PATTERN: Queen Bargello Wave Bedspread AND Bargello Blocks Throw!

Hi everyone! 

Obligatory acknowledgement here that I've been terrible at blogging consistently again, along with vague intention to do better in the future... 

This year has just been bananas for everyone! Hot tip: International Student Exchange and Regional Human Resources Consulting are NOT relaxing industries to work in during a global pandemic, 0/10 do not recommend. The jobs themselves are fascinating and interesting, but after the constant tsunamis of feelings coming at me for months on end, the idea of doing anything constructive other than staring at the wall has been too much to contemplate.

However, I have made progress on my goal of getting written/designed patterns actually up there and published this year, and today is one of those red letter days!

In August, I finally published (to no announcement and fanfare) my Impossible Hexagon Sweater and Cardigan patterns, which I'll blog about another day (but here are the links to the patterns if you want to have a look:

Impossible Hexagon Sweater

Impossible Hexagon Cardigan)

But, to today's news!

After the success of our Bargello Wave Baby Blanket, we decided to try and figure out how to make a bigger version that didn't lean even harder to the right, and by goodness we cracked it! Today I can share with you not one, but TWO larger bargello blanket patterns! Both of these test beauties were made by my partner in crochet crime Anne, and I'm sure you'll agree she's done an outstanding job.

BARGELLO BLOCKS THROW

Pattern Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bargello-blocks-throw 

This design is worked corner to corner using a unique block method, along with the classic bargello style of maintaining the same block height whilst changing the width of each column of blocks. This is what creates the wave effect! Anne took her test blanket to the beach and my jaw literally dropped when the photos came in.

QUEEN BARGELLO WAVE BEDSPREAD

Pattern Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/queen-bargello-wave-bedspread

The bedspread is a massive 210cm square (unblocked) to fit your queen size bed, and is made with larger blocks and two strands of yarn held together. 

If you love both of these patterns, for the next two weeks 

(until Saturday 21 November), 

put both patterns in your Ravelry cart and use the code

UNDULATE

to get a discount! 

BAWJ2019 - Weeks 31-35!

Hi everyone!

Back again, as promised, with Squares 31 to 35 of the BAWJ2019! 

Have you seen our 2019 Advent Meditation CAL? It starts on 1 December 2019, and the first episode is already recorded, tested and waiting for you!

If you want to join in on BAWJ2019 and see the squares we've been working over the year, check out Julie's Facebookgroup, blog and Ravelry Board for more information.

WEEK 31 - OCTOBER LOVE by AURORA SUOMINEN

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/october-love

Yarn colours: Sage, Rose, Copper 

Oh, it was so nice to have a relatively simple pattern this week! The clean lines made it the perfect opportunity to show off the Stylecraft Batik Elements in the centre section. 

WEEK 32 - RINSKE SQUARE by SUSAN CARLSON

Pattern: https://feltedbutton.com/blogs/new-felted-button-blog/free-crochet-pattern-rinske-square

Yarn colours: Olive (no longer available), Plum and Coral

I enjoyed playing with the colours on this incredible textured square. It uses a lot of yarn, with rows layered over one another! Felted Button writes beautifully clear patterns that are easy to follow. 

Look at all that texture!

WEEK 33 - FLORA & FAUNA by SANDRA ENG

Pattern: https://mobiusgirldesign.com/flora-fauna-free-crochet-block-pattern/

Yarn colours: Gold, Raspberry, Mint, Silver

I'm not sure where the fauna are in this square, but I do love it! It worked up pretty square, and the textures are lovely. 

These rich colours in the Stylecraft Batik made the design sing, in my opinion :) 

WEEK 34 - AMAYA by MELISSA GREEN

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/amaya-3

Yarn colours: Lupin, Cream

As advertised, this square worked up quickly and easily. I followed the colour change directions in the pattern, and it came out quite nicely! 

WEEK 35 - ARBORETUM SQUARE by SONYA BLACKSTONE

Pattern: https://blackstone-designs.com/arboretum-square/

Yarn colours: Mint, Plum, Heather

Hoo boy. No amount of blocking is going for make this look straight. I don't know how Julie did it in her test version!

The techniques were interesting to learn, and the design is fascinating but I think I'd need to change directions each row to get it to any semblance of straight. Overall it is square though!

PHEW. Next instalment: Squares 36-40! 

BAWJ2019 - Weeks 26-30!

Hi everyone!

It's time for a BAWJ2019 update - I'm up to date, but to keep you all sane I'll still keep reporting on 5 squares at a time. This time, so that I don't get caught up in other things, I've scheduled 3 posts over the next week or two :D We're nearly finished, then my Christmas project will be joining them up into blankets to donate to charity. 

Have you seen our 2019 Advent Meditation CAL? It starts on 1 December 2019, and the first episode is already recorded, tested and waiting for you!

If you want to join in on BAWJ2019 and see the squares we've been working over the year, check out Julie's Facebookgroup, blog and Ravelry Board for more information.

