Tuesday 14 July 2009

From one extreme to the other...

For some time I have been deliberating about starting a big crochet project. Big as in blanket size. In this post, I was still undecided, but now the decision has been made and the winner is a Babette Blanket.




I knew that I wanted to use Debbie Bliss Eco Yarn, as I loved the colour palette and I love working with cotton. It's a fairly heavyweight yarn and I'm using a 3.5mm hook, so it's quite compact and will be heavy but cosy, I hope.



The Babette looks like a patchwork quilt and that is exactly how it is made. You make panels of squares then put them together, logcabin-like. I'm only using 10 colours, whereas the pattern really uses 17, so I substituted my colours on the key, repeating all of them except 3 (red/green/brown) and it is such good fun seeing how the squares work out by just following the key instead of fussily deciding which colour to use next. I've mentioned before that I struggle with