17 Jul 2016

Last Dance on the Beach Crochet Along Week 13

And onto the joining!!!!

Can you believe we are here already???!!!!

This week I'm sharing the blogpost of Esther....aka video Esther (It's All In a Nutshell). The lady with the beautiful hands and ever so soothing voice which keeps you totally calm when you want to scream swear words and stamp on your square in frustration ;-)

Esther has kept us on the straight and narrow throughout this journey and I know for sure that she has  been a lifeline to many with her clear instructions. You can read her blogpost here!

The zipper joining method isn't the easiest or the quickest joining methods. But! It gives, I think, the nicest finish. And after all the hard work we have put in while making our squares, doesn't your blanket deserve a beautiful finish?

I've used this method a few times now so am fairly proficient with the process. I can work fairly loosely so managed to join my blanket with a 4.5mm hook. My advice is to go up at least one hook size and keep checking your tension. If it looks a little tight then pull it out and use a bigger hook. Your finished blanket will thank you in the end and your squares will lie nice and flat. 


Your vertical joins will look something like this!
TOP TIP! 
When making the first vertical join you will have lots of fairly loose squares that twist very easily. To counter this I used some safety pin type stitch markers and joined the loose squares at the corners to hold them securely. (I forgot to take a photo....sorry!)


Next you do the horizontal joins and that's it! 
NB! I don't weave in my ends at this point. I find it neater to weave them into the completed border.


So here we have my Dance Around the Beach Huts blanket. I laid it out on the carpet to take a photo and boy! it's really tricky to get the lines straight!!!
That and I had to work quickly before a kitty decided to make a bed on my blanket ;-)


My muted and very sophisticated all grey blanket.


This blanket will live in my lounge. I'm about to buy a new sofa and chair and this colour way will work perfectly. I'm delighted that the single colour really makes the textures sing!


And here is my Dance Around the Beach Huts blanket in it's bright bright glory!
This blanket will live in my guest bedroom....or possibly my bedroom. I haven't quite decided as yet!
Again it was made with Scheepjes Merino Soft in the following colours:

600 Malevich
632 Degas
635 Matisse
644 Duerer
645 Van Eyck
629 Botticelli
646 Miro
617 Cezanne
621 Picasso
620 Munch

UK peeps can buy the yarn from Wool Warehouse (this isn't an affiliate link....I just love this store!!!) Overseas peeps can check out the Scheepjes site here for their nearest stockists :-)

Ok so now I'm ready to make the border! The final stretch! 
I have to admit that I'll be a little sad once this journey is at an end. I have loved every minute of it!

Til next time x

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10 Jul 2016

Last Dance on the Beach Crochet Along Week 12

Yay! We have reached the final square!!!
I think these 12 weeks have just flown by.
I wonderful mix of square designs. Some more challenging than others but I have loved following everyones progress in the FaceBook groups.
So it is down to beautiful and funny as hell Tammy from Canadutch to show us the final design!
You can read her blog post about her square design here.


I have a confession to make here.....this is my favourite square.
I adored making this when I was pattern testing. I love the effect it gives. I struggled a bit with the gauge but that just gave me a valid excuse to make it more times ;-)


I used a 5.5mm hook (I know!!! What happened there??!!!!) with Scheepjes Merino Soft.


I love these squares :-)))
They remind me of the sand when the tide is out. Oh they do make me smile!!!

So now we have all of our squares! My Dance Around the Beach Huts squares are also all made and blocked. Just I've been too darn busy to take photos :-/
Next time we will start the joining the process. Exciting stuff!!!

Til next time x

post signature

Last Dance on the Beach Crochet Along Week 12

Yay! We have reached the final square!!!
I think these 12 weeks have just flown by.
I wonderful mix of square designs. Some more challenging than others but I have loved following everyones progress in the FaceBook groups.
So it is down to beautiful and funny as hell Tammy from Canadutch to show us the final design!
You can read her blog post about her square design here.


I have a confession to make here.....this is my favourite square.
I adored making this when I was pattern testing. I love the effect it gives. I struggled a bit with the gauge but that just gave me a valid excuse to make it more times ;-)


I used a 5.5mm hook (I know!!! What happened there??!!!!) with Scheepjes Merino Soft.


I love these squares :-)))
They remind me of the sand when the tide is out. Oh they do make me smile!!!

So now we have all of our squares! My Dance Around the Beach Huts squares are also all made and blocked. Just I've been too darn busy to take photos :-/
Next time we will start the joining the process. Exciting stuff!!!

Til next time x

post signature

Last Dance on the Beach Crochet Along Week 12

Yay! We have reached the final square!!!
I think these 12 weeks have just flown by.
I wonderful mix of square designs. Some more challenging than others but I have loved following everyones progress in the FaceBook groups.
So it is down to beautiful and funny as hell Tammy from Canadutch to show us the final design!
You can read her blog post about her square design here.


I have a confession to make here.....this is my favourite square.
I adored making this when I was pattern testing. I love the effect it gives. I struggled a bit with the gauge but that just gave me a valid excuse to make it more times ;-)


I used a 5.5mm hook (I know!!! What happened there??!!!!) with Scheepjes Merino Soft.


I love these squares :-)))
They remind me of the sand when the tide is out. Oh they do make me smile!!!

So now we have all of our squares! My Dance Around the Beach Huts squares are also all made and blocked. Just I've been too darn busy to take photos :-/
Next time we will start the joining the process. Exciting stuff!!!

Til next time x

post signature

8 Jul 2016

Last Dance on the Beach Crochet Along Week 11

Evening!
Ok this post is a week late. Sorry!
I've bee busy. Damn life getting in the way!!!

So this week's square has been designed by the lovely, funny and super talented Annelies from Vicarno. Her blog is a delight and crammed full of stunning designs! You can read about the inspiration for her square design here.


It's a lovely design! Bobbles made in a slightly different way. 
For this square I used a 4.5mm hook with Scheepjes Merino Soft.



I love the texture! It's a lovely rhythmic square to make that I whizzed through very quickly.


4 beautifully squishy merino soft squares!!!

So now we have only 1 square design left!
I wonder what it will be??? ;-)

Til next time x

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