crochet blanket Archives - Zeens and Roger

Mixtape Medley CAL. A New Crochet Blanket Pattern

September 16, 2021January 23, 2023crochet13 Comments

Mixtape Medley Crochet Along

Hallooooo! Happy autumn!! What better way to celebrate a new season than to crochet yourself a new cosy blanket? Fancy it?! The Mixtape Medley blanket is ideal for mixing up classic stitches that you probably already have in your crochet repertoire. The only thing that’s really different is that they’re all brought together as one, with a jazzy, stash busting colour palette.

When I was asked by Knitcraft back in April to come up with ideas for an 8 week Crochet Along I knew exactly what I wanted to do. The brief was to create a design that would introduce beginners to new stitch combinations with a palette that used a variety of different shades (not too rainbow bright, not too autumnal). Much like the rest of my design work, I wanted this to be a bit different!

When you think of classic crochet, what stitches do you come up with? Granny is there, isn’t it? Bobbles too? And I bet those who know me will immediately say Corner to Corner!! It’s all in the Mixtape Medley! And recent favourites such bold colour blocking and plaid feature as well (I’ve been calling it plaid but perhaps it’s gingham?). I desperately wanted a ripple stitch in it but that wasn’t to be. The inevitable concertina effect would have been a nightmare. Instead, I invented a new puff wave stitch. The undulating waves are most welcome, plus there’s the added bonus of delightful texture with some plump puffs!

How to find the Blanket Pattern

You’re probably here to find out more than just the back story so let me tell you what’s what. Aaaages a go I wrote a blog post to explain what a CAL actually is, it’s HERE if you’d like to find out more about crochet alongs (bear in mind it is an ancient blog post though).

You can get get your hands on a copy of the FREE PATTERN PDF with US Crochet terminology, it’s HERE.

This Mixtape Medley Crochet Along is hosted by Knitcraft on the Hobbycraft website in their Ideas section. Knitcraft is the yarny arm of Hobbycraft. Over the next few weeks the written pattern will be released bit by bit so that you can enjoy a few hours of crochet each week. And the best bit is that this is a free crochet pattern!! FREE! Fully tech edited and tested as well, which I love. Everything has been extremely well thought out.

Don’t forget to share your makes on Instagram with the hashtags #MixtapeMedleyCAL and #MixtapeMedleyComp

Now with US terminology! Go HERE to find the written pattern in all one place!

Crochet video tutorials

At the beginning of August I travelled along the coast to a studio in Southampton to record video tutorials. We recorded videos for each stitch and included other helpful bits of information too. It was a really interesting and exciting day! Not something I’ve done before. A few weeks later, once the videos had been put together, I watched them through so I could write a script. Then, it was back to the studio to record the sound.

Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying the video tutorials are HERE! You might notice that I look a bit like deer in headlights and that’s OK. I may seem super chilled out in my podcasts (usually amateurishly filmed at home in me jammies) but that’s a completely different kettle of fish. No hot studio lights, clapper boards or people you’ve never met wiring you up with a mic n stuff. The experience of working in a studio was awesome and nerves should never stop anyone from doing something new.

Crocheting Together

Seeing everyone getting their boxes of yarn is so exciting! As well as being able to buy the yarn kits from Hobbycraft in super special Mixtape Medley boxes (OMG they are totally gorgeous!), you could also bust your stash and go your own way with colours. This isn’t the kind of blanket where rules apply….well some rules do (count your stitches folks!)

Multiples are given so you could easily make adjustments to make it smaller, or bigger if this isn’t big enough (it’s a single bed sized blanket). I fancy a scarf version myself and hope to make one during the CAL. Hey, you could even get your nails done to match if you wanted to!

Well blow me down! Look at these nails from @the_squirrel_collective

I think that’s it for now. If you have any questions then ask away. I’ll try and get to them as soon as I can but the idea is that you can find all the info you need on the Hobbycraft website so do go there first as details about yarn and sizing etc is all there.