WEEK 26 - CANADA SQUARE by TANIA LEIS

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/canada-square

Yarn colours: Cherry, Cream and Sulfur

This was a very clever square - each row of stitches represented a different province of Canada!

While sampler things are not always my favourite style of work, it was fun to work lots of different stitches, and learn a bit more about Canadian geography. 

The little maple leaves in the corner are so clever! 


WEEK 27 - PATRIOTIC PLAID SQUARE by CYLINDA MATHEWS

Pattern: https://www.crochetmemories.com/blog/patriotic-plaid-square/

Yarn colours: Storm, Coral and Gold

The repeating stitch pattern was quite cute, but it irritated me that the square struggled to be, well, square. I'm sure peer pressure will sort it out once the blankets are put together, but it's always a risk with layered post stitches. 

I also found the pattern quite complicated to follow, and there was a reasonable amount of frogging and cursing. Once I got the hang of it, it was fine though!

WEEK 28 - REBIRTH by MAGDALENE LEE

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rebirth-2

Yarn colours: Plum, Sage, Gold and Cream

Despite the popcorns, I loved this square! The design is just gorgeous, the instructions were straightforward and clear, and it sits pretty much square and flat!

I love the detail of the spikes around the central circle. The colour options for this square were endless, but I'm very happy with my choice of the cream as a background colour including the popcorn texture, and highlighting the surface crochet with bright colours.

WEEK 29 - BLOOMING LILY OF THE WATER by JOANITA THERON

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/blooming-lily-of-the-water-square

Yarn colours: Plum, Iron, Coral, Rose, Cherry, Graphite

You know me, I love a square square. The way that the lily petals are secured to the square pulls each side into the middle... 

But, the texture and design of the centre circle is lovely - I wonder if I could use this motif in another way? 

WEEK 30 - KINNEDY NICHELLE AFGHAN SQUARE by PAM KNIGHTON-HAENER

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/kinnedy-nichelle-afghan-square

Yarn colours: Teal, Cream, Heather, Platinum, Mint, Gold

Another beautifully written and designed square by Pam Knighton-Haener! The textures are simply lovely, and such clear instructions for a relatively complicated pattern. 

That daisy in the centre is so cute, and my only complaint is the number of ends after changing colour every single row :P 

PHEW. Coming in a few days: Squares 30-35! 

A Prayer-ish Blanket

Hi everyone!

I've been working on super secret projects recently - terrible for blogging and instagram! But I can share one of them with you today :) 

What do you call the agnostic version of a prayer blanket? 

A friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with cancer. I know that cancer is never expected, but this one has been particularly aggressive and particularly fast-moving in someone too young and healthy. The news hit and I felt what I think everyone around feels in this situation - what on earth can I do? 

Anne sadly has some experience in this area so I asked her - what is the most helpful thing that I could do to make my friend feel supported and loved through the horribleness that is cancer treatment? She said, make him a blanket to keep warm during radiotherapy sessions. It needed to be soft and machine washable. 

I had less than a week before we were going on holidays for two weeks, so with a smoking hook I tore through my Special DK stash for the brightest colours, and used this Ocean Breeze pattern and a 5mm hook for speed and texture! 24 squares made the perfect sized blanket, and it will be useful once he's better as a throw for the couch, or a single bed blanket. Fortunately Allie spent a weekend with her grandmother which gave me some extra assistance-free hours to watch movies and crochet as fast as humanly possible. 

Inspired by fellow Stylecraft Blogstar Polly Plum's Arabella CAL  I used Stylecraft Wondersoft Merrygoround in Rainbow and a continuous sc join in the back loops to put the squares together! It saved so many ends - I can never go back to the old crosshatch style of joining square blankets again! A border in the same Rainbow yarn finished it off beautifully. 

To get the same number of stitches on each side, the "squares" ended up more rectangular which meant that when they came together it wasn't very square! I did decide that the wavy lines were more of a design feature than a flaw though - what do you think? 

My mum, amazing as she is, whipped up a super quick drawstring bag for the blanket to be kept in, for schlepping back and forth to the hospital every day. 

Good luck friend - may you be warm and cured <3 

BAWJ 2019 - Weeks 21-25!

Hi everyone!

I'm back! Kiah has had the rosters from hell, work has been extremely busy with outbound interviews, negotiations with people overseas and finalising the inbound paperwork, and Allie has changed her naptimes so there's been yet another adjustment period. I've still been crocheting a bit, written up my new sweater/cardigan pattern (that'll come out a bit later in the year, when it's less hot in the Northern Hemisphere!) and, well, the BAWJ2019 fell a little behind. 

But! Now I am caught up with the BAWJ2019! As I have (gulp) 10 squares to report on, I'll do 5 today and 5 next week :) 

If you want to join in on BAWJ2019, check out Julie's Facebookgroup, blog and Ravelry Board for more information.

WEEK 21 - SYDNEY by SHELLEY HUSBAND

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sydney 

Yarn colours: Iron, Cream, Rose 

The colour possibilities with this block were pretty much endless - I did like using the Batik Elements for the central flower. Plus, a square with the same name as my home town! 

