The Tale of the Dainty Dots Blanket #2 - The Big Reveal

Dear readers of this blog, dear accidental passersby, I hereby proudly present to you…
The Dainty Dots Blanket!

Did you know…

- It took me one and a half year to complete? (Although to be fair I didn’t touch it for most part of last year.)
- It weighs almost four kilograms/8.8 lbs?
- Its measurements are appr. 2 x 2.1 m (appr. 6.6 x 6.9 feet)
- I’m really happy with my trick for turning a circle into a solid square?
- That I’m going to share this trick with you in my next post?
- The blues and greys are from a brandless cotton I bought at a Thai market?
- I sticked to only two rules while arranging the colours? (Namely: don’t join two squares which have the same colour and don’t join two dark colours.)
- I love big borders?

Regarding the latter: As you can see I decided on a big border for this blanket. It consist of three parts: the solid one and then two parts lacy fans. It was a last minute choice, but I couldn't be happier with it. Though the border does somewhat outshine the rest of the blanket. ;-) I based the lacy part loosely on a pattern from a Japanese crochet book. Sorry I do not have more information about it. But basically you could adapt any pattern for a multiple row of fans, and use it as a border.

The basis for this blanket were the big blue and grey cotton yarn cakes. This yarn wasn't available in white at the time, so for that I used Rico Creative Cotton. Which is quite a bit heavier than the Thai cotton, but it worked.



At the start I took a fair amount of time to work out a pattern for circle-turned-into-a-solid-square. I wanted the circle stay round, but in most patterns the circle becomes fairly square-ish when turned into a solid square. I'm quite pleased with my solution. Although the effect is a bit lessened here because the white is heavier than the coloured yarn. Ah well, can't have it all.

The funny (or stupid) thing is, when I unearthed it from its huge basket I was surpised how near-to-finishing it was. I was already halfway joining the motifs. With a big project like this I like to work for some hours in a row. I can't just steal thirty minutes here or there, like with a less substantial project. So, in the end it did all boil down to lack of time. But I enjoyed the finishing process thoroughly.



Anyway, I hope you like it! Don't forget, next up on this blog is the pattern for the Dainty Dots Squares. (The squares, not the border, sorry!)

Thank you so much for visiting & have a lovely day.

Three Reasons to Love Loops

One

The wonderful texture they create....

Two

They make you want to hug your work...

Three

Their promise of many more loops to come...

Because for sure... Loops are addictive. So expect more to see of them here in the future. ;-)

Thanks for your kind visit. Have a lovely day!

Instacrochet

Although I have been using Instagram for quite a while now, I don't have a public account. Or rather, I didn't - because earlier this week I switched the button from private to public. I feel this comes with an obligation to go out for an arty cappuccino more often and to spot all kinds of quirky details in the wild... Anything to feed my account, right?! *Ahem*

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that it might take me a while to get used to the fact that it's now a public account. But without joking: I'm tremendously excited about the prospect of having another creative outlet. I'm also tremendously anxious that - with one unfortunate swipe on my tablet (they happen) - I will publish an uncensored picture. ;-) In general I will - from now on - post about works in progress on Instagram where as on my blog I will focus on finished works. You'll find yarn on both!

Anyway! Here's a taste of the older pictures you will find on my Instagram. There are quite a few older pictures that you might have seen popping up on this blog before, but there are a whole bunch of new ones too. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Feel welcome to visit me  over at my Instagram account! (With a huge sense for originality called byHaafner.) I now officially declare it open for the public. *champagne*

Thanks for being here - I hope you have a most lovely day! And don't forget to...


♦♦♦

The hexagon blanket is ready...

... And it has become quite snuggly and soft. I want to thank you for your kind comments when I posted about this blanket-in-progress. In this post I'll try to answer the questions I got about it.
So here is the big reveal! I hope you like it and I apologize in advance for the photo overkill, haha.

In case you're interested in some practicalities...






















THE YARN
The offwhite I used for the joining and the edging is Rico Creative Cotton
(because I had lots of it in my stack because of another wip);
all the other colours are Drops Paris cotton. First time I used this, and I have to say, I like its fluffiness. If you visited here before you might remember this picture (made when I started to work on this blanket)...



THE HEXAGON PATTERN
Alas, it's not mine, so I can't share it here. I used motive #1 from a Dutch Marie Claire Idées book with 250 crochet stitches (which is btw a great resource book, I thrifted it for a one euro).
But fret not! You can find a very similar pattern here and another one here. And of course Jeannette's Pinterest board about hexagons is a great source of inspiration!

I didn't have a pattern for the half hexagons, I had to improvise. (And was kind of crushed when I realised that I actually needed two different half hexagons - see the pics below. It's all about knowing your maths. LOL.)

JOINING THE HEXAGONS
What I can happily share is how I joined the hexagons, about which I received some questions. It's a simple join-as-you-go method. You'll just double crochet around your first hexagon without chain stitches in between the double crochet! When joining a square, you'll make a chain stitch in between every 4 dc of the first square. The remaining sides of your second square (the ones that are not joined in that round) only consist of double crochet (without chain stitches, just like all the sides of your first square). When joining a third square, the sides are joined with a slipstitch between every 4 dc again, et cetera. Mmm, I hope this makes sense... Please let me know if it doesn't. Or if it does. ;-)

THE BORDER
The border is an adapted version of this pattern.
I left out the last row of chains, instead I improvised two other rows.



HOOK SIZES
The hexagons and joining are made with a 5 mm hook.
For the first row of dc of the border I also used a 5 mm hook,
for the second row a 4,5 mm hook, to prevent it from becoming ruffled.
The 3rd row is again made with a 5 mm hook, all the other border rows are hooked with a 4,5 mm hook. (It's trial and error really to find a balance between a too tight or a ruffled border.)

THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE
That's about it I guess! In case you have questions about the pattern - and you think I might be able to help ;-) - please let me know.

Thanks for paying a visit & have a lovely day! Meanwhile I'll be sailing the North Sea Channel, doing some Spanish dancing in Barcelona, picking mushrooms and berries in Norway, taking a coffee break on my patio and checking my emails more regularly. ;-)

♦♦♦

Another blanket finished! (Only three more to go)

Wow - I'm quite pleased, another blanket is ready!
And oooh, I do really enjoy the tactile sensation of this one...
- You can probably tell by the gigantic number of pictures. ;-)

It's not a huge throw, but fairly heavy nevertheless...
I crocheted quite a few potholders with this pattern,
and liked it so much I wanted to make a throw with it as well.
So I did! (But slightly adapted the original potholder pattern.)

I will (promiss) share the adapted pattern here,
and aiming to do so within a week.

I used a 5 mm hook and all the powder pink yarn I had in my stash of this brand. (They don't have this colour any more, so I had to stop after 20 squares.)
I single crocheted the squares together (back sides),
and added a simple border - maybe too simple?
That's all!

^ This last photo shows you what the backside looks like (on the left)
BTW, I do apologise for the photo overkill. ;-)
♦♦♦
Thanks for dropping by - much appreciated! - and have a lovely, crafty, relaxing weekend.
♦♦♦

Wabi Sabi or The Art of the Missing Potholder

Well yes, obviously, while pinning them to the wall,
It did feel more logical if I had crocheted one more of these potholders.
But there you are. The art of imperfection.
Slightly enhanced by the fact that I didn't block them.

I immediately fell for the pattern when I came across it online.
You can find it on this lovely blog: What you sow.
Recommended!

In case you'd like to give it a go, I slightly adapted the pattern.
American terminology:
Instead of making 2 clusters of 3 dc each
(to make the corners of the flower square),
I made 2 clusters of 3 trebles (tr) each.
(For me this worked better because it gives a sharper corner.)
Also I single crocheted (sc) along the two ends of the rows
before I half doubled crocheted (hdc) the coloured edge.
I mainly used Rico Creative Cotton and a 4 mm hook.






















It's an easy and very satifying pattern.
Before you know it, you've got a stack of these cuties.
So off you go to What you sow!

♦♦♦Enjoy your weekend.♦♦♦
(During which I hope to finally make the pictures of my finished blanket...)

Ready? Check. Pastels? Check.

In September last year I already blogged about this cushion,
and yesterday I finally finished it.
*sigh*
It's vaguely inspired by the pastel cups (a gift from a friend)
and the thrifted Sphinx plates.

As you can see I'm still looking for a place
in my house where this newest addition can live.

It's the simplest of patterns: a straightforward granny stripe.
Front and back are identical and crocheted together with a single crochet.
I added an extra round of single crochet for a more finished look.























Have a wonderful (crafty?) day!
♦♦♦♦♦

Procrastination Equals A New Doily

The hexagon throw I recently blogged about is nearly finished.

Nearly...
I have to make all the half hexagons now - to get an even border.

Which I find more of a hassle than crocheting the hexagons.
A good excuse to make another doily...

Have a wonderful day.

♦♦♦

♦ PS. Give away coming up next week, so stay in touch. ;-) ♦

Potholders to be & a new button...

Just a quick post,
to show you something that isn't even finished yet.
But I'm so glad with this pattern
(from a Japanese crochet book I received earlier this week)
that I can't wait...
- Even though the light is too gloomy to make a decent picture.
I simply love how the bobble stitch in this pattern works out.

Unfortunately the book didn't give a pattern for the back,
I will make something simple for that.
Hope to show you the result tomorrow soon, after I blocked them.

Oh, yes, before I forget:
I finally added a followers button (on the right, below).
So feel welcome to press it... :-)

Let's hope this one doesn't take a year...

Of all things one can crochet,
I think I like throws the best.
But oh..., they can take so very long to finish.
(Well, at least it costs me ages, but I'm often amazed
by the speed of some crocheters... Respect!)

I learned to crochet just over one year ago.
And finished three throws in that period.
& a fourth one is still work in progress, since last spring,
and I really want to finish it.

Nevertheless, I started to work on a fifth one very recently,

and hopefully I will be able to finish this one within a couple of weeks.
Should be possible, since I make it with a 5 mm hook,
and the pattern has a lot of gaps. ;-)

So, here is a sneak peek.

Hope to show you the end result soon.

Almost weekend...
♦ Enjoy! ♦

For a friend

Last week I crocheted this buttonless waistcoat for a friend of mine.
(She is always cold & this vest is quite warm...)

Actually, I don't often crochet cloths.
I prefer to make other stuff. (Doilies, throws!)
However, I'm not completely unsatisfied the way this vest came out.
It was really quick to make, I used
a chunky acrylic yarn and a 7 mm crochet hook.

I didn't have a pattern, but tried it on myself as I went along.

A simple double crochet, but I pulled the yarn

only through the first loop of the previous row, hence the ridges.

I started with the front and then crocheted along to the back.

So the whole thing is made out of one piece.

Still, I had to join the back & front under the arm holes.
So I made a row of single crochet on both the back and front where they should be joined, under the arm holes.
For the actual joining I turned the vest turned inside out and simply slipstitched along both rows of single crochet (outside loops only).
(Erh, not sure if I'm being helpful here at all...)

Do you have a favourite type of crochet project? ♥ Love to hear!

PS.
Yay! It fits my friend and she likes it - or so she claims. ;-)