Don’t forget that you can now find the pattern with US terms on my blog HERE.

Right, I’m off to work on some crochet. And maybe do my nails. Cheers. x

Drape it over your legs as you work. That’s what this pic is!

The Crochet Elephant Ripple Blanket

May 2, 2017March 14, 2026blanket, crochet, free pattern26 Comments

At the beginning of April, a friend got in touch with me and asked very nicely if I would crochet a baby blanket for another friend. I liked the ideas she had and fancied having a go at something different. It was nice that I could crochet a brainless ripple, but there was also going to be something interesting in the mix as well.

Cute Crochet Elephants

I know that the baby in question is having a safari-themed nursery, and because grey was to feature in the blanket’s colour palette, elephants sprang to mind. I did a quick search online and came up with these cuties. The elephant crochet pattern is from Repeat Crafter Me, and it’s exactly the sort of thing I wanted.

I like how the secret elephants are hidden inside when it’s folded up. You might think it’s a boring blanket. But tumble it open and the cuteness is revealed!

All the crochet elephants go from trunk to tail across the bottom of the blanket. Really rather pleased with that idea!

For attaching the elephants to the blanket, I paid lots of attention, ensuring the sewing stitches didn’t show on the other side. It meant inserting the needle through the fibres of the yarn rather than poking all the way through. The idea of safety eyes was dismissed for the same reason (they’d poke right through to the other side).

I forgot to take pics of the other (wrong) side to prove that there’s nothing on show. Watch my latest crochet vlog, the evidence is there!

The yarn used is Stylecraft Special dk as it’s perfect for baby blankets. I ordered the yarn at the same time as the release of the new shades, so I knew Buttermilk had to be part of it. It’s like someone has added mayonnaise to the Mustard. They go very nicely together. Also in the mix are Teal, Sage and Grey.

And let’s not forget the ubiquitous Neat Ripple! I have no idea how many times I’ve made Attic 24’s Neat Ripple! So many! I did 8 pattern repeats and 64 rows before adding the grey. At each end, I added a ripply row of grey and then a straightening row.

Then it was just a case of making a couple of rounds of UK trebles before going back to Attic24 for the edging, which was pilfered from Lucy’s original Granny Stripe. Phew! What do you think? I like it! Anything with grey and mustard floats my boat, though. Grellow, they call it.

Anyway, I’m late for an evening walk that I must do. I’ve been very lazy recently and have done no proper exercise. And I need to go to the shop for bread and milk…

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A Crochet Blanket for the Autumn.

September 9, 2016March 2, 2026blanket, crochet14 Comments

a-granny-square-crochet-blanket-for-the-autumn

Autumn Granny Squares

I completely forgot to write about this cosy crochet blanket. I finished it before the summer holidays. It got a wash and was then stored away before I realised I should probably show it off a bit and then put it up for sale. Actually, now is a pretty good time to do it because the colours remind me of autumn, and that’s just where we’re heading.

bright-autumn-colours-crochet-join-as-you-go-granny-squares

Join As You Go Grannies

Amazingly, for me, this is the first time I’ve used a join-as-you-go method for a granny square blanket. Whilst I’ve done plenty of continuous joins, this is slightly different due to all the colour changes. It looks so much better than if I’d whip-stitched the squares together (which is what I always used to do).

The border is quite plain but I didn’t think it wanted flouncy. Just some crochet scallops between every other cluster. In the alternating clusters, it’s just a UK dc (US sc). To stop it from curling too much, there are chains between them.

kind-of-autumnal-granny-square-crochet-blanket

There’s something about this blanket I really like, and I’ll be jiggered if I know what it is. Maybe it’s the simplicity of it, or it could be the autumn colour palette. I haven’t quite put my finger on it yet, but it doesn’t really matter, does it? I like it because I do!

autumn-crochet-granny-square-blanket-with-orange-border

The Yarn Colours Used

The colour scheme wasn’t a choice I made; it was determined by what I had left hidden in the cupboard under the stairs. Over the last few months, I’ve been making an attempt to get that down to a more manageable collection. I’m trying to train myself not to impulse-buy yarn too. It’s not working that well, I’ve just transferred my lustings to fabric instead.

