I’m so happy to say that the pattern for the Cherry Blossom blanket is now in my Etsy shop.
It’s been pretty intense over the past few days as I put the finishing touches to the pattern, but at last I could check and proof read no more and with a deep breath, I pressed ‘publish’ and away it went into the ether, ready to plop into lots of peoples’ virtual shopping baskets (hopefully).
I’m so glad I did make this second version of the blanket, as the first one – conceived and crocheted back in the days when I was just starting out on my crochet journey – really deserved to be improved, to have its rookie faults corrected and to be finally finished.
I stuck closely to the colours of the original, and the design too, but added an extra border picking up the dark shades from the centre and this new border really finishes it off beautifully, I think.
It’s funny, I’m always been drawn to shades of pink as a colour palette, but rarely use it in my work. However, I think I’ve found the perfect companion for the pinks, in the subtle tones of grey and brown. They stop it all becoming too sugary and sweet.
And I’ve fallen in love with the perfect combination of the Scheepjes Colour Crafter shade, Verviers and the new Stylecraft Special colour, Warm Grey. They are quite simply made for each other. You can see them together in the edging below.
You will find the full Yarn List in my previous post and the all important pattern link is HERE
I think this is going to become a real favourite of mine because of the colour shading, and I do hope you love it too. xx
This is hot off the press, or hot off the hook whichever way you like, but yesterday I put the last stitch into this new blanket and did a little celebratory dance, or as much as my bad back would allow. (To be fair, it’s nearly all better so I shouldn’t moan).
I’ll tell the full story behind this creation when I have the pattern ready, but meantime I’m following my usual tradition and posting the Yarn List, so anyone who wants to can get the yarn ordering done ahead of time – or even check your stash in case you already have what you need.
Let’s be honest, most people have a “little” tucked away! lol
Now the thing about this blanket, the main thing really, is the number of colours I’ve used to create the shading effect. There are quite a lot, and some of them are only used in small amounts so be prepared for leftovers, which you can just add to that stash of yours!
So here they are, starting with the neutrals/browns –
You will need ONE 100G BALL each of Style craft Special DK in the following colours. (I’ve put the amount I actually used of each colour next to it so you can check if you already got enough in your stash)
You will also need ONE 100G ball of Scheepjes Colour Crafter DK in Verviers (90g)
and ONE 50g ball each of Stylecraft Batik DK in CREAM (30g) and Graphite (50g)
Now the pinks –
You will need ONE 100g BALL each of Stylecraft Special DK in
SOFT PEACH (90g), CANDYFLOSS (30g), FONDANT (30g), FUCHSIA PURPLE (50g), GRAPE (80g), PALE ROSE (60g), BURGUNDY (60g), MUSHROOM (60g)
and finally ONE 50G BALL of Stylecraft Batik in ROSE (30g)
All these yarns can be ordered from http://www.woolwarehouse.co.uk who operate a good shipping service to all countries.
The Scheepjes Colour Crafter, which is the top right in the picture of the greys, is an important one for the design and there is no alternative shade in Stylecraft.
So, that should let you get your yarn ready for when the pattern is published. Hopefully that will be in a couple of weeks and as usual there will be a video tutorial or two to accompany the pattern.
I will splash the news all over Instagram and Facebook as soon as it’s ready.
Hi again everyone – this must be a record. Two blog posts just days apart – that’s what having a social media holiday does for you – gives you more time to do other things, like write blog posts! ( Is this classed as social media too?)
PASTEL – The first of the baby blankets
So anyway, this post is all about a project I was working on at the start of the summer, which seems like ages ago now.
It all began because of the cushion you can see in the photo above. It had been an offshoot of the Frosted Pearl blanket I made earlier in the year – I have a blog post all about that too. The cushion came about because 1. I was completely in love with the colours of the blanket and 2. I had a fair amount of the yarn left over.
Now, the cushion sits in my bedroom so I see it every day, and every day it stops me as I walk past and makes me draw breath at its gloriously soft colours. It was inevitable I would revisit that colour palette at some point.
And I did, of course. I decided to make a baby blanket, as I could just imagine those pastels looking fabulous in a silver grey nursery decor, which is very on trend at the moment.
It was a nice quick make and I was very happy with the outcome, so much so, that I went on and made two more blankets using the same pattern, but in different colourways.
The first of these is the Paprika Blanket, which I used as the sample one for the pattern, taking photos of the process at every step.
