Double Crochet Stripe: Wade's Blanket CAL (Part 6)

Hello and welcome to Part 6 of the Wade's Blanket CAL, hosted by Zooty Owl and Kokopelli Design.

It is not too late to join this Crochet-A-Long!     The patterns will remain on our Blogs - so you can crochet along at your own pace.      

Here are the links so far:

INTRODUCTION 

PART 1 - CIRCLE IN SQUARE GRANNY

PART 2 - TRADITIONAL GRANNY SQUARE

PART 3 - TALL STITCH DAISY SQUARE 

PART 4 - MINI GRANNY SQUARE 

PART 5 - "V" STITCH CENTRE PANEL 

At this stage of the crochet along you should have 4 panels of squares.  Last week we began joining the panels with a series of stripes - the first being a horizontal v-stripe panel!

Please feel free to share your progress photos with Andrea and/or me on Facebook so that we can include your photos in our Gallery.

Double Crochet Side Panel:  

PATTERN TERMS:    US

YARN WEIGHT:   DK (8PLY / LIGHT WORSTED WEIGHT)  The amount of yarn required depends on the size of the blanket you would like to make. The one pictured in the photo is 110cm x 110cm - I used just over 600g (1800m) of yarn. A 150cm x 150cm would probably take 800g - 900g.   For the 110cm x 110cm blanket I used 8 squares each of the first three 12cm x 12cm patterns and 16 squares of the 6cm x 6cm pattern (Part 4) 

HOOK SIZE:   5.00mm

The most important thing is that your tension remains even throughout the blanket - this will ensure that you will have an evenly shaped blanket at the end of the project.

Zooty Owl's Colourway:   Denim Blue, Blue, Turquoise, Lime, Bright Green, Lemon and White.  

The dc-stripe panel joins the Tall Stitch Daisy Squares and the Mini Granny Squares

Follow the tutorial I did for my BABY GROOVYGHAN DC STRIPES or for an alternative way of doing the stripes follow Andrea's instructions below:

Row 1: Join your yarn (I used white and changed colors every row) into the 3ch corner of your Daisy Square strip and crochet a row of sc along one of the long sides of the strip. This gives you a nice straight edge to start your dc rows from. Turn your work.

Row 2: Ch 3. Dc in the next stitch. Dc in each sc to the end of the row. Turn your work.

Row 3: Ch 3. Dc in the next stitch. Dc in each dc to the end of the row. Turn your work.

Row 4: Repeat row 3 until your dc row strip is as wide as you require

Join us in two weeks time for the "Diamond Stitch" stripe!

V-stitch Centre Panel: Wade's Blanket CAL (Part 5)

Hello and welcome to Part 5 of the Wade's Blanket CAL, hosted by Zooty Owl and Kokopelli Design.

It is not too late to join this Crochet-A-Long!     The patterns will remain on our Blogs - so you can crochet along at your own pace.      

Here are the links so far:

INTRODUCTION 

PART 1 - CIRCLE IN SQUARE GRANNY

PART 2 - TRADITIONAL GRANNY SQUARE

PART 3 - TALL STITCH DAISY SQUARE 

PART 4 - MINI GRANNY SQUARE 

At this stage of the crochet along you should have 4 panels of squares.  This week we will begin joining the panels with a series of stripes.

Please feel free to share your progress photos with Andrea and/or me on Facebook so that we can include your photos in our Gallery

 
Today's pattern is:
V-STITCH CENTRE PANEL:  

PATTERN TERMS:    US

YARN WEIGHT:   DK (8PLY / LIGHT WORSTED WEIGHT)  The amount of yarn required depends on the size of the blanket you would like to make. The one pictured in the photo is 110cm x 110cm - I used just over 600g (1800m) of yarn. A 150cm x 150cm would probably take 800g - 900g.   For the 110cm x 110cm blanket I used 8 squares each of the first three 12cm x 12cm patterns and 16 squares of the 6cm x 6cm pattern (Part 4) 

HOOK SIZE:   5.00mm

The most important thing is that your tension remains even throughout the blanket - this will ensure that you will have an evenly shaped blanket at the end of the project.

Zooty Owl's Colourway:   Denim Blue, Blue, Turquoise, Lime, Bright Green, Lemon and White.  

