After weeks of spilling my angst here over this project, let me introduce you to...
The Cinnamon Latte Blanket:
I came to terms with the colors as the blanket grew. And at some point, being finished began to feel more important than how I, personally, felt about the colors. TB, totally reframed the colors for me into imagining a cup of coffee. I told my friend this and she dubbed it Cinnamon Latte. Perfect!
And you know what... while I questioned the colors most of the time I was crocheting this blanket, at my friend's house, with her warmly painted walls, it looked great!
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I have to admit... I'm loving the cozy vibes.
What I especially love about the pattern is that when it's finished, it's finished. The pretty edges eliminate the need for a border, and I've never had to block any of the four blankets I've now made from this pattern. That said, I was actually surprised, using five different colors, and slightly different types of yarn that I did not need to block this to make the edges lay pretty and even.
With the Cinnamon Latte finished and delivered, progress on some other projects began immediately. My colorful large granny square blanket is once again being worked on. And I've been motivated to get back to working on some Christmas stitches. Hopefully they'll show up here finished soon.
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Pattern is called Autumn Leaves and is found in the book, Weekend Afghans (ISBN 0806964863). I started with a chain just over 200, and undid the unneeded chains once I had it wide enough. Yarns used: Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn in Cinnamon, Almond Toast, and Latte; Yarn Bee ID in Fawn, and Yarn Bee Soft and Sleek in Tobacco (this is my new favorite yarn - so squishy. I just wish it came in more colors)
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I am glad my suggestion was so helpful as a starting point, Becki. Cinnamon Latte is so much better than my suggestion though!
ReplyDeleteTB, your name suggestion created a whole paradigm shift in how I was perceiving the shades of brown. I still angsted a bit up to the very end, but I held onto hope that it would still hold that coffee/latte appeal for my friend when it was finished. When she named it Cinnamon Latte, I knew all was well. :D
DeleteYay!!! It looks really great!! Very pretty pattern!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Elizabeth. :)
DeleteThe blanket turned out great. Love the texture.
ReplyDeleteMaureen, I like the texture of this blanket too. It's a bit airy, which is nice when one doesn't want to use a heavy/really warm blanket.
DeleteOh my goodness the blanket turned out lovely. What a beautiful piece of work.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ruth!
DeleteCinnamon latte . . . perfect! :)
ReplyDeleteCheryl, it's amazing how a name can affect one's perception. When I'm picking out paint colors, I try really hard to not read the names on the sample cards because I'm so easily influenced. Which, actually makes me chuckle when I think that one of the colors used in this blanket is called "tobacco". Honestly, I had to look past the name and tell myself, the color is still beautiful (it's one of my favorite colors in the whole blanket).
DeleteIt's lovely! Very nicely done. You've got me considering picking up a crochet hook again.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Leigh! Just in case you need another prod... ;^) crocheting is my relaxing activity. When I'm too tired to do anything else, I almost always have the oomph to crochet - on something this simple, especially.
DeleteI do love the blanket and the new name. I think the name is perfect.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sandy!
DeleteYes, the name is perfect and the blanket is beautiful. I love the way the edges come out. I think I need to find that pattern book.
ReplyDeleteI will give one caveat about this pattern, Mrs. T. The instructions for repeating the third row is a little confusing. There is no third row. Every time I've made this, I've encountered being confused by it, so I think it's a typo, and not me. An experienced crocheter can easily find the work around, though. And this time, if not every time, once I've crocheted several rows, I go back with a new length of yarn and crochet the stitch pattern on the opposite side of the beginning row to make the corners more rounded. If I've made a mistake in any of this, I can attest that it is a very forgiving pattern. There are also quite a few other crochet and knit patterns, I've at least marked for possibly doing in the future.
DeleteThanks so much for this caveat, Becki! Isn't it funny how often there are mistakes in patterns? Back when grandchildren started arriving, I found a sweet pattern for a crocheted Christmas stocking, and figured out a felt banner to personalize each one. I made over a dozen of those stockings and had to try and re-figure the pattern every.single.time. (you can see some of them here: https://mychristmaskitchen.blogspot.com/2013/08/time-to-make-new-stocking.html). I don't mind telling you I was relieved when the grandchildren stopped arriving so I would never have to make another one of those stockings. I may even have thrown the pattern away.
DeleteI'm going to screenshot your thoughts about the afghan pattern and save them for future reference. I have done a lot of crocheting, but am still not sure I'd consider myself an experienced crocheter!
And ... I just had to say I found a used copy of the book on Thriftbooks -- had a free book reward to use so I got it for free! How fun is that?!
ReplyDeleteOh, I hope you enjoy it, Mrs. T. And I hope you come back and read my comment above. If you do this pattern, and you don't find the beginning of row 3 confusing, will you please let me know? :)
DeleteI love the name change! Makes Blanket of Browns sound much more exciting and delicious. And years ago, when you made this in blue, you inspired me to find and buy the book for the pattern. Now, I just need to actually make it.
ReplyDeleteYours looks lovely!
Cool, Christi! I hope you come back and see my comment to Mrs. T. I see now I should have written my comments in the post. And like I said to Mrs. T., if you do this and don't find the start of row 3 confusing, let me know. If you do find it confusing, maybe you'll come back here and see what I've written. :)
DeleteHi Becki, I see your summary post - so helpful. And I have bookmarked it for this project. Might help me to start it soon. (And, it was great to hear how the Hobby Lobby yarn held up after 10 years - post after this one.)
DeleteWell done! I know you agonized over this one, but the end result was so worth it. Now I'm off to check the library web site to see if there might be a copy of that book available.
ReplyDeleteMary Anne, I know you know by now, I tend to second guess a fair bit anything I make, but with this being a gift, my second-guesser was on overdrive.
DeleteThis is just beautiful! I love the colors and it does look so warm and cozy. The pattern is very pretty.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Debra. :)
DeleteJust beautiful! Love the stitch used. Elaine from My Next 20 Years of Living!
ReplyDeleteThankyou, Elaine!
DeleteThe blanket looks fabulous. It’s not at all your typical crochet blanket, the stitch pattern s so pretty. Liz (Highlandheffalump)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liz! :)
DeleteOh my it is beautiful and cinnamon latte is the perfect name - so wonderfully comforting!
ReplyDeleteIt is a great name, isn't it. :) Thank you, Lucy.
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