The method for squaring up the circle looks very different and effective, but I can't for the life of me make it sit flat. Hopefully the peer pressure of being in a blanket will smooth things out. 

It's almost square, just bulging a bit at the sides from the central circle. 


WEEK 22 - AURORA by VANESSA PHILLIPS

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/aurora-41

Yarn colours: Mercury, Cream, Coral, Old Gold, Lupin

I loooove the centre circle of this square! It looks so cool, and is centred neatly on the rest of the square rather than being wonky! It did end up a bit looser than the outer rows though, so isn't quite flat.

However, something about the squaring up rows made the square twist a little bit, so it doesn't look very... square, by itself. That's ok though, being in a blanket will beat it into shape ;) 

WEEK 23 - ENCOMPASS ME by HEATHER GIBBS

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/encompass-me-afghan-square

Yarn colours: Teal, Lupin, Cream

The textures of this square were lovely - not overdone, but just enough to give it some more interest. The centre circle does look like a compass! 

The squaring up didn't come up quite straight, but not in a way that bothered me. At least the final square is relatively square! 

WEEK 24 - FROSTBLOOM by SHAN SEVCIK 

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/frostbloom-12-afghan-square

Yarn colours: Olive, Raspberry, Cream

Lacy and textured? Sign me up! The additional "ruffle" around the centre square was fun to work and looks very effective :) 

A well-written square (and doing a multi-designer CAL reeeeally emphasises how good well-written squares are!).

WEEK 25 - BERRYLICIOUS by MARIE SEGARES

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/berrylicious-square

Yarn colours: Graphite, Pistachio, Cherry 

I'm not sold on the name for this one - 12 "berrieds" around the middle does not make berrylicious! The tensions were all off for this one, I had to force it into a square to be able to take a picture at all. I'm not sure if I needed to change hooks for the v-stitch section. 

The square also developed a noticeable twist as I went along, which as you will know by now is not my favourite. Overall, it was ok to work but not my favourite. 

PHEW. Coming next week: Squares 26-30! And I will try and keep up more regularly from now on for my sanity as well as yours! 

BAWJ2019 - Weeks 18, 19 and 20!

Hey everyone,

Aargh! Time is running away from me at an alarming rate - I feel like I'm barely keeping up. We had all the family in town for Allie's first  birthday (!!) last weekend and it's going to take me a bit longer to recover from all the excitement and cooking. 

Allie got her own little chocolate cake to munch and mash - as you can see, she had a LOT of fun (and needed a bath directly afterwards!).

I still haven't convinced the little flea to stand still long enough to model cardigans for me, plus we are having a weird resurgence of summer at the moment and everyone is back in tshirts! Climate change is so weird and annoying, I want winter and snuggly blankets and hot tea! 

I have managed to squeeze a bit of crochet in here and there, mostly getting up to date with the BAWJ. Without further ado, here's my take on Weeks 18, 19 and 20!

If you want to join in on BAWJ2019, check out Julie's Facebookgroup, blog and Ravelry Board for more information.


WEEK 18 - SIMBELMYNË by POLLY PLUM

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/simbelmyne

Yarn colours: All of them (mini balls and scraps from the bottom of the box...)

Ugh I love Polly Plum designs. She makes art with yarn, and writes so clearly that making her afghan squares is almost effortless. Plus, she is an all round excellent person and one of our fellow Stylecraft Blogstars!

This one is another masterpiece, with a square that ends up both solid and lacy, somehow. It is almost identical front and back (which is great in an afghan) and all in all was a pleasure to crochet!  

WEEK 19 - HAYTON BLOCK by MELISSA GREEN

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hayton-block

Yarn colours: Coral, Silver, Krypton

Again, this square was a lot of fun to crochet. Working longer stitches into the row below, playing with back post stitches, and having the variety of a square design (most of these squares start as circles)... 

However, as you can see it came out quite wonky - it must need some hefty blocking. I'll ignore that for the moment and see if peer pressure will do the job for me in the finished blanket, but I remain slightly dubious for now. Plus, it is quite on the large size. Maybe I'll have one blanket for enormous squares and one for less enormous ones?

WEEK 20 - BAWJ2019 DREAM SQUARE by INEKE MOOIJENKIND

Pattern: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bawj2019-dream-square

Yarn colours: Raspberry, Teal, Phosphorus 

Two new stitches to learn in this square - the bead stitch and the folding sc/hdc/dc. Bead stitch seems to be a neater and less tedious version of the bullion stitch. The folding sc/hdc/dc makes a really cool loopy texture! See the little tunnel of teal stitches? 

I have heard a lot about Ineke's patterns but hadn't had the chance to make one yet - this one is making me very curious to find out more :D 

Phew, that's another three weeks done! I have three new patterns off with testers at the moment, maybe one day I'll get around to writing them up properly and publishing... how soon does Allie start daycare? 

What are you working on at the moment? Link me to your blog or facebook or insta!