Anyway, if you are at all curious about the colours, they are Stylecraft Special DK in: Saffron, Gold, Pomegranate, Petrol, Spice, Parma Violet, Khaki, Spring Green, Magenta and Lavender. It’s deffo less than a ball of each, but I couldn’t tell you how much exactly, as none were full balls to begin with.

join-as-you-go-autumn-granny-square-crochet-blanket

It’s a blanket that I wish I’d made bigger. Well, I couldn’t; didn’t have enough yarn stash! I hope that it finds a home…

Tour Of Britain: From Crochet to Cycling

In a complete random change of subject, I popped out to have a very speedy look at the Tour of Britain this morning. This was at the end of my road, just before midday today. I timed it very well; I was out and back home within fifteen minutes.

Summer Fete Fun!

July 7, 2016March 2, 2026crochet22 Comments

Crafted Items To Sell

For four weeks, I’ve been making, sewing and crocheting. OK, I know I always make things, but this time I’ve been making things with a specific purpose. A month ago I was asked if I fancied having a craft stall at the school’s summer fete. I thought “why not?” Hopefully I’ll get to sell a few things and help towards raising money for the school. Sounds alright. I enjoyed doing a similar thing last Christmas. That was my first time doing such a thing and I found out that I really enjoyed myself!

My main concern this time is that I have no idea about the kind of things people might like at this time of year. Christmas is easy, as everyone is always up for buying a new festive decoration (or two) for the tree. Summer? Not got a clue. I might have misjudged this but I’ve gone for a little bit of everything. It’s a learning experience and I’ll find out a lot, I’m sure.

I’ve said previously that I don’t think this is the sort of event for selling baby blankets but I’m taking some anyway. You never know. By the way, these blankets have been made over a period of a few months, not just churned out in the last four weeks!

Decorative Felt Brooches and Keyrings

There will be loads of felt designs. They’re all my own designs. I’ve got either brooches or keyrings. I think the owls are my favourite.. or the bedazzled fish. And the cats! The cherries look fabulously kitsch! I think I love them all.

I’ve got some random makes too. Leftovers from playing/experimenting. I really like the crochet rose brooches with felt leaves. The rose is Attic 24’s May Rose.

Heart Hangers

Speaking of Attic 24, these are the May roses used on a sweet crochet heart. Have a look at the original Heart Hangers for inspiration.

Someone has already asked that I put one of these aside for them so I do hope that that’s a good omen for the rest of them.

Crochet Hairclips

It would appear that I’ve got a thing about these May roses, I’ve used them for hair slides too (not many though, as I know that there is another stall that’ll be there, selling hairclips and I don’t want to tread on any toes ;p ).

For the crochet bows, I started with a pattern from Nicki Trench’s Geek Chic Crochet, but it was too big and took far too long to make a single bow. Iused fewer stitches and used quicker stitches too. For some reason, I find trebles much easier and less fiddly than half trebles. Most of these are made using yarn scraps that were left over from blanket making. There’s a lot of merino stuff, and the pastel coloured ones are a merino yarn mixed with cashmere. It’s lovely stuff to work with.

Crochet Heart Keyrings

Puff hearts are from Planet June. Very cute.

There’s something about a pile of blankets that I love. It’s a good job too. I have a mountain of crochet blankets in my house. And that’s the ones that are here to stay. I’m not going to mention the ones I was supposed to put on Etsy six months ago.

This little crochet ripple blanket will be finished by the weekend. Just in time for the summer fete. There are so many more things I wish I had time to make. It seems that I have just about run out of time. However, I would like to point out that this really isn’t everything that I’ve made over the last month. I might share some other things on Instagram, too. There will be loads more…

You’ll just have to come and see me to find out what else there is. I might look like a misery guts, but I’m honestly not (I do suffer from Bitchy Resting Face though), so if you’re at the school fete in Ottery St Mary this Saturday, come over and say hello! I think it’s 12-3pm. Thanks very much. X

A New Crochet Blanket. Circles in Squares.

