5th New Star of 6 for 2017

5: CLUSTER STAR

finger wrap of 10 wraps
ROUND 1: 12sc, into circle, sl st, to complete. [12sc]
ROUND 2: ch2, dc in first st, 2dc in every st to end sl st, to complete, [24dc]
ROUND 3: Att. yarn in sp between pairs of dc, cluster of 3dc, [ch2, half make 2dc, pull yarn though all 3sts, ch5, cluster of 2dc in next sp, ch2, sl stinto same st,  sl st to next sp, repeat sl st to complete. [12clusters x 3dc]

All Star Patterns

US Terms

4mm hook

CHANGE COLOUR EVERY ROUND.

YARNS USED FOR STARS:

YARN: stone washed yarns and Marble Yarns 

Designer Yarns

James C Brett Marble DK

Best Selection of Marble dk Cols:

mt1 grey shades,

mt2 blue shades,

mt3 pale aqua shades

mt19 lime shades,

mt20 bale blue shades

mt24 beige grey

mt41 blue/teal.turquoise

mt47 pale grey shades

OR 

Use your stash

Next week i will post all 6 stars in one post for you

Bakewell Blue Blanket

A simple motif using the 12, 24, 36, rule, but using a cluster stitch for each round of the circle. The motif is made into a square on round 6.

 I have used chunky space dyed yarn in 4 colours to make a 6"square. 

By using a random dyed yarn you will get several different shades of the same motif and will need to arrange them with the lighter ones in the centre and the darker ones to the outside area of each block of 36 motifs.

Yarn: BellaLana, Dream in 3 shades, cream mix, grey mix and a pale blue/green mix and a dark blue, for the final round in Marble
OR: Use the beautiful shades of Marble chunky as an alternative 

5mm hook
Motif: approx 6" square

Make: 144 X 6" Motifs for a 6' square blanket.

CLUSTERS: Half make the dc, hold last loop on hook and draw yarn through all stitches to complete the cluster st.

Pattern: US Terms.

grey mix, finger wrap of 6 wraps
Round 1: cont. in grey mix, 12sc into circle, sl st to complete. [12sc]

Round 2: cont. in grey mix, ch3 counts as first dc and ch1 sp, dc in next st ch1, repeat to end sl st to complete. [12 'spokes', ch1 between]

a little hard to see the 'spokes' in the chunky yarn, it fills the space 

Round 3: cream mix, 3dc clusters, [half make dc hold on hook, draw last pull through, through all stitches on hook], in each ch1 sp, ch2 between, repeat to end, sl st to complete. [12 clusters of 3dc, ch2 between]

Round 4: grey mix, try to keep the lighter grey to gather and the darker grey together, 4dc clusters, in each ch2, sp, ch3 between, repeat to end, sl st to complete. [12clusters of 4dc, ch3 between]

Round 5: pale blue/green mix, 2 x 3dc clusters, with ch2 between in each ch3 sp, ch1 between each pair of clusters. sl st to complete. [12 pairs of 3dc clusters, ch2 between clusters and ch1 between each pair]

Round 6: dark blue, att yarn between a pair of clusters, 2tr, ch3 2tr, corner, 2dc in next sp, 2hdc in next 3sp, 2dc in next sp, repeat for 3 more sides sl st to complete. [14sts each side, ch3 corners]

JOIN AS YOU GO: Using a sl st into the spaces and replace the the middle ch st in each corner to join the squares together. OR you could make up all the squares and then join with  ch3 loops ch5 at corners. OR you can use your favourite joining method...there are lots to pick from. 


TO COMPLETE: Not completed the blanket yet but the plan is to add a few rounds of close 'V' sts. to match a 'V' st, cushion 

Using the random dyed yarn  you will get several shaded square from light to dark. 

Arranging them in a pleasing design before joining them together.

what a blanket in non random dyed yarn could look like this.

 mix two motifs together would look like this

CUSHION CAL 17th January start

To Start on the 17th January a mini cal making a Cushion Cover

Over the years i've made dozens of cushions, so before we start I'm going to share a couple of tips with you.

TIPS:

 1: Never make a cushion in just dk Acylic yarn, it stretches and all your hard work will grow and be too big for the cushion pad in with a couple of months.....infuriating
Aran not completely free from stretch but it does hold its size better. 

2: Mix your Acrylic with some 3/4ply sock wool or Merino or similar, matching the colours if you want a plain colour...or use Aran weight yarn and keep your crochet quite tight.

3: Make you own fastenings, buttons or ties, then you don't need to go searching for that perfect button, or use a zip, but not so nice to look at.

4: Make a button band so you don't get happy openings 

5: Make sure the cushion pad fills your cushion cover.

6: Buy the best quality cushion pads you can get, it will make your cushion special.

CUSHION CAL:

You will need 16 Aran weight yarns or a 16 Dk and sock wool mix. 
Please pick your own colours if you want the cushion to go in a particular room scheme. 

