When the official kits were launched for the 'Last Dance on the Beach' crochet-along, the organisers at Scheepjes asked which I (and the other designers who contributed to the project) would like, so we could start our own blankets. I spent so long dilly-dallying (i.e. I kept changing my mind) they were out of stock before I decided. (The CAL exceeded all expectations with the initial packs selling out really quickly!) Participants soon started making up their own colour packs - buying individual in-stock colours, rather than waiting for the kits to be restocked. Quicker, and also a great way to make something suited to your taste - perfect for someone like me who is both impatient and fussy! So this week I got started with the motifs and am using my own colours, although I'm not yet sure what it'll be called - maybe something like "Dancing to my Own Tune".
 |
| Week 1 motif with week 2 yarn (and happy-making matchy tulips!) |
With almost 50 shades of Merino Soft to choose from, I needed help to narrow my choice and it seemed perfectly fitting to start with a print that Wink gave me on her final visit to my home. The colours in the print helped me to put together an initial selection of ten shades (many of these are partial balls from different projects, so please ignore the state of them, although it would be much worse if they weren't 'easy start' centre pull balls!).
With these ten colours as a starting point, it was easy to work out which could be substituted to give a more cohesive palette, and of course, to check which were in stock! After a few changes, I ended up with this selection, which I'm really happy with...
Top: Hockney 638 (x 3), Monet 639 (x 5), Copley 634 (x 3), Lowry 604 (x 9), Matisse 635 (x 3)
Bottom: Carney 636 (x 5), Hogarth 605 (x 3), Degas 632 (x 2), Constable 629 (x 3) Titian 647 (x 3)
After swatching again (the original swatch and samples for my square were completed months ago) I've made a start with the Week 1 and Week 2 motifs. I'm already enjoying it so much (learning new stitches) and can't wait to see how those colours look when they are worked up into a blanket. Affiliate links are indicated with *: If you want to make your own Merino Soft or Colour Crafter palette or to be notified when the official kits are back in stock, Wool Warehouse* and Deramores* supply the yarns within the UK, the US stockist is Paradise Fibres* . Find a full list of stockists here (I love that the translation is "Dealer" as you can get your yarn 'fix' from them).
If you've seen my Instagram feed lately, you may think that it's all crochet at the moment, but it's not. I'm also working on three new knitting designs which have been commissioned, but more on those when I can share them.
If you've seen my Instagram feed lately, you may think that it's all crochet at the moment, but it's not. I'm also working on three new knitting designs which have been commissioned, but more on those when I can share them.
Lovely colours you picked! I still haven't decided, I'm so useless ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Esther. I had to be quick, because I was impatient to join in once I saw all the squares being made by everyone else! :)
DeleteI'm going to be picking my colours next week but I want to thank you for your encouragement. I finally managed to make my fingers & a crochet hook work together 3 days before the CAL started. You assured me that I could join in with even basic skills - they weren't even that good but I've succesfully made the first 2 squares! :) I'm "hooked" so thank you again
ReplyDeleteHi Donna, this is fantastic! I'm really pleased for you and I hope you get a lot of joy from making all the other squares too :)
Delete