May 24, 2016March 2, 2026blanket, crochet17 Comments

colourful crochet circles with scheepjes merino soft

Circles In Squares Baby Blanket

I finished this little crochet blanket about a month ago. It’s bold and colourful crochet circles in squares. It now belongs to a baby. It is not my baby, but a new cousin for my boys. I’m pleased that she has already had snuggles in her lovely new crochet blanket.

I haven’t written up a pattern for this one, but I will share some pics of playing with the squares, and attempts to block them!

Another baby blanket done. Love this one. Simple crochet circles in squares.

I chose to make the blanket with Scheepjes yarn. I really wanted to get my mitts on this brand. A couple of months ago, it seemed like loads of people were using it, and I wanted to join the fun. I liked all the colours, and I wanted something super soft, so I went with the Merino Soft (which also has microfibre in it).

It is the softest, squishiest yarn. It is also quite splitty, which surprised me. I find that once I get into a crochet rhythm, I can avoid most of the splittiness, whichever kind of yarn it is. However, it’s still disappointing when it happens.

Crochet Circles in Squares

When I heard that there was to be a new human on the horizon, I asked my sister-in-law what sort of thing she fancied. I knew I wanted to crochet a blanket, but I didn’t want to make one that wouldn’t fit in with her tastes. All that effort, and they don’t like it? No thanks.

She gave me a photo of a cushion that fitted with the nursery colour scheme. The cushion had a bunch of bright circles on it. That was enough inspiration for me; off I went, designing a new crochet baby blanket.

I blocked it (badly). It didn’t work. They all pinged back after 5 minutes. I thought they’d be good because of the merino, but I’m guessing microfibre does funny things.

These crochet squares were about as flat as they got, and they quickly started to curl at the edges again. Oh well.

Laying Out Crochet Squares

Each time I make a crochet blanket that’s lots of squares, I have great fun laying them all out. Once I have more than a few squares, I do it over and over, each time adding a handful more of newly stitched squares. I think I had another row to go at this point, but I couldn’t wait to see what was going on.

Crochet baby blanket. Circles in squares.

Sewing Crochet Squares & Running Out of Yarn

I had to be quite boring with the construction. I had next to no grey wool left. I sewed the crocheted squares together with a whip stitch as I reckoned this wouldn’t use as much of the remaining yarn as crocheting them. I also stuck to a very plain border.

I jumped online to try and order another ball or two, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Sold out! So the border had to remain plain. In an attempt to add some interest, a couple of rows were Back Loop Only. Thinking about it now, I could’ve done some post stitches or something. Not that that would have been much better. I wanted to have a proper, fancypants border. 🙁

I got one ball of each colour for the inner circles and thought six balls would be enough for the main colour. Note to self: get eight balls. Eight balls next time!

I’m finding it increasingly difficult to take new and interesting pictures of blankets. They all end up draped on the same two chairs in the same locations!

Circle in square crochet blanket. Free pattern.

I can tell you that I never spot wires, plug sockets and other such things in Pinterest pictures. They jump out a mile in all my photo’s no matter how hard I try to avoid them.

Photoshop! We used to have a very early version of Photoshop (not that I knew how to use it) on the old Mac but the Mac choked to death on carpet fluff. Be mindful of computers when getting new carpet!

Bright crochet baby blanket. Crochet circles in squares.

A Made Up Crochet Pattern

I made up the pattern, although I know many similar ones exist. I’m afraid to say I have not written it down yet. Sooo at some point in the near future, I will come back with a post about how I made the squares. I did some experimenting with starting the rows, as I wasn’t happy with a messy 3-chain start. I think it’d be interesting to do some comparisons, etc., but it’ll have to wait until another day.

Anyway, I must go and wake up the little one, he fell asleep in the car on the way home from food shopping. He didn’t even wake up when I moved him to the sofa. Silly boy has been up since 5.40am.