An 18" cushion pad...the better quality this is, the better your cushion will be. 

5mm hook keep it quite tight so change hook size if you crochet is at all loose. 

SPECIAL ARAN/ALPACA TWEED COLOURS:
To get the exact shade i wanted i've used some Alpaca shades but mostly Special Aran
1: Special Aran, Parchment
2: Alpaca tweed, Sea Breeze
3: Special Aran, Sage
4: Alpaca Tweed, Duck Egg
5: Special Aran, Storm Blue
6: Special Aran Denim
7: Special Aran, Cloud Blue
8: Pistachio
9: Special Aran, Meadow

Special Aran for all following colours
10: Saffron
11: Camel
12: Gold
13: Spice
14: Pomegranate
15: Raspberry
16: Rose

BATIK AND LIFE 
Worked together make a good Aran weight  but I cant get 5 of the colours to the right shade so that won't work!

 Pity I love the Batik and Life together as an Aran Weight and i have managed to make 20 shades (chary below), but not the 5 missing colours needed for this project if you want to tweak the colours then you can use the Batik and Life together 

COLOURS:
1: Cream and Cream
2: Sage and Mint
3: no match
4: no match
5: Teal and Aqua 
6: Indigo and Denim
7: no match
8: Pistachio and Zing
9: Olive and Meadow
10: Old Gold and Daffodil
11: Biscuit and Oatmeal
12: no match
13: Coral and spice
14: no match
15: Raspberry and Lily
16: Raspberry and Rose

DK AND SOCK WOOL
match your nearest sock wool to the same shade to match the Aran colours 

Its going to be a square Cushion in 9 sections, a new section every 2 days, worked one after the other in a section of stitches and cover shapes like triangles circles, squares, hexagons, ripples and stripes in both directions. 
some scribbled nots and sketches as a taster
but of course all this could change as i actually make the cushion

If i have time i will do a circular cushion too, but no promises on this one as i will need to move onto the next Mini CAL

NEXT CAL: The Camper Coat for the 20th February 2017

You can pick your own yarn for this one and there will be options for dk or Chunky
I am actually using some recycles James C Brett Marble in a couple of colour ways.
Click the link to see the colour options above 

The new pattern will be based on this pattern 

but with a shaped sleeve this time

Do You Recycle Loved Yarn?

It's heavy, a lot of yarn in this old seat cover made in moss stitch, we no long have the chair so I'm recycling the yarn for another project..its taking quite an effort!..worth it, I think it is i love this James C Brett Marble yarn.

 un-picked, rolled into a ball, made into hanks, washed, conditioned and drying...

then i can get on with this new flower project, a long shawl/ wrap of flowers...

Waste not want not!

Pattern from my book: Granny Squares and fun combining yarns

Every now and then, to keep my books fresh, I updated one or two of the patterns for you. 

CAROUSEL

The Carousel has taken so much of my time and effort lately.....the finishing edge stitch to come on November 15th and then some time to play with the secret blanket

TIME OUT

This last week I took a few days 'me time', bit of volunteering, clean the house, catch up with the washing and hooky time, revamping the pattern on page 116 of Granny Squares it's the cover blanket motif.....I've used my favourite finger wrap/sc start to the pattern and I've turned it into a hex, when you start with the magic number 12 thats extremely easy to do.

YARNS

Over the last couple of years i have been collecting together some beautiful yarns, alpaca, cotton, wool and some acrylics too, most of which i haven't had time to use.

INSPIRATION

For weeks now a fabulous picture of a Missoni Jacket and scarf creation, [I adore the colours], it has been my screen saver reminding me that soon I would have time to play...this week i took a few days and got lost in a new blanket for my lounge, dark grey being the dominate colour 

the original Square on page 116 in Granny Squares, but with my favourite finger wrap/sc start 

I've always loved mixing yarns together as one to make more interesting yarns, but there are so many multi thread yarns today you can often find exactly what you want in the market place..so some i mixed and some i had.

YARNS USED:

 Ormo, very fine, looks so like cotton threads

100% Acrylic

Ornaghi Wonderful, 

65% Acrylic, 25% new wool, 10% mohair mix 

Patons Wool Bend Aran

63% Wool, 37% Acrylic

James C Brett Marble, 

100% acrylic

King Cole Riot 

70% Acrylic, 30% Wool

King Cole Drifter 

69% Acrylic, 25% Cotton, 6% Wool

Pure Mohair

Mostly indie mohair from several show sources 

Pure Alpaca

several show sources

Pure Cotton

Aldi's best lol

All mixed and blended together to create the look and shade

 blending can create so many more softer/darker/lighter/subtler shades......

and my old college tutor said my colour choices was diabolical!....I can do subtle too although I struggle to leave any colour out lol  

 I wanted the motif to reflect the Flower Light I made years ago, with tweaks to yarn weight etc. I think the blanket pattern from my work works a treat 

  

Every hex is a different shade because of the space dyed yarn used as a background yarn , giving a lovely shaded blanket.