crochet clamshell blanket: colors

How do you decide on what order to use your colors?

crochet clamshell blanket colorsI like to try to evenly space dark and light colors, cool and warm colors, and colors in the same family, but that’s not always easy!  Each color in this blanket (except for the purple that’s for the border) has now been used once, and it’s time to decide whether to repeat this color pattern or do like I did in the as-we-go stripey blanket and mix them up while still trying to follow those “rules.”  Decisions, decisions.

This is a very enjoyable pattern; it looks great, is easy to memorize, isn’t too hard on the hands, works up relatively quickly, and is totally unique!

Will update with more soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

new tutorial up: no-chain starting double crochet

Starting a new row of dc (US terms) with a ch3?  Try this instead, I bet you won’t do the ch3 ever again!  This is what I’m using for my crochet clamshell blanket!

no chain starting double crochet step 7

click here

 

You can find the page any time in the menu bar!

Thanks for stopping by!

crochet clamshell blanket: begin!

Finally, something crochet to share with you!  I’ve started a blanket using the clamshell tutorial from Cherry Hart (click here for free pattern).  This has been on the to-do list literally for years!

clamshell blanket beginnings
So far, so good.  I changed a couple things in the pattern: I did a foundation sc rather than a chain and row of sc, and I’m using a different stitch when the pattern says to ch 3 at the beginning of a row, just to make it look neater.  The pattern is not hard to memorize and is easy to work.

Here’s the color palette I’m working with:
clamshell blanket palette
It’s KnitPicks’ Brava Sport yarn, which is really soft. I think the dark purple will be for a border.

Well that’s all for now.  There’ll be an update soon!  Thanks for stopping by!

book review: “Easter Knits” by Arne & Carlos

arne & carlos easter knits book review

This book has been on my shelf for a while, and the eggs aren’t newly made, either.  There’s a post about them from over a year ago, but I wanted to revisit this book in the spirit of Easter!

Inside, there are patterns for a variety of eggs, balls, and bunny plushies, all of which are adorable, and none of them look TOO difficult to make.  The patterns are clear and include easy-to-follow charts.  Once you get the basic structure of the eggs and balls down, you could even invent your own colorwork patterns if you’re feeling adventurous!

Working on DPNs can be a pain and some people avoid them at all costs, but these were easier than other things I’ve used DPNs for, somehow.  The eggs worked up relatively quickly, considering the ungainly nature of DPNs.  I suppose you could use the magic loop method if you wanted to use circulars instead.

Easter Knits by Arne & Carlos book review

I used DK weight acrylic yarn, but I’m sure you could adapt the patterns to make bigger or smaller eggs if you so desire.  An easter egg/ball cushion would be really cool!

Do a Google search for “Arne & Carlos” and you’ll come up with a few places to purchase this book (as well as their other books, which are also great!), so the price may be different depending on what country you’re in, but it’s not gonna break the bank.  I recommend it!

Thanks for stopping by!  I have some crochet stuff coming up, I promise!  The yarn for a couple of projects is in the mail headed to me right now!