I’ve linked up with Crafting is my Therapy. A place for sharing crafting blog posts!

Birthday

May 9, 2016March 2, 2026crochet, sewing23 Comments

A Birthday Weekend

I’ve had a week filled with lovely birthday things. I’ve been out for dinner/lunch twice, no! three times. I’ve had lots of awesome presents, and there has been gorgeous weather. Smashin’.

I got my hair cut off too, so when I went out to dinner on Saturday night (The Five Bells in Clyst Hydon- very nice) I felt all new and swooshy. I didn’t feel so new and swooshy when we went out for lunch on Sunday (The Rock Inn on Dartmoor). A roast dinner sorted me out but crikey, I felt rough yesterday.

A New Granny Square Blanket

I also finished a colourful granny square blanket, which I’m really pleased with. I especially love the border, which uses the same scalloped edging as my granny shawl crochet pattern. This blanket is all Stylecraft Special dk.

Sewing Little Bags and Purses

Other things I managed to finish last week were two little bag/purse type things. One is for my unimpressive collection of barely used knitting needles, and the other is for keeping small projects in so I can take it out and about.
I used the fabric I bought in Totnes shops during the Easter hols. They both need pressing again because I made a very lacklustre job of it.

Sewing A Dress

I had all my sewing laid out on the table. I’ve made a half-hearted pledge to take part in Me Made May. Since last week, I’ve worn handmade things already, and I made a dress! I’ll take pictures of the dress before the end of May, I’m sure.

More Crochet Granny Stitches

Another work in progress is a new granny shawl. I’m doing a variation of my granny shawl just to play around. I’m using Drops Baby Merino. I went on a Drops spending frenzy last weekend. They had a sale at Woolwarehouse so I went a bit bonkers.

See! Drops yarn. I have an idea.

More Drops. I cannot wait to start this, Cherry Heart’s Victoria shawl. I have bought the puff stitch pattern, it’s printed, and I’m ready to start any second.

Birthday Presents

Some lovely presents were received. I got a bunch of fat quarters from my mother-in-law. She went to a quilting shop in Bovey Tracey. I know about this shop, but I’ve not been. It’s supposed to be good.

I got lots of fab books. Looking forward to getting stuck into those…

I got these bowls too. I got loads of stuff, I won’t show it all, but needless to say it’s all good gear. One of my favourites is the drawing from the photo at the top. It’s by my friend, who is an artist and graphic designer. It’s a picture of me doing my crochet! I guess I should frame it, I think it’s beautiful, but then so is the subject matter, obvs.

Craft Blog Club

And then the week before last, I got this wonderful bundle of stuff from Samantha at createitsamantha.co.uk. We took part in the #craftblogclub spring clean challenge on twitter. Essentially, it was a craft stash swap.

It was such a lovely surprise to open up the parcel and have lots of delightful things tumble out. The Power Ranger didn’t come with my new stuff; Three year old thought I should take a picture of it. I have some ideas of what I might do (not including the Power Ranger). I’m looking forward to playing around in the next week or two.

I love getting birthday flowers!

Anyway, I’m off. Got a house to tidy and a child to entertain. Can’t watch A Bug’s Life all day. Actually, we did sit down and watch the local secondary school do a live Q&A with Tim Peak on the International Space Station a couple of hours ago (via the internet). I thought it was interesting but Three year old only managed five minutes before going off to look at a Lego book.

A Touch of Spice with a Pompom Edge.

March 14, 2016March 1, 2026blanket, crochet, free pattern36 Comments

Crochet Pompom Edging

I think a crochet pompom edging is one of my favourite types of blanket borders, so far. This is a cosy blanket just for me!

It’s a real thrill because most of my finished crochet blankets tend to make me feel a bit “meh” after I’ve finished them. It’s usually to do with them not ending up how they looked in my head, so they get abandoned, or I give them away. Not this time!

