Magic Carpet Mandala Blanket

Last week I finished a project I've been working on for nearly a year. I think I have to say that it's been the most enjoyable crochet item I've ever worked on, EVER. I've just loved the challenge, and whilst I love the therapeutic repetitive nature of some projects (the poncho in the previous post, for instance), I also appreciate projects when you're always learning something new and every round is different! There is such an immense amount of satisfaction at each stage.

The 'Magic Carpet Ride' Mandala Blanket was designed by the incredibly clever and talented Toni of Just Dunny Crochet. I've never tried to design a crochet pattern, but I'm sure even if I did, I could only DREAM of ever being able to come up with something like this. I think she's probably a genius, actually :-) Seriously, go and look at Toni's beautiful blanket designs- they will blow your mind.

This being an untested and unproven pattern, Angela from Get Knotted Yarn Craft and Martha from Martha's World of Crocheted Critters decided to set it up as a CAL ('Crochet A-Long') last April with members of the Creative Crochet Crew group on Facebook, with the aim of eventually coming up with a fully tested pattern using Toni's extensive notes, to eventually go on her blog and on Ravelry. Check out Martha's Magic Carpet journey too!

After a few weeks they invited me on board to help lead the CAL- something about my nerdy reputation for being able to spot mistakes in patterns and my attention to detail, I think. Or something. Anyway, I chipped in with my penn'uth every now and then, but I have to admit it was really Angela and Martha who did most of the hard work...

For my version I used good old Stylecraft Special DK, in a range of colours, very much with RED ('lipstick') as a theme, like Toni's original. One of my favourite parts of the blanket is the central mandala. The 16 little medallions around the edge were all worked and attached individually. A lot of work but SO worth it!

The aim of the pattern from here was to go from a circle to a square, via an octagon and 4 corners...

....then some piano keys, some crashing waves and a sunburst....

Until eventually the central square panel was done.

The magic word for me when making this blanket was to block, block, block. After each stage I blocked religiously before going on to the next bit. It really has helped to keep it square and now it's finished it has been so worth it as it sits flat and the corners are pretty much square.

The central panel is as far as the written proven pattern has gone, and it's now published in Toni's blog, if you want to make a start on making your own magic carpet!

The remainder of the pattern was adding two end panels with 8 large medallions on each side,

and crocheting around the lot to make a very large rectangle. These end panels will be added to the proven pattern in due course.

Here is the end result of my Magic Carpet blanket. I absolutely love how it turned out. It's got so big now (perhaps single bedspread size?) as you can imagine it's hard to photograph by a mere mortal. Hubby came to the rescue with his pro camera, photographic studio and expertise. But I still don't have a clue about where it will go in the house..... Hmm! Perhaps I'll have to redecorate a room to match...

The Unexpected Poncho

I was lucky enough to visit my mum and dad in Spain a couple of weeks ago. Of course I took my crochet 'WIP' ('work in progress') with me, but sadly could not get hold of the required 3.75mm hook that I needed for this particular WIP, for love nor money. So my lovely parents took pity on me and bought me a present of 6 skeins of this gorgeous stuff to satisfy my hooking needs during my visit :-)

It's from one of the Chinese bazaar-type 'todo' ('everything') shops that you seem to get everywhere in Spain- fascinating places that sell literally everything including yarn.

Off to Ravelry I went to search for something I could make. For some time now I've had a hankering to make a poncho. I think the last time I made/wore one was when I was about 8 or 9, back in the 70s.  I LOVE Ravelry for looking for patterns. You can search by yarn weight, project name, yardage, yarn fibre, anything you like. If you are a crocheter or knitter and don't know about Ravelry, stop what you're doing RIGHT now, go to the site immediately and register- you will not regret it.

When I found this pattern, the 'Summer Sunset Poncho', in colours remarkably similar to the yarn I had, with a spookily similar name ('Batik'), I knew that this had to be the one. The link takes you to a lovely Hungarian blog, 'Annás Kertje' ('Anna's Garden'). The pattern is a chart- which doesn't bother me at all, but for those who prefer written instructions, someone in one of the Ravelry projects (look for the blue poncho) has very helpfully written them out.

This was so enjoyable to make! All in V stitch (except the final shell round)- so you're crocheting into spaces and not stitches, you can whizz along at a rate of knots. And the lovely colour changing yarn- just gorgeous to work with! Didn't take long, this one. A week, maybe, on and off.

