First thing - all my gratitude to Dedri Uys for designing this and giving such a piece of herself to those of us who have done this and will continue to pass on our Sophie knowledge and our love of crochet.

If you are undecided about whether to do this or not - DO IT! Pick out some colors and just go for it. If you’re not sure of your color choices, then leave longer tails and don’t weave them in until each round is completed. Trust me. That being said… here we go!

I chose to make this Sophie in a light worsted weight (20 knitted sts by label) that I really like. It is my first time using this yarn and it feels fantastic. The twist is not too tight, but the yarn still has nice give. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 the tightest, I crochet at about a 7. I just didn’t have the buckle with this wool as Dedri mentions. I am sure I would see it had I chosen a cotton - which I may very well do in the future. !!!Update on this section of notes: I did get some warping at about Part 12 or so, but I solved it with blocking. I also think I probably crochet at about a 5 on the tightness scale. I can (and do) change this and can be consistent. Most important thing? Be consistent as you can and try hard not to stop a Sophie session in the middle of round as your gauge may change.
(Overnight, not for drinks or snacks mind you! Don’t forget to eat and stay hydrated. You laugh - I’m serious! Haha!)

Here are her measurements (gauge) using a 5mm hook - a personal fave, my clover soft touch. All are approximate:

Part 1 ….. 17cm or 6 5/8”
Part 3 ….. 48cm or 19”
Part 4 ….. 56cm or 22” (unblocked)
Part 6 ….. 32” (almost! one more row yet - 53)
(as of 30 Mar 15)
Part 7 ….. 99cm or 39” wet blocked - almost dry
(as of 07 Apr 15)
Part 9 ….. 117cm or 46” (unblocked)
(as of 26 Apr 15)
Part 14 … 60” (blocked, sorry no cm)
(as of 22 May 15)
Part 18 … 65” Completed and blocked as of 28 Jun 15

Updates on hook sizes:

1. As of round 64, using Furls candy shop hooks - 5.5mm on the ‘short’ sides (all those sc’s) and keeping with the 5mm on the long sides. I will do this as long as I need to so she doesn’t buckle.
2. As of round 68, went back to 5mm or H hook for all stitches (my Amour is the favorite!), being careful to watch tension on the sc’s. Not suffering curling issues, nor any sections appearing ‘too loose.’ It seems the little bit of sc work in 5.5 on those few rounds helped a bit. Again - I am using 100% wool which has so much more ease than cotton, and to some extent, acrylic and blends. It is a most forgiving yarn and looks wonderful in my opinion. It also has a nice ‘hand.’
3. Rounds 92-96 done with 5.5 (see Butterfly notes below)
4. As of round 97, returned to a 5, being careful to not get too tight with stitches. I hold the blanket differently as she is getting big and therefore, heavier. It pulls a bit, even with the bulk in my lap. I tried crocheting on a table, but it felt awkward.

Butterfly Band notes: I chose to do these first few rows with a 5.5 mm hook (Addi Swing - I don’t like it as much as my Amour but it is nice and smooth) to allow the blanket the ease (breathing room) to stretch out and be square. After blocking, I think I could have gotten by with my 5mm. I also did the final two rows in color. I did not want such a wide band of the sand heather, and I wanted the long bodies of the butterflies to be in color. I must have done a short corner of this section about ten times to pick my stitch alterations and colors. I think this gives the appearance of a long pink body butterfly with quatrefoil wings vs. six loops.

I will be adding some similar colors as of Part 10 as I am running out of some colors (eggplant) and I’m not very fond of the lilac (98) colorway or the Melon. I got a richer color of Lavender (89) in the Galway, and Antique Rose.

Updates on color selections:
I ended up liking the Melon and here is why - it is a warmer color, closer to an orange-y peach and I like the balance it provides against the cooler shades. The only other non-pink/purple/wines are the cherry and the yellow. Also, the antique rose was a nice alternative to the bordeaux colorway - they are close, but one is a bit muted.

At the completion of this project, I promise to list the order of the colors I used and a close approximation of the amounts. amounts closely approximate Dedri’s amounts for the Stonewashed XL version.

The photos are posted most recent to earliest, and the best color representations are in the closeups and the last few photos of Sophie on the queen sized bed. The sand heather is not as dark as it appears in most of the pictures. Attempts to color correct result in poor colors elsewhere in the snaps.

As of finish date listed, I still have not decided if I will be adding the additional squares, or some stripes if at all. Nor have I decided on the border.

As promised, here are the colors I used: Kelley’s Colors for Sophie’s Universe (in Plymouth Galway Worsted)

1. Hot Neon Yellow
2. Palest Pink
3. Melon
4. Bordeaux
5. Sand Heather
6. Sand H.
7. Sand
8. Sand
9. Apple Green
10. Eggplant
11. Bordeaux
12. Bordeaux
13. Cherry Red
14. Sand
15. Sand
16. H. Neon Yellow
17. Pale Pink
18. Melon
19. Cherry R.
20. Bordeaux
21. Turtle Heather
22. Aegean Sea
23. Sand
24. Sand
25. Sand
26. Turtle
27. Pale Pink
28. Turtle H.
29. Melon
30. Bordeaux
31. Lavender
32. Sand
33. A. Sea
34. HN Yellow
35. Pale Pink
36. Melon
37. Sand
38. Apple G.
39. Yellow
40. Bordeaux
41. Bordeaux
42. Lavender
43. Lavender
44. Lavender
45. Sand
46. Sand
47. Sand
48. Turtle H.
49. Yellow
50. Pale Pink
51. Melon
52. Cherry R.
53. Eggplant
54. Pink Bubblegum
55. Lavender
56. Sand
57. Sand
58. Turtle
59. Melon
60. Lavender
61. Sand
62. P. Bubblegum
63. Bordeaux
64. Eggplant
65. Apple
66. Yellow
67. Sand
68. Sand
69. Sand
70. Sea
71. Turtle
72. Sand
73. Bubblegum
74. Bordeaux
75. Melon
76. Pale Pink
77. Sand-Ant. Rose
78. Lavender
79. Bordeaux-Eggplant
80. Cherry
81. Turtle
82. Yellow
83. Turtle
84. Sea
85. (Bordeaux)-Sand Note colors in ()
86. (Melon)-A. Rose indicate planned color by
87. Pale Pink scheme. Actual color used
88. Yellow follows after dash.
89. Turtle
90. (Cherry)-Lavender
91. Sand Do all in BPs
92. Sand
93. Sand
94. Sand
95. (Sand) - Pink butterfly bodies
96. Sand – Ant. Rose
97. Sand - Lavender
98. (Cherry) – Eggplant Do all in BPs
99. Turtle leaves
100. (Eggplant) - Cherry tulips
101. (Bubblegum) - Sand
102. (Bubblegum) - Sand
103. Bordeaux
104. Melon
105. Olive
106. Sand Diamonds Base Rnd 1
107. (Cherry) - Sea Diamonds 1
108. (Lavender) – Pink Diamonds Base Rnd 2
109. (Pale Pink)- Dusty Rose Diamonds Base Rnd 3
110. (Cherry) – Sea Diamonds 2
111. (Melon) – Raspberry
112. (Bordeaux) - Lavender
113. Eggplant

All optional flowers were done in Eggplant.