The main crochet stitch used in this blanket is the Stacked Shells section from Cherry Heart’s Spice of Life blanket. Sandra herself did the same thing, and I liked it even more than the Spice of Life Blanket [here’s my SoL]. I’ve totally copied the idea! It’s called A Touch of Spice, and I really love it.

A Touch of Spice Blanket

Last year, I bought a pile of Stylecraft Life DK, thinking I was going to make a Rustic Lace Square blanket. I’m still undecided about the Rustic Lace Square with this particular yarn, though. Some of the crochet blankets I’ve seen are exquisitely beautiful, but they look cottony and fine, not woolly and wintery. They’re lacey. I’m not sure this is the yarn for that crochet project. However, I’ve still got loads of Stylecraft Life left so…

Stacked shells with a crochet pompom edging

A Bobbly Pompom Border

The bobbly crochet pompoms are my absolute favourite bit. I love the red, and I just think they’re fabulous. I was super proud of them because I made up the crochet pattern myself.

I’d found a couple of crochet patterns and tutorials that had really faffy ways of crocheting pompoms, which I just couldn’t be bothered to do. I did try. Every pompom took an age, and it would have taken a lifetime to go round the whole blanket. My reaction to that was to come up with my own cheat pompom that takes half the time to crochet.

Spice of Life inspired Stacked Shells crochet blanket.

Bobbly Crochet Pompom Edging

Before I share the pattern (below), let’s take a look at the instructions for how to crochet a bobble. I have used UK terms, but a UK treble crochet is a US double crochet. Super simple to translate.

5tgr = treble crochet 5 together. Here are the instructions for a crochet bobble ie 4tgr:
Yarn over (YO), insert hook in stitch, YO, pull up a loop, 3 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 2 loops on hook.
YO & insert into st, YO, pull up a loop, 4 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 3 loops on hook.
YO & insert into st, YO, pull up a loop, 5 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 4 loops on hook.
YO & insert into st, YO, pull up a loop, 6 loops on hook. YO, pull through 2 loops, 5 loops on hook.
YO & pull through the last 5 loops.

Gosh, that’s tricky to write down, that’s for sure!

Crochet PomPom Edging Pattern

This pompom edging is worked into a foundation of plain stitches that you’ll have already worked. I crocheted this pompom edging onto a round of UK treble stitches / US double crochet stitches. I continued to use the same colour.

Round 1: With right side of blanket facing, *Ch7, 5tgr in 4th ch from hook, ch1, sl st into bottom of bobble, ch3, skip 3 sts of blanket edging, and sl st into next st; rep from * around.

I’ve broken it down with a few pictures below:

How to make a crochet pompom edging. photo Tutorial.

Crochet Pompom Edging: Step By Step

Step1: Chain 7.
Step 2: Beginning the 5tr bobble.
Step 3: Before pulling through the last 5 loops on the hook.

A photo tutorial for a crochet bobble edge.

Step 4: A finished crochet bobble.
Step 5: Slip stitch into bottom of the cluster (original 4th ch from hook.)
Step 6: Chain 3.

Step 7: Miss 3 stitches. Slip stitch into the 4th chain.
Repeat all the way around. Fasten off, sew in ends and admire your new crochet pompom edging.

My Spice of Life inspired crochet blanket.. Except this has a crochet pompom edging

A Lovely Blanket with a Crochet Pompom Edging

Amazingly, for me, I blocked this crochet blanket. I pinned it directly onto the carpet because I don’t have any spongy foam blocking boards. It doesn’t seem to have ruined the carpet.

To block my blanket, I sprayed it lightly with water and left it overnight. By morning, it was dry (It was near the radiator). I have draped myself in my cuddly new blanket every evening since I finished it last week. It’s lovely.

Anyway, I think I’m sewing stuff next. Maybe some Jedi robes for the boys, slightly different to usual. And I’ve dug out some paper piecing hexies, which is a very old, ongoing project.