Here's the result- my 'unexpected poncho' in our garden back home.....went a bit mad with the camera (and that cat managed to do his usual photobombing thing again...)

Paul McCartney Waistcoat Ta-dah!!

I've been up to my neck in taxes today, so thought what better way to relax than write up my crochet blog. Well. 96 tiny granny squares later, assembling and finishing completed, the waistcoat I mentioned in this earlier post is finished and it's certainly been a labour of love. Didn't quite get it finished for Christmas, but pretty close! Ooh, have to say I've really been enjoying working with all this lovely colour....

And seeing how the little squares improve after a touch of blocking NEVER ceases to amaze me! (I told you I should get out more)

At times our lounge looked like a (very cosy) production line. Piles of completed and blocked squares on the tray with the next batch of 10 underway, each one sitting on top of the colour which will be the next round. Another batch pinned and sprayed and drying in front of the fire... with Lucky the cat overseeing to make sure I was doing it all properly (think he got a bit bored though).

I mentioned in my earlier post that I was very much inspired by Amanda's beautiful waistcoat in her Amjaylou blog.I don't think I would even have attempted to make my own if I had not seen hers! I even copied Amanda's choice of yarn (the gorgeous Drops Baby Merino) but with different colours. But when I experimented with the actual granny square pattern, I found I very much liked the look of the small, tight dinky square that you get when you leave out all the chain spaces. I especially loved the look of it for a man's garment. The only issue with this is that because the squares were that bit smaller, in terms of the actual assembly of the waistcoat and the finishing details, I pretty much had to do my own thing. Also I didn't use Amanda's join-as-you-go method. I couldn't really join-them-as-I-went, as I knew the size of the squares would mean a different assembly, so I just made them all first and joined afterwards. I'll put some notes at the end of this post explaining exactly what I did, in case anyone is interested!

Oh....and that issue of the shoulder seam. Aaaargh!!! As Amanda pointed out, the front panels of Paul's waistcoat were 3 squares wide, and they seemed somehow to be joined to only 2 squares at the back. I too could not work out how this was done, though I spent a good few hours trying..... ah well. 2-square-wide front panels it is. Life's too short to worry about exact copies, that's what I say.

Anyway, the ta-dah moment. Here it is in all its glory, as modelled by my wonderful son Joseph. He has some style, do you agree?

And what's more, he loves it and thinks it's the coolest thing- and that's what makes it all worthwhile for me!

That cat always seems to want to get in on the action...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PATTERN AND ASSEMBLY NOTES

So, here are some notes on my version of the waistcoat. The 'man's version', if you like :-) 

1. Make 96 x 5-round granny squares, using 4-ply (fingering) yarn and a 2.5mm hook. There's some info on the yarn and my colour choices in my earlier post. Start with 4 ch joined in a ring, and NOTE: do not use any chain spaces, ANYWHERE in the coloured rounds, not even in the corners! In the final grey round of each square, put 2 ch in each corner.

2. Join the squares thus. The back panel is 6 squares wide by 8 squares long, the 2 front panels are each 2 squares wide and 8 squares long. The side panels are each 2 wide by 4 long. This pic might help to see how it's constructed more clearly:

As already mentioned I used whipstitch (both loops) to join. Basically put 2 squares together with the right sides facing outwards, start at the top right hand corner, and away you go. I find the simplest way to do it is to sew long strips of squares, and then sew the strips together.

3. Armholes: I finished these off using Amanda's method- ie, dc (UK term) into each stitch around, with 2 x tr2tog (UK term) into each right angle where 3 squares meet.

4. Ribbed border: I did mine slightly narrower than Amanda's (as the waistcoat was already an extra square long, I didn't want to add too much to the length). Also, I tried several different methods for the actual rib until I found one that worked with my waistcoat, and this is basically what I did:

-Using a hook one size larger (I used 3mm), starting at the bottom left hand side as you are looking at the waistcoat, join with a sl st into the 2 ch corner space. 

-Chain for the number of stitches to get the width that you want the ribbed border to be (in my case 5), plus one extra. 

-dc (UK term) into the 2nd ch from hook and into the remaining 4 ch.

-When you reach the square, sl st into the NEXT 2 trs along. Turn. DO NOT CH 1.

-dc along the row of 5 dcs that you just made, but in the middle 3 stitches, go into the BACK LOOP only. Going into the back loop is what creates the ridged effect. (If you like you can go into the back loop of ALL the stitches, but I found it gave a neater edge to do the first and last stitches as normal, and also makes them easier to 'find' when you're beginning and ending a row!)