Make your strip the same length as your square strips, as you will join two of the square strips with the v-stitch stripe. You can make the stripe as wide as you like, changing colours as you like. The v-stitch stripe will be the centre stripe.

(NOTE:  For the swatch piece Andrea made 16ch, which makes for 7 v's in the end.    Andrea's v-stripe for the blanket is 27 v's and changes color every other row, so her blanket will fit a single bed in the end.    My v-stripe is 22 v's and I have striped mine as follows:    *3 rows "denim";   1 row bright green;   3 rows blue;  1 row white;   3 rows turqoise;   1 row lemon* repeated until the strip is long enough)

Foundation:   Chain an even number of chains.  (Tip: We recommend doing the starting chain and leave a long tail. Then start your pattern rows from the "start" end of your chain row - that way you can always add or take away ch stitches in case you have miscounted the chains).

Row 1:   3ch, 1dc in the "start" chain (or 2dc in the 4th ch from hook if you just turn your work);  skip 1ch. 2dc in the next ch. Continue to the end of the chain.   (Add or take away ch stitches if needed.     Break of yarn for foundation chain). Turn work.

Row 2:   3ch, dc in between the "V" cluster of the last row. 2dc into the next "V" from the row before. Continue to the end of the row. (Can you see how the v's open up in the bottom row?).   Turn work.

Repeat Row 2 until your work is the same length as your square panel!

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Andrea or me via our blogs (in the comments section).   You can also find us on Facebook:   ZOOTY OWL and KOKOPELLI DESIGN

Making Light of a Crisis

Here in South Africa we are once again faced with an ELECTRICITY CRISIS - the worst since our first crisis in 2008.       While extreme electricity price hikes over the past 7 years were supposed to be used to improve infrastructure, the additional millions have instead been used to provide corrupt officials with bonuses and ridiculously high salaries -  so there is no possibility of this crisis ever abating!!

Forgive my rant - but back in my day poor performance was met with disciplinary action NOT rewarded with bonuses and salary increases (does anybody else spot the not here???)!!!

Our Minister of Energy, in her (*cough, laugh, sputter*) infinite wisdom gave a speech saying we should adapt because this is a way of life!     Well OK then!

When ESKOM gives you loadshedding -  make granny squares!!!!

A couple of evenings ago, I was sitting in my recliner, watching "Criminal Minds", working on a new pattern......  when suddenly "hello darkness, my old friend"!!   - We have just been loadshed.

We frantically run around lighting tea lights, giving just enough light here and there so that you do not fall and break your neck, but not enough to actually see what you are doing!!

Three to four hours of doing absolutely nothing is enough to drive me insane - so I grab a hook and a few baskets of scrap yarn and listen to an audio book on my phone (Anne of Green Gables).     Fortunately I am able to crochet a granny square blindly!!   (I am not that awesome yet that I am able to manage anything more complicated!!)

After three hours without power the lights are back on and this is what I have managed......

The following evening I made dinner early, just in case - a lovely homemade chicken pie (the one with the bread triangles and the mayo! - YUM), and I prepare two flasks - coffee for hubby and tea for me.  Thank goodness, because I have just settled into my chair when..... instant blackout!

"Muuwaaahaaa", I laugh in the face of darkness - tonight I am prepared!!!

Light the candles, listen to audio book and start hooking away on my "loadshedding" squares:

The next morning I arranged the squares I had made (a very motley assembly indeed!).     I then started joining them.

I have to do the joining and the working in of the tails (and OH MY GOODNESS what a lot of tails) in daylight - this is not something I can manage in the dark!

By day (whenever I have a quick spare minute) I weave and join!     When the lights go out I crochet!!

I just made this up as I went using a mishmash of colours and scrap yarn.

There is no "pattern" but this is what I did:

24 x 14cm circles in squares grannies (you could try one or two of these patterns:
WADE'S BLANKET CIRCLE IN A SQUARE;   or
BABY GROOVYGHAN CIRCLE IN A SQUARE

24 x 14cm TRADITIONAL GRANNY SQUARES

Add a single row of double crochet in "cream" to each square (the squares now measure 16cm x 16cm)

Join 4 squares with black yarn (2 traditional granny squares and 2 circles in squares) using the VISIBLE JOIN METHOD

You now have 12 blocks of 4 squares each

Crochet a BLOCK STITCH border around each of these 12 blocks (sc, ch row in beige and the dc cluster row in black).