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Crochet Circles in a Square Blanket

February 5, 2016March 1, 2026blanket, crochet, free pattern26 Comments

Circle Centre Granny Squares

A few days ago, I had a nice comment about one of my crochet blankets that I’d used as a backdrop for another project. Every once in a while, the blanket just happens to appear here on the blog somewhere, usually in the background of a random photo.

Check out a very jolly, colourful version of this granny square blanket, here

I decided that I should write a post about one of my most-used and loved crochet blankets. I don’t have much I want to share this week, so it’s an ideal opportunity to talk about something I made in the past.

I’ve taken lots of pictures of the blanket, and I will just bung them up as I blather on about how I made it.

Crochet Inspiration

I remember the pretty picture that inspired me to make it. I haven’t seen the picture for a couple of years and now that I see it again… well, it’s miles better than mine… poo. The blog the original pattern is from is called Crochet with Raymond, and it’s still active (although the crocheter doesn’t write new content anymore). It’s still up and has lots of wonderful woolly things. It has been such a beautiful source of creative inspiration.

I crocheted this granny square blanket three years ago. I was very pregnant with my youngest boy, and I really wanted it to be finished by the time he arrived. I remember staring at it whilst I was in labour, feeling annoyed that the border still had two rows to go.

Granny Blanket Colours

I chose colours similar to the original. I used Stylecraft Special DK because that is what they sell at the shop down the road. I use Stylecraft for the majority of my projects, but I want to try something new – any suggestions?

There are ten yarn colours: Lipstick, Fondant, Pomegranate, Cloud, Sherbet, Aster, Meadow, Clematis, Wisteria and Cream. Lots of balls of cream were used, maybe 8 or 9, and then I think it was just one of each of the others, but I really don’t remember.

Granny Squares That Start With a Circle

I didn’t use an existing pattern; I made it up. It was easy enough to do. I’ll quickly write down what I think I did (using UK terms, so a “tr” is a US “dc”). FYI, I used a 4mm hook for the DK yarn.

I’m sharing the pattern for the granny circles here. They were turned into squares while working a Join As You Go method. I’ll share more about that in just a moment.

Granny Circle Pattern

Ch4 and join with a slip stitch.
Round 1: Ch4 (counts as 1tr and 1ch), *1tr into ring, ch1; repeat from* 10 more times, join with a slip stitch to the 3rd ch. – [12 tr stitches].
Fasten off (I think fastening off and then joining the new colour with a slip stitch looks much better than other ways of colour changing – didn’t do that here though).

Round 2: Join new colour. Ch2, 1htr, ch1, *tr2together in each chain space, ch1; repeat around from* around, join with a slip stitch to the top of the first 2ch. Fasten off. – [12 tr together].

Round 3: Join new colour. Ch3 (counts as first stitch). 2tr into first chain space, ch1, *3tr into next chain space, ch1; repeat from* around, join with a slip stitch to the top of the first 3ch. – [12 granny clusters].

Join As You Go Crochet Technique

Once I had lots of crochet granny circles, I crocheted them all together using Attic 24’s method of Joining As You Go. It creates a lovely, decorative pattern in the corners, which is one of my favourite things about this granny blanket.

Using this method still means lots of ends to sew in, and I’ve since sacrificed pretty corners in favour of the Continuous Join method, which stops all the dreaded ends as you have just two (one at the beginning, one at the end).

Looking at the picture above, I see that the stitches in the corners of each square have triple trebles rather than trebles.

Anyway, I think that’s it. The granny stripe border is just going round and round with clusters, and the final round is a variation of the bobble edge from Attic 24 (thanks again!), but with slip stitches between them. There are either 2 or 3 slip stitches between each bobble.

Mostly it’s screwed up on the sofa and the children wrap themselves in it whilst they watch the telly after school!

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My Spice of Life Crochet Blanket.

February 2, 2016March 1, 2026blanket, crochet, free pattern23 Comments

The Spice of Life Blanket

I started this colourful crochet blanket three Sundays ago. I sewed in the last end of the Spice of Life blanket on Saturday night.