-ch 1 (does not count as stitch), turn, and dc into each of the 5 dcs from the previous row, going into the back loop of the middle 3, as before. 

-Simply repeat the last 3 steps until you get round to the other side! Here's my edge in more detail...

5. Front edging and button holes: Because my squares are smaller, I had to make this bit slightly wider so the waistcoat would button up properly. 

Row 1: Return to your 2.5mm hook. Starting at the bottom of the left hand side (as you are looking at the waistcoat), make a standing tr (UK term) into the first dc of the border and then into each of the remaining 4 dcs. Tr into the corner ch 2 of the square, and into each tr and corner space around. You can add an extra tr 2tog at each point where a square joins another square (as I did) if you find it's pulling a bit and not sitting properly. Tie off and cut yarn.

Row 2 (a): Make a standing tr at the same place as before (bottom of left hand side as you're looking at it)- into your last standing tr. This side is where your buttons will be (seeing as it's a man's garment!). Tr all the way up until you get past where the 3rd and 4th squares join, then tr into the first tr of the first cluster of 3 trs. Then make 2 htrs, 2dcs and a sl st. Finish off.

Row 2 (b): Right hand side- this is where your button holes will be. Join with a sl st into the corresponding stitch opposite the sl st you just did. Make 2 dcs, 2 htrs and 1 tr. Now for your button hole: ch 3, skip 3 stitches, then tr all the way down making buttonholes in a similar way where each square joins another square. There are 4 buttons on my version. Fasten off. Another close-up might help!

Sew the buttons on, and you're done! Hurrah!!

Granny Wheel Blanket for Baby Ellis

One day towards the end of August I got a request from a friend and colleague to make a colourful baby blanket for her soon-to-be new grandson, due in a few weeks. Having been working on a multi-coloured blanket for our sofa for nearly a year and it STILL was not finished, I knew what a challenge it'd be to have it ready on time, but I also knew that I'd love making it, so I readily agreed.

I decided to use the same granny wheel pattern I had been using for the aforementioned sofa blanket I'd been working on, which in turn had been inspired by this lovely one from My Bearpaw. I calculated that for a practical-sized baby blanket I would need 54 5-inch squares. My friend Nerys wanted some input into the blanket, so we agreed that I'd give the squares to her once completed, so she could sew them together.

I researched various sorts of yarns that might be suitable and ran them by Nerys. She chose Rico Baby Cotton Soft, a yarn I have never worked with before, but I'm so glad she did, as it's such a gorgeous beautifully soft yarn, with the feel of pure cotton but actually a 50% mix with acrylic- making it a very practical as well as beautiful option. I chose a mixture of lovely bright colours (lilac, melon, jeans, berry, purple, petrol, cardinal, blue, emerald, sky blue, yellow, lemon, lobster, light blue, silver and pistachio), along with 'snow white' for joining and the border. And set to work, armed with my 3.5mm hook and chart of randomised colours made with the wonderful Granny Squares Color Pattern Generator.

My only criticism of this yarn was that some of the colours were very hard to get hold of, and I notice that even since I've made this blanket, some of the colours have been discontinued. Come on Rico! Us crocheters love bright colours, and what better vehicle for vibrant bright colours than a baby yarn?

I hooked away on the squares at every available opportunity, and loved every colourful hooky moment of it, even at one point taking my yarn and hook with me to Ireland while visiting my parents! This baby blanket is very well travelled!! Finally all 54 squares were done. It was over to Nerys for the next bit, a quick lesson in sewing crocheted squares together, and I could have a break for a few days until it came back to me to do the border. What a lovely project this had turned out to be. Nerys loved being involved, too. She told me recently that she looked forward to coming home in the evening and getting stuck in to the sewing so much, that she was inspired to take up quilt-making!

Little Ellis Huw Morgan Jones was born on 28th September, and the blanket was all  finished in time for Granny's visit a couple of weeks later. We just had to have a little photo shoot here before the blanket was handed over though, showing it in all its colourful glory...

Nerys said all the family loved the blanket and thought it was a very special gift. I am so pleased!!

I've saved the best till last. You will be pushed to find anything so sweet, cute and funny ANYWHERE, I reckon ;-) Are you ready?

Here it comes......

Everybody, altogether now:

Awwwwwwwwwww!!!

Paul McCartney Waistcoat and Granny Square Science

Hello! And welcome to the first post of my new blog!