PAPRIKA – the second Baby Blanket
I guess I had more of a baby boy in mind when I chose these colours, but I’m not allowed to say that now, am I? And really all of the colourways are unisex.
You can see that it is the same pattern, but the colour placement is a little different.
And although they were designed as Baby Blankets, they would make really pretty throws for a chair, or a little lap blanket.
I think PAPRIKA has a bit of a vintage look about it, again very on trend.
Now, coming to the third colourway, I reckoned I had to go for a rainbow effect as it’s so popular for babies. I don’t work in traditional rainbow colours all that often, but this was really fun to do and I tempered the brights a little by incorporating the new Stylecraft Special grey – A Hint Of Silver.
RAINBOW – the third baby blanketI really like how the rainbow colours flow through this
But I hadn’t stopped there. Oh no, I still couldn’t leave that pastel colourway behind, so I made a bonus baby blanket in simple bands of stripes, using the most gorgeous squishy little stitch called Elizabeth stitch.
It’s such an effective but incredibly easy stitch to do and it works up quickly too.
STRIPE – The bonus baby blanketAnd a closeup of that gorgeous Elizabeth stitch
I’ve put all four blankets together in a pattern booklet and my intention all along has been to make this available FREE to all. So, you just need to click the link at the end of this post to get your copy.
It contains a full Yarn List for all the blankets, as well as the usual step by step instructions and lots of photos to help along the way.
In case you’re wondering, I haven’t included the cushion as part of the pattern. That is simply because I made it a while ago, and would need to make another from scratch to remind me of what I did, and also for the photo tutorials. So, apologies for that.
One last thing, a number of people have contacted me recently asking where they can store the patterns they’ve bought, on their device – ipad or whatever. I tell them to download the free app, Adobe Acrobat Reader from the app store. Any pdf file you then download will open in the app and if you have an ipad as I do, it’s as easy to read the pattern – or even easier – than a printed version. Not to mention saving paper and ink!
I’ve also been asked to make my patterns available on Ravelry, which I think will be my next job, once I figure out how to do it!
The Baby Blanket Collection
So there you have it – the Baby Blanket Collection pattern can be downloaded by clicking HERE
There are some other free patterns on my blog as well, which you will find if you scroll through the posts.
I hope you enjoy making the baby blanket, if you choose to do it and don’t forget to share your makes on Instagram or Facebook, tagging me @woolthreadpaint so I can see your photos.
Hello again. Here I am with another blanket, another pattern and another blog post!
As I write this we are now into September, leaving summer behind. The days are getting shorter and the brambles are turning black in the hedgerows. I love Autumn, probably more than summer if I’m honest and every year I look forward to spotting the tell tale signs of the changing season. The house martins, which have been nesting under the eaves of the studio, are practising their flight skills ahead of their long journey south and the barley field has been combined ready for baling. This year the rowan berries have been remarkable. The trees are laden with heavy bunches of the red berries and someone told me that this is a sure sign of a harsh winter to come.
Rowan trees in the old churchyard at Blair Atholl
Time to start a new blanket then. A festive throw to add a cosy touch to the Christmas home. It’s becoming a habit for me that August is the month to work on a Christmas crochet project and I spent four weeks making, ripping out, making again until I’m was happy as I could be with the finished result. This year there was a LOT of reworking – much of it was frogged once, twice even three times before I was satisfied that what had been in my head for months, was what I had actually achieved. I’m pleased though. The ideas did work out.
Like last year, I designed and made the blanket in August, started to write up the pattern at the beginning of September and then, just like last year, went off on a week’s holiday! We regularly go to a little cottage in Blair Atholl in Highland Perthshire, just about an hour and a half’s drive away. It’s our home from home – a sleepy village surrounded by stunning scenery, and the peace is wonderful. There are plenty of walks to do during the day, but time in the evenings to continue with the pattern writing. I managed to make really good progress while I was there this year and came home with the pattern very nearly finished. It was a joy to work up there for another reason. This little village tucked away in the hills, boasts an incredibly fast broadband connection, at least compared to the pathetic speed here at home. So, uploading photos and videos were easy peasy and took no time at all. Oh how I wish BT would give us speeds like that here.
The old water mill in the village is still working and producing flour
Now, there is a little story behind the design inspiration for this blanket which I’d like to share with you. I think it will help to explain the colour choices I’ve made, and also the pattern itself.
Starting with the colour…….it’s not perhaps the most obvious choice for Christmas, but I wanted a more muted theme this year. I had researched other Christmas blankets on Pinterest and there seemed to be a predominance of red, dark green and white – undoubtedly Christmas colours, but a little harsh and garish for my taste.
