, I guess when it comes right down to it, my angst isn't over the math exactly, it's because I can't be precise (chevrons make that a little trickier) and every time I tweak something and redo the math I risk forgetting something (which I did several times). That will be the cause of head slapping at some point if it happens. ;^)
DeleteWow - most excellent perseverance in getting the blanket underway. Your son is lucky his mother doesn't give up easily! I can't wait for next Sunday to see what you have in your first week of Advent goody bags.
ReplyDeleteYay math! Lol I'm glad you worked out what to do with the blanket - it's looking really lovely.
ReplyDeleteYour blanket for your son is going to look real awesome.
ReplyDelete