My son, having a very cool sense of style, a fan of the Beatles and most things 60s, has commissioned me to make this wonderfully retro and kitsch granny square waistcoat, as worn by Paul McCartney in the filming of A Magical Mystery Tour back in 1967.

Photo by Nigel Jarvis, 1967. Published by Daily Mail.

Very apt that my first post should be about the humble but iconic granny square, since it was one of the very first things I made when I learned how to crochet with my mum, only about 4 or 5 years after the photo of Macca was taken, I imagine. It's very possible he was still wearing the waistcoat back then when me and my mum were busy making that granny square blanket together!

So over to google I went to see if anyone else had tried to replicate the waistcoat and found a wonderful blog by Amjaylou who had done just that. Some beautifully detailed information on how she had made her fabulous version of the waistcoat after extensive research, from the assembly of photos to choosing of the yarn right down to the assembly. I also found a pattern by Vintage Visage, so I downloaded that too in my usual manner of leaving no stone unturned. This one differs slightly from Amjaylou's in that there are 3 squares instead of 2 at either side on the top front, and it's a little shorter. In both of these respects it's probably closer to the original design, though both are beautiful in their own right and Amjaylou's version is perhaps a more modern update of the original!

Having looked around at different yarn possibilities (the original waistcoat having been made from 4-ply (fingering weight) yarn), and eventually resigned myself to the fact that exact colour matches would be pretty much impossible, I decided to go with the Drops Baby Merino from Wool Warehouse as used by Amjaylou. The colours I chose are a little different from hers though...from the top, one ball each of light yellow, lime, vibrant green, light sky blue, lavender, electric blue, navy blue, old pink, heather, red and orange. 5 balls of grey for joining.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with my choice. There's a good balance of light, medium and dark. I've left out both the very pastel pinks and the vibrant pink because pink in general is really not my thing. But I couldn't resist the 'old pink' which I think tones in very well, and I do believe there's some pink in Macca's original. The grey I'm using for joining (same as Amjaylou's) is exactly the colour of school socks! Normally I'm very unconfident at putting colours together, but these seem to work well to my eyes. Perhaps the range is designed so that all the colours in it will go well together. Or, I don't know, maybe it was luck. But hey, who cares, I love it! And oh, this yarn is so LUSH. It's such a treat to work with after so much acrylic in recent projects.

Now down to the building block itself- the actual granny square. It's such a simple little thing but SO many different variations of the pattern exist. A little experimentation was called for. I tried the version of the square that's very commonly used- with 2 chains in the corner spaces and one between the treble clusters on the sides. Then I made one with absolutely NO chain spaces at all, even in the corners- just for the heck of it and to see what would happen. Here they are- same yarn and hook (2.5mm), the only difference is the leaving out of those chain spaces on the one on the right.

I was absolutely fascinated that the act of leaving out the chains could cause such a dramatic difference in size (should I get out more? Haha...), though I suppose it's obvious when you think about it. And in the end I really liked the smaller square. It's so dinky and neat, and slightly more 'rigid' than the one on the right, with smaller holes. I somehow felt it to be more appropriate for a man's waistcoat. So... the small square it is. And I'm going with the Vintage Visage pattern in terms of assembling the squares, as it will fit the gauge of the smaller ones. Also I just love the fact that the squares will be assembled exactly the same as Macca's. Nerdy, I am.

I decided to make a little sample swatch of 4 squares to see what they would be like for joining. I soon discovered that the lack of chains in the corners was going to be a problem. The so-called corners would not even touch each other. So I undid they final grey rounds of each square and chained 2 in the corners- in the outer round only, I left the rest as it was. MUCH better. I also tried different joining methods. Amjaylou used join-as-you-go and it looks wonderful. In the past I've joined motifs by sewing together the back loops only, as in this project and also in this one (technique described excellently by Bunny Mummy). I decided that for my purposes neither of these methods would be appropriate, as they are quite stretchy (in fact they almost add in effect the equivalent of an extra row of stitches) and I'm worried they would make the overall size of the waistcoat too big. I decided joining both loops together by whip stitching (a much more 'solid' join) would be just the ticket. And probably how the original waistcoat would have been assembled? More authenticity to satisfy my inner nerd. Here's my sample swatch.

So yeah, quite happy with that.

Full steam ahead with the waistcoat now! Can I make it in time for Christmas? 114 squares...hm, it's going to be a challenge!