These are examples of a typical Christmas colour palette
For a long time I’ve loved the combination of soft green, duck egg blue and red. It reminds me of old mid century kitchens, which often used pale green as a colour for cupboards and accessories. So to me these colours said ‘vintage’.
This was an inspiration board collected from Pinterest – look at these pops of red in the old kitchens!And carried through into 1940’s textiles and wallpaper
Then suddenly – and this was after my blanket was finished, I found by chance this stunning retro kitchen below, on Instagram. It was the perfect partner for the blanket, and I discovered that the lady who has so carefully put the kitchen together is also a crocheter, so I’m hoping she may make the blanket herself and that one day I’ll see a photo of it draped over a chair in her glorious kitchen. Now that would be amazing.
The wonderful kitchen by @spruceridgevintage on InstagramAnd how well the blanket would fit in!
That explains my colour choice. The design? Well, it may be self explanatory when you see the blanket – and I’m aware I haven’t shown you a proper photo of it yet! Here it is…..
The Noel Nine Patch Blanket
Have you guessed the design inspiration? I think the name gives it away – nine patch is a commonly used theme in patchwork and quilting. I love traditional patchwork quilts with their strong geometric shapes and traditional motifs, so once more I headed to Pinterest and Instagram to find similar images.
Crochet and patchwork work so well together, both based on strong geometric shapes and as I love designing within a grid, it seemed a natural partnership.
This one, from @happy.little.stitches on Instagram is such a beautiful example.
There are subtle Christmas themes in my blanket as well, although nothing too obvious. Some of the squares are intended to loosely resemble holly and this is echoed in the border, and there are some little parcels tied up with a bow for a bit of fun.
I think you’ve got the gist of it now, so it’s time for some facts.
It’s a square shape, approx 48” x 48”, although since it is made up of blocks, it should be easy to add more if you wanted to make it bigger or rectangular.
It is mainly made up of simple granny squares, with some other techniques added to the mix – some front post stitches, surface embroidery and my own method of joining. Therefore it’s not a very difficult project if you are an inexperienced crocheter, but at the same time it’s interesting enough to keep the attention of those with more crochet expertise.
I’ve used STYLECRAFT SPECIAL DK yarn throughout and in the following colours –
3 balls of CREAM, 2 balls each of DUCK EGG, LINCOLN, CYPRESS and LIPSTICK and one ball of POMEGRANATE.
The response for this blanket on my social media pages so far has been amazing and I’m delighted so many of you have totally agreed with the softer colour palette for Christmas.
Lastly, as usual I’ve picked four parts of the pattern which I feel would benefit from a little extra explanation in the form of a video tutorial. They can be found on my You Tube channel, Woolthreadpaint and I hope you will find them useful. Please ignore my tendency for flapping hands though! I must learn to keep them still.
That’s all for this blog post. If you would like the pattern to make your own Christmas blanket for 2021, you can find it in my Etsy shop
Happy crocheting and Happy Christmas (is that too soon?!)
Hello again – My blog post today is all about my new blanket, which has just come off the hook in the past few hours.
Exactly one month in the making and a thoroughly enjoyable month too, I’m delighted to introduce the Narrow Boat Blanket!
It’s a colourful extrovert of a blanket, definitely not one to hide away in the corner, with its bold, rule breaking colour combinations and contrasting dark navy background. I just love experimenting with colour – putting the most unlikely pairings together to see what they do to each other – and each new section of the blanket was an exciting process and journey of discovery.
The story behind it is this. A few years ago, I started but didn’t finish the first version of this design. It was not coming together well at all, with parts which were clearly not working, so I laid it aside “for another day”.
But not before I had shared pics of it on Instagram and received a lot of positive comments. It was suggested, although it hadn’t been in my plan, that the design was reminiscent of the brightly painted and decorated narrow boats, a folk art which began in Victorian times and continues to this day, and examples of which can be seen on the English canals. I could definitely see the reasoning behind that.
So, it became the Narrow Boat Blanket, even though it was languishing in a cupboard at the time, but I was pretty sure it would make an appearance again some day.
Narrow boat inspiration
You can see what I mean, can’t you?
Anyway, this seemed a good time to have another go, with improvements to the design, better thought out pattern and a change of yarn. The first blanket had been done in Stylecraft Batik, which I loved as a yarn choice for its soft easily blended colours. However, quite a number of the colours have recently been discontinued and I have an idea that the whole range might sadly be for the chop, so I chose the more reliable Stylecraft Special DK instead this time.