I didn’t know where this crochet blanket would end up for the first few days of making. Then all of a sudden I knew it would make a great birthday present for my Nanna and Grandad. They both had their 90th birthdays in January, and on Sunday, we had a lovely family birthday party.

Yarn For My Crochet Blanket

As is often the case, Stylecraft Special DK is the yarn I used. I loved the Spice of Life Rico colours that you can buy as a pack for making the blanket, but I couldn’t justify spending any more money on yarny things when I had loads of yarn stashed away already.

I only needed to buy a couple of balls to make up the blanket’s colour palette, which consisted of: Cloud blue, Storm blue, Cream, Lemon, Mocha, Lipstick, Emperor, Fondant, Shrimp, Kelly Green, Lobelia, Petrol and Spring Green.

I looked at the original Spice of Life blanket and matched the colours as closely as I could. My eyes tell me that the Stylecraft colours are a lot more vivid and saturated than the Rico yarn (not that I’ve seen the Rico in real life).

I downloaded the free crochet pattern from Ravelry via Cherry Heart (one of my favourite blogs) and off I went. There were a couple of occasions where I went wrong, so had to do some unravelling. There were a couple of other mistakes that got left in. I am hoping that they go unnoticed.

I had to crochet in the car on the way to Southampton (about 2 hours from home). And I added the final row of the border at my mum’s house. I tried several times to get a good photo of the finished blanket, but the weather was grey to the extreme. Rainy, cloudy skies and one hundred year old windows did not help. Neither did dodgy camera skills.

A Finished Crochet Blanket!

The blanket is actually one of the brightest crochet projects I’ve ever made. I’m glad it was a present for some old people, their eyes are rubbish.

Take a look at a painting of my hands as they sew in the ends of the Spice of Life blanket. My artist friend is painting my portrait! I’m finding the process lots of fun. I’ve said she can paint me any way she wants. Unfortunately, that means she wants me to take my clothes off. That certainly isn’t going to happen in February. Too cold. Anyway, more about that another day.

This week, I’m trying out some very basic knitting next. Hone my skills and all that.

A Super Quick Granny Square Blanket.

January 18, 2016March 1, 2026blanket, crochet23 Comments

This is my Itchy Fingers granny blanket. Between more purposeful crafting projects, I still want to have some crochet on the go. Otherwise, I get itchy fingers. Also, I want to experiment with what yarn I’ve got and see if clashy colours go together, stuff like that.

Crochet Granny Square Blanket for Itchy Fingers.

I’ve got a ridiculous amount of Stylecraft Special DK hidden in the cupboard under the stairs. I am determined to get my yarn stash down to whatever might be seen as an acceptable minimum. Just enough so I don’t get totally embarrassed when people see the mounds of yarn stuffed in that small space.

Clashing Colours For Granny Squares

I’ve no idea why I had half these colours in my yarn stash. Some of the shades are particularly lurid. Or maybe it’s just the specific combo I’ve forced them into. Denim and Plum look lovely most of the time, but I have managed to recreate the colour palette of a 1970’s vomitty shag pile. Actually, I quite like it.

Turn Your Granny Squares

I turned the granny square after each round to prevent the twist that sometimes occurs in granny squares.

I am not sure how I feel about mixing wrong sides with right. I am quite discriminating about the wrong side of crochet being on display, but people who don’t crochet don’t seem to notice that there are right/wrong sides. I guess I should let that particular misgiving go. It didn’t look so bad.

The full list of yarn colours, should you wish to make your own version of this granny blanket (not sure why you would) are as follows:

Pomegranate, Aspen, Spice, Denim, Apricot, Plum and Gold.

It has gone back in the cupboard under the stairs, where it takes up more room than the yarn did.

Next up, I’m crocheting a basic granny triangle shawl. I finished it on Friday, but I need to sort out the crochet pattern and write it down.

A wool shawl is super duper warm in this freezing weather. This morning I woke up to a flurry of “likes” on Instagram for the finished granny shawl. It brought a smile to my tired 5.40 am face.