Plan out the larger blocks before you star adding the border so that you can join as you go.

For the border:  1 granny row (black);   1 dc row (tan);   1 granny row (black)

Use the remainder of the scraps to measure out and cut lengths of yarn for the braids (I just wound them around an emery board and then cut through the top and bottom end).      Add a BRAID between each granny cluster!  

This is a very therapeutic, almost hypnotic exercise (so easy that you can make them in the dark!)

A real "feel good" blanket - I put both my time and my scraps to good use!    

We have been quite lucky so far this week - no loadshedding!     I will have to prepare a new "loadshedding" project just in case .......... (*touch wood;   fingers crossed*)

Mini Granny Square: Wade's Blanket CAL (Part 4)

Hello and welcome to Part 4 of the Wade's Blanket CAL, hosted by Zooty Owl and Kokopelli Design.

It is not too late to join this Crochet-A-Long!     The patterns will remain on our Blogs - so you can crochet along at your own pace.      

Here are the links so far:

INTRODUCTION 

PART 1 - CIRCLE IN SQUARE GRANNY

PART 2 - TRADITIONAL GRANNY SQUARE

PART 3 - TALL STITCH DAISY SQUARE 

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Andrea or me via our blogs (in the comments section).   You can also find us on Facebook:   ZOOTY OWL and KOKOPELLI DESIGN

Please feel free to share your progress photos with Andrea and/or me on Facebook so that we can include your photos in our Gallery!!   (The past two weeks have been hectic here in Zootyland - I will attempt a little update post for the Gallery photos!!)

Today's pattern is:

MINI GRANNY SQUARE:  

PATTERN TERMS:    US

YARN WEIGHT:   DK (8PLY / LIGHT WORSTED WEIGHT)
The amount of yarn required depends on the size of the blanket you would like to make. The one pictured in the photo is 110cm x 110cm - I used just over 600g (1800m) of yarn. A 150cm x 150cm would probably take 800g - 900g. 

For the 110cm x 110cm blanket I used 8 squares each of the first three 12cm x 12cm patterns and 16 squares of the 6cm x 6cm pattern (Part 4) 

HOOK SIZE:   5.00mm

SQUARE SIZE:    6cm x 6cm
Gauge is not too important with this blanket. Yarn thicknesses vary somewhat from brand to brand as do the tensions of individual crocheters. 

The most important thing is that your tension remains even throughout the blanket - this will ensure that your squares will always be the correct size, for example if this square measures 14cm x 14cm then the next two patterns will also measure 14cm x 14cm (instead of my 12cm x 12cm) and the fourth one 7cm x 7cm (instead of my 6cm x 6cm).

Zooty Owl's Colourway:   Denim Blue, Blue, Turquoise, Lime, Bright Green, Lemon and White.

Start with a MAGIC RING
(alternatively crochet 3ch, sl st into 3rd chain from hook to form a circle)


Row 1:   3ch (counts as 1dc),  11dc into ring (12dc);   sl st into 3rd of 3ch at start to close round.   Do not turn work

Row 2:   [3ch (counts as 1dc),  (1dc, 2ch, 2dc) into same place as start 3ch (corner formed)];  [1dc into top of next two dc;  (2dc, 2ch, 2dc into next dc)] x3;   1dc into top of next 2dc;  sl st into 3rd of 3ch at start to close round.    Do not turn work

Row 3:   Join yarn in any 2ch corner space;  5ch (counts as 1dc, 2ch),  3dc into same 2ch space;  [skip 2 spaces (3dc posts);   3dc into next space,  [3dc, 2ch, 3dc into corner 2ch);  skip 2 spaces, 3dc into next space] x3;   2dc into same place as start 5ch;   sl st into 3rd of 5ch at start to close round.   Break off yarn

Make twice as many of these squares as you made for Parts 1, 2 and 3.

I hope you are still having fun with this CAL!     Please join us again in two weeks for Part 5, where we will start making the stripes!