I’m so pleased with the result using this yarn – it really does resemble the paintwork on the boats and barge ware, with its strong block colours.
Traditionally the design symbols, mostly roses and castles, were painted on a black background, but I chose a dark midnight blue instead, which I think is less harsh. By the way, I know that a lot of people dislike working with very dark yarn if lighting conditions are not good or they have eyesight problems, so in the pattern I give an option for substituting the dark blue with a cream background.
I managed fine though, by working in daylight as much as I could and using a good work light in the evenings, even with my ageing eyesight.
I also want to say that I’m indebted to Magda Lange (@rawrustic on Instagram) for her kind permission to include her own pattern for the centre squares, in the blanket pattern. It is a lovely square called Milla Magic and was the reason I started the original blanket in the first place.
Milla Magic square
As I usually do when I’m about to write up a pattern, I publish the Yarn List in advance and so the following is a list of the colours and amounts needed. It lets you get organised and order the yarn ready to start as soon as the pattern is available.
This time I’ve included the weights as well, as I know that many of you already have a good stash of SSDK and may not even need to order any extra!
There you have it. I’ll crack on with the pattern writing and update this blog post as soon as it’s ready.
It’s been a week of pattern writing, proof reading, deciding to add more photos, writing more, proof reading again…and again, but at last this afternoon I think the pattern is ready to be launched into the world.
So, with a big sigh of satisfaction (and relief) I’ve just added the Green Shoots Blanket pattern to my Etsy shop!
It’s the third in the series of seasonal themed blankets which started with the Autumn Gold, followed by the May Blossom and now here is the winter version. Or Late Winter version to be exact. It covers the months of February/March where the earth is still cold and grey, the skies are leaden and winter seems to be dragging on. In February, in this part of the world we experienced a prolonged frosty cold spell, with ice on the puddles and sparkly frost on the grasses. Then we had a week of quite heavy snowfall which gave us a winter wonderland for a short time.
However, what led me to design this blanket was that in the midst of these grey and white monochrome landscapes, there were the unmistakable signs of Nature beginning to wake up, in the form of little green shoots appearing all over the place. When the snow cleared, it uncovered clumps of snowdrops already flowering. The field outside my studio window turned green as little blades of new grass pushed through the hard ground.
All this was very encouraging after the year we had endured and it seemed appropriate to call my new design the Green Shoots Blanket, not just for the awakening season but also for the optimism for the future that was beginning to spread with the vaccine rollout.
So I’m delighted to have published the pattern today. I love the way the colours have worked out and I know already from feedback on social media, that it’s a colour palette which is going to suit so many people’s contemporary homes.
The blanket is the same as, but different to the May Blossom design, if you know what I mean. Although the pattern is basically the same, I’ve altered and hopefully improved some of the processes and updated the step by step tutorials. The colours don’t correspond to the other blankets either, so you really have to follow this new pattern.
It’s rectangular in shape, measuring 143 x 110 cms approx, making it a perfect size to lie over the back of a three seat sofa or generously drape over a comfy chair. It can also be easily made bigger or smaller by adding or removing squares or stripes.
I’ve used simple granny squares and granny stripes throughout, in my now signature crazy amount of colours and the making process, while following the step by step instructions, is a bit like paint by numbers.
The Yarn List is below, if you want to get ahead of the game, and it’s also included in the pattern.
You may or may not be aware that Deramores have now made their popular Studio range available in 50g balls as well as 100g, so I’ve listed the colours which were used more as accents rather than large areas, in the 50g size.
There can be problems with yarn supplies, particularly this past year due to the pandemic, where yarn manufacturers have been short staffed and at the same time trying to cope with a surge in demand as more people take up knitting and crochet during lockdown. Deramores usually do their best to restock as fast as they can, (update – the Deramores website is now showing good stocks in a lot of the colours and the remainder will be in stock in the next week or so). But I have listed an alternative option using Stylecraft Special colours which may be easier to obtain, especially if you are overseas. However my preference is for the Deramores colours, which I think are more subtle. You can mix and match both of these yarns successfully.
Never again will I take a break half way through the process – (you’ll remember I took December off to make some Christmas gifts) – because you lose the momentum and it’s so difficult to get the brain back into gear.
I have to say I loved making the blanket. The colours are so different to what I’d been using before and the pattern worked up so fast, it was a pleasure to see it appearing before my eyes. And I absolutely adore it as a focal point in the bedroom – now that the pattern is off my hands.
It has been finished for months. In fact it only took six weeks to make and I started in September, but I haven’t been able to actually enjoy it as a finished piece until now, as I got stuck into pattern writing as soon as the last stitch came off the hook. I knew that I would need to keep referring to the blanket while doing the writing, so it lay in an untidy heap at my feet all the time, occasionally being spread out on the floor if I was taking a photo.
However yesterday it had its pamper wash at last and as always, thanks to the Stylecraft and Deramores yarns I used, it came out of the washing machine sparkling clean, perfectly flat and looking absolutely beautiful. (See my previous Frosted Pearl blogpost for the complete Yarn List).
This is it on a double bed to show the size. It’s a big ‘un, 68” square approx.
Did I say how much I love the look of it? I keep popping into the bedroom to gaze at it (sad person) and marvel at how the colours change so much with the light. (That was what made it such a nightmare to photograph, by the way.) And I’m tempted to make a second one, in a totally different colour scheme, but I’ll have a break and do something else first.
I hope you like it enough to give the pattern a try. You will find that it’s not a difficult one to follow and it works up quickly, as I said. That’s because it uses a third less stitches than a normal granny square and that of course means it takes a third less time and a third less yarn! It’s also a pattern suitable for someone who hasn’t done a lot of crochet before – simple stitches and lots of photos, plus some video tutorials you can access which take you through different parts of the pattern. All good.
Footnote – The cushion you see in the photo was a way of using up the bits and pieces of leftover yarn. I started with one of the squares from the blanket pattern in the centre, then just worked around it with small squares and areas of plain granny stitch until I reached the size I wanted. Then I attached some of the little flowers from the blanket too.
I’m not a huge fan of having to crochet a back for it – too lazy to be honest – so I chose a method I’ve used before and decided to attach the crochet front to an actual cushion.
It needed to be a plain cushion, the right size of course and most importantly have a piped edging. I was lucky enough to find the perfect answer on Ebay, after a quick search on Google. This particular company sells the covers either on their own or as a complete cushion with pad and there is a wide choice of colours.
I chose the mink shade and a 22” size, and was delighted when it arrived. It has a luxurious velvety feel and is remarkably well made for the price. In fact it was only £2 more to buy the whole cushion than a similar size pad only, from Amazon.
Here are one or two tips for sewing the crochet front to the cushion. The crochet has to be the exact size, too big is no good. I added one or two rounds of granny stitch until it got to the right size.
In order to make sure it was straight, I pinned the four corners in position first. (By the way, I attached the crochet with the pad still in the cushion.) Then I put a pin in the middle of each side, checked it was straight and then pinned all the way round.
I used the 4 ply cream yarn from the blanket, a needle with a large eye and sharp point (darning needle) and starting from one corner, slip stitched all the way round and right up against the piped edging. Using the yarn to sew with, rather than ordinary thread meant that it held firmly without slipping and it disappeared satisfactorily into the crochet. I think It took me an hour to stitch all the way round.
I don’t tend to wash cushion covers all that often, (if at all to be honest!) as there no children or pets in the house, but I reckon that if I had to, I could wash the cushion without having to remove the crochet. The cover is washable, as is the yarn, so a hand wash and drip dry should be fine. Just remember to make sure the zip is on the back when you sew it on – I nearly made that mistake, which would have been a problem trying to get the pad out to wash!
So there we have it – my finished double bed sized blanket and a matching cushion.
I’m now going to tidy away the little leftover scraps of pastel coloured yarns and have a lot of fun selecting something totally different, and probably a lot brighter for my next project!
The handsome dude in this photo (see arrow) is my nephew John. This strapping lad is 24 but at the age of 12 was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. This of course came as a real shock to the family, and John who was only just reaching his teenage years.
However, he put it to good use and became an ambassador for young MS sufferers.
He has also just been chosen by the MS Society to compete in the London Marathon on their behalf.
He tells it better in his own words.
To help him in his challenge, I have decided to donate all the proceeds from the sale of my most popular pattern the Beach Walk blanket during the month of January, to the MS Society on behalf of John.
If you have been thinking about purchasing it, now is the time to do it.
UPDATE January 31st – Thanks to everyone who purchased the pattern between 7th and 31st, I have been able to donate a whopping £921 to John’s GoFundMe account for the MS Society. It’s over to him now, to get in training for the Marathon in October.
Both John and his Mum (my little sister) are blown away by your kindness and pass on their heartfelt thanks. xx
