I thoroughly enjoyed the Spring Blossom Blanket CAL.  It is always inspiring seeing what colours people choose and how those colour choices and other tweaks (such as moving motifs around) can make a design look so different – one blanket design can result in so many different looks.  I hope to share some finished photos with you in due course.

Another thing that I loved about the Spring Blossom Blanket CAL was the many compliments I received about the joining technique I used.   It is second nature for me to join neatly and quickly but I know that joining can be very tricky for some people which is why I use methods that I think (hope!) are easy and effective.  For blankets I tend to favour joins that lie flat partly because I don’t like the ridge that some joins produce (unless the ridge is a feature of the design) but mainly because, for me, a blanket should drape and a flat join aids this.      So I thought I’d show you some of my favourite joining techniques.

First let’s just have a look at the joined hexagons in Spring Blossom:

The technique was to join as you go (JAYG).  I had never seen JAYG on ‘solid’ motifs, that’s not to say there aren’t any as I don’t spend my time looking for techniques!   But I do know that joining hexagons can be a pain, there are so many angles that whatever you do it can prove difficult to get very neat joins where the corners of the hexagons meet.  So I designed a simple JAYG which gives a slight lacy look to the joins but is also easy and consistent throughout the blanket, all joins look the same.   This technique can be applied to any ‘solid’ motifs whatever their shape and I will definitely use it again (I have triangles in my mind as I type this!).  And, of course, one of the joys of JAYG is that once you finish the last motif it only needs the border to finish!

JAYG is quite common in lacy motifs like my Summer Garden Throw:

You can see that the lace motif works well with JAYG and not just on blankets, but all sorts of accessories and garments.

The next example is a join I use frequently, slip stitch through back loops on the reverse side of the motif – it gives a fairly flat join.  Here’s some close ups of the finish and technique from the Christmas CAL 2014, I’ve used this in so many blankets that I’ve lost count!

 

I love the look of this, it makes the motifs look like they are just snuggling up against each other 🙂

Another method of joining is to use part of the design as a joining feature.  This next example is a join I used in a couple of blanket designs – Teal Dreams and Poppet’s Blanket.  I used the ‘diamond’ stitch pattern as a join, which gives consistency in the overall blanket design.

Again it gives a flat join.   On the left is Poppet’s Blanket with the joining in red, and on the right is Teal Dreams with the joining in brown.

This last one is my favourite.  I haven’t yet used it on a blanket but I used it on the Medina Cowl and several bags, like Ollerton:

It’s slip stitch through back loops only on the front of the design and provides a flat join.   One of the advantages is that using a different colour you can highlight or define  the edges of the motif.   The Ollerton join is in a pale grey (Dove) and the Medina join varies according to the edges of the motifs it joins.

I hope I haven’t bombarded you with too many photos of joins!    Do you have any favourite joining techniques?  Please tell me about them.

Happy crocheting xxx

The last part of the Spring Blossom Blanket CAL has been published – you can find it here.

For the finale I wanted to share a fabulous photo of the finished blanket but the weather has been poor – the light levels are low at this time of year and the skies have been grey and it has rained.  Virtually every day for the last 3 weeks I have tried to grab any bit of sunshine to photograph the blanket outside – the few opportunities I had were fruitless.  So this week I had to try some inside shots.  First I laid it on the floor and this happened:

Every shot was photobombed!

So I placed it on the sofa, but the photobomber (Poppet) was too quick for me, in fact she liked the sofa more:

Despite Poppet’s successful photobombing, I think you can get a good idea of what the blanket looks like!

It is very difficult getting great photos of finished designs, especially in winter light.   I took well over 100 shots this week.  But I did manage one exterior shot which wasn’t too bad:

I hope you have enjoyed the CAL and please continue to share photos on Ravelry and Facebook!

Happy crocheting xxxx

Welcome to week 4 of the Spring Blossom Blanket CAL.  This week the 4th and final motif is published.   You can find it on Ravelry here.

If you have been following the CAL exactly, then making 24 of these motifs will complete the centre of the blanket and you will have only the border to do (which will be published next week).

This is a close up of motif number 4:

It has a little floral centre but morphs into a circle, thus combining the circle of motif 1 with the florals of motifs 2 and 3.

I have been very pleased with all the love this CAL has been receiving, everyone loves the join as you go method I designed for the motifs and some people want to make bigger blankets.   I have been asked several times if I can design more motifs.

Well, your wish is my command, as they say!   So I have designed a fifth motif which will fit with the other 4 and can be used in a bigger blanket or even just swap some of the motifs around for more variety.  The pattern can be found here.   It is a separate pattern, but if you purchased the Spring Blossom Blanket pattern then you can purchase this bonus motif free for the next week (until midnight GMT 18th February) – just pop it into your basket on Ravelry and it should automatically spot you have already purchased Spring Blossom Blanket and give you a discount (if it doesn’t work just send me a PM on Ravelry). I guess you want to see the motif?

I hope you like it 🙂

Happy crocheting xxx

 

 

Welcome to part 3 – the third motif for the blanket.   It’s the one in the centre of this photo:

I confess this is my favourite!  And now it is added you can see the blanket taking shape.

If you have purchased the pattern you should have received an email from Ravelry with a link, but if not you should be able to find it in your pattern library in Ravelry.   There is also an updated alternative layout.

There are some gloriously colourful blankets being shared on Ravelry – pop over to have a look.  If you haven’t yet joined the CAL you can find the pattern here.

Until next week, happy crocheting xxx