10-16-2016

I am up to time 48:00 on the week 1 video (last two dc rounds) with the Paint Box color pack. I’m really not liking the shrimp color and I wish I had substituted something else before I got too far, but now I’m committed.

10-17-2016

OK, maybe I should be committed! I’ve decided to switch colors to a palette that matches my living room. See the photo with the wall hanging I used for color inspiration. I am going to roughly follow the Paint Box color sequence with the following substitutions from my stash (the Attic24 Cozy Stripes pack):

Claret = Pomegranate
Gold = Shrimp
Meadow/Khaki = Bluebell
Copper = Saffron
Camel = Aspen
Spice = Violet

What to do with the first four squares that I have already finished in the Paint Box colorway? I think I’ll try using them for the center of an Around the Bases afghan. I don’t want to make two of the same pattern blankets and I like stitch samplers for their educational value. I’ll just do as many “innings” of the AtB until I run out of yarn from the yarn pack. What I’ll do with the finished AtB blanket (with its colors that won’t match any room in my house) is another question. :)

This also messes up my plans to make a Cozy Giant Granny Square blanket like Chuntering’s in the cozy pack colors unless I buy more yarn, but c’est la vie.

10-19-2016

Week 1 done in the new colors (picture added of the Winnie’s Flower square -- I’ve done four). I did a few different things with colors for rows than what the pattern suggested and I like it. Blocking now.

10-20-2016

Week 2 started. My colors:

Join: Khaki (dark green)
1,2: Khaki
3,4: Copper (medium red)
5: Spice (orangey)
6,7: Copper
8: Camel

10-24-2016

Week 2 finished (the pictures with the four squares and the border -- I took it outside to photograph since it matches the fall leaves so well). While I wait for the next part I’ll finish my Virus Blanket WIP and maybe start the AtB if I have time.

10-27-2016

Week 3 part is out! Since last week, I not only had time to finish the Virus Blanket, I also did Inning 1 of AtB, and Part 1 of the new #CrochetGirlGang CAL. Phew!

10-30-2016

Finished the small squares for week 3 (picture added) -- they were a lot of fun to do!. My #CrochetGirlGang CAL squares are hogging my blocking materials but I should be able to block tomorrow and join on Tuesday.

11-09-2016

Finished part 4. I’m regretting the Spice color a bit (the orange around the “bricks”). In the future, when doing a complicated pattern, I think I’ll stick to two or three shades each of two colors and a neutral for aesthetic reasons. But I wanted to pick up a lot of colors from the inspiration wallhanging this time. (Not to mention I wouldn’t have had enough stash yarn to do that with this.) Some of the original colorways people have chosen that they’ve posted on the Facebook page are really, really gorgeous!

11-10-2016

Part 5 came out today and it’s a lovely square (need 4). I will work out particular colors as I go, but I wanted to note to myself that the last two rows should be gold in order to fit in with my color plan for the outer parts.

I am toying with the idea of making more of the small squares from Week 3 and putting them around the outside corner squares (and making the mesh panels smaller since I don’t really like the look of the bars). Not sure I can get the stitch counts to work out though since the corner squares will have 38 stitches and the small squares are 20 each, or 22 if you count the inner corner spaces.

11-15-2016

Part 5, the 4 Eileen squares, is done.

11-20-2016

Finished the first panel for Part 6 this morning. I decided to just go with the pattern as written.

12-02-2016

All of the panels are done for Parts 6 & 7 and some of them are joined. I need more Gold! I saved enough to do at least one Alana square because those look so pretty and I didn’t want to wait to try making one. (As expected, the panels were my least favorite part, but I plodded through them.)

I placed the order today with Wool Warehouse for more skeins of several of the colors. Now I’ll have too much but hopefully I’ll do a cushion or two to match for the living room couch. I also bought a fabric steamer so I can try blocking that way -- I’m tired of waiting days for my squares to dry.

12-06-2016

I finished the first Part 8, Alana square and this one was my favorite, along with the small squares from Week 3. I’ll be able to do the other three up to the final, Gold rounds. I also have plenty to keep me busy while waiting for the yarn with the 2 (!) #CrochetGirlGang CAL blankets I’m doing at the same time as this Whispers.

12-09-2016

The final part of the pattern was released yesterday (the border) and it’s very pretty.

One of the CALers on Facebook is doing all five rows of her border at the same time. I am going to try that so I get a preview of the final look ASAP so I can adjust if necessary.

12-14-2016

My yarn order from Wool Warehouse arrived today. No more excuse not to finish this blanket! :)

12-21-2016

Part 8 is done! Joining the outer part to the inner worked out perfectly. Now just the border to complete. I will be a little sad when this blanket is done, it has been a joy.

12-22-2016

I did the first two rows of the border today in Camel. I’m thinking Meadow, Copper, Meadow, Claret for the rest.

01-01-2017

Argh! I’m soooooo close to being done with this, but I decided to do two sections of camel in the border and came up a bit short. I ordered another skein from LoveCrochet on 12/26 but they lost my order! They got me with their Winter Sale and I ordered some other yarn too but I’ll probably just cancel the whole thing since some of the colors I wanted are sold out now and I don’t want a partial project’s worth of yarn.

I did the last two rows of the border as well as far as I could so it should only take an hour or so to finish this off. Sigh.

01-09-2017

Woo hoo! My Camel yarn and my new 4.0 mm hook arrived today. Nothing standing in the way of finishing this project. :)

01-10-2017

All done! I love how this blanket came out and I love how well it goes in my living room. I will certainly be making more of Helen Shrimpton’s patterns and hopefully participating in her future Crochet-a-Longs.