Flower Blanket Ta-daah!!

Hellooo my dear lovelies!

Do you remember me? Remotely at least?
I know i pulled off the disappearing act and this time i have no solid excuse of being off blogging. Actually i have many excuses :P Firstly i was off to my home town to attend a cousin's wedding. And then my helper's mom was not well and she had to take 2 weeks off to attend to her. Then i just got used to NOT blogging. Then i was suffering from bloggers block and then I was very close to finishing a special blanket. Then we had the festival of lights - Diwali. Then it was raining and i could not get good clicks. So finally we had a few spells of sunshine and here i am, with my latest Pink and Purple Flower Blanket.. Here it goes..Ready or  not...

Ta-daah!!!!

This blanket was such a fun project. Mainly because it was not repetitive. I used 11 square patterns in all, 3 shades each of pink and purple. Every square was a mini project of sorts. I did not get the color combinations right at the first go and there were lot of failed attempts. But still i was not sure how the end result would be. It was after i joined all the squares that i looked back and smiled at my little princess. She was thrilled to bits and has been using this pink and purple blankie ever since :)
 

The most difficult question after finishing such a blanket it what to do for the border. I thought a lot and tried a few with shells and picots. But finally settled on the border from the book Around the Crochet Borders by Edie Eckman. This is a wonderful must have book because it tells you how to get the perfect corners for your blanket and also because it has charts which i find it so easy to read and hook from :)

The weather is pretty gloomy so i had to go to the garden to get some decent shots of the blanket.

and i am so happy i did that as the outdoor light brings such a added dimension to this picture.

 

My unwilling model who refused to have any decent clicks with me.

What a bribe of candy did to her :P

So for all my dear blogger friends who encourage me and my little creative space so much with their kind and appreciative words, here are a few additional details :

Yarn used : The trusted Stylecraft Special DK in the following shades.

Pink shades -
1. Candy Floss - 1130
2. Fondant - 1241
3. Pomegranate - 1083

Purple shades -
1.Cream - 1005
2.Clematis - 1390
3.Magenta - 1084 

Pattern for the squares :

From the book 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton - Waterlily - 16, Wisteria - 113, Granny in the middle - 117, Criss Cross - 137, Solid Willow- 189 and from the blog Annie's Place with the link HERE.

From the Internet ( Free Patterns ) - Sunburst Granny from HERE, African Flower Square from HERE and a heavily modified Circle of Friends Square from HERE

Hook : 4.0 mm

Joining technique : SC with the RS held together using Pomegranate color yarn.

Border : # 121 from Around the Corner Crochet Borders by Edie Eckman.

Me : Totally satisfied, feeling very very girlie with the new blanket and so happy that i could use my free time to do something for my little precious girl!!


Phew!!! That's one load off my chest. Today i sleep in peace. Everday i used to think that i did not blog/post today. Neither did i follow and comment on all the lovely projects that you guys have been doing. I am going to start back tracking and visiting my lovely fellow bloggers space. With a cup of warm tea :)

Here's wishing you all a happy evening/day depending on which part of the world you are.
Do write in as it makes me feel so happy to hear from you, seriously!! 

Love,
xxx

Baby girl Blanket - WIP

Hello my dear friends!
Howz u guys, has the summer sun hit you guys yet? Its been on and off here, with bouts of rain in between.. But I am waiting for the proper summer to start and it is surprising that it hasn't yet started here.

My little girl suddenly has red rashes all over her body and i don't know what it is because of. Two visits to the doctor have not exactly been useful as the rashes go in the morning and come back later in the night. She is very uncomfortable and keeps scratching the rashes and is generally irritated at home. The doctor has adviced to stay indoors and that is proving very difficult for a outdoor person like her. Lots of games and craft at home is happening at home front and even more messy times. But seeing rashes all over her body come and go is making me a bit frustrated and am waiting to see her back to her normal self. Kids falling ill is the worse i feel, until they get well you can't do much literally as the mind keeps hovering in thoughts about them..

I haven't been crafting as much as i hoped, not as the miss is unwell, but mainly because of the little devil known as Pinterest. I have spent so much time browsing for a granny square pattern. My close friend is expecting a girl baby end of next month and i want to gift her a crochet blanket. So i had a few specifications for this blanket :

** had to be pink **
** not many holes as in a plain granny square **
** blocks and not a continuous project like a ripple **

So began the hunt...loads of hours spent in searching and trying sample squares.
Then finally i hit jackpot with my book - 200 crochet blocks for blankets by Jan Eaton.
This is a gem of a book, a must have for every blanket maker! I have picked a mix of 2 squares for this and you can see below the start of my blanket.

The layout is "Eastern Promise". I am using the corner square and square no:35 for this instead of the one recommended in this layout.

I am not planning on making the full size by more of a 6x8 squares as it is for a baby after all. Can you make out that i have started at the centre??

I so love this block. It is a three hooks block and it is a bit confusing at first, but after 1 or 2 blocks it becomes more easy. In general each block takes about 30-40 mins at a stretch and that does not include weaving in the ends.. I am happy it is a small blanket :)

 

Have been a good girl and decided to weave in after 16 squares. I am having way too much fun with this project. Just the right about of green and brown to give it some soul and some color. Else it is a pink riot all the way!

 Also, i went ahead and for the first time purchased the famous overlay mandala from CAROCreated HERE.

Will be having a crack at this soon, as soon as my house is alseep and i have all the time and space for myself!

Till then, happy crafting my lovely friends and do write in and let me know if you have every purchased paid patterns and did you feel it was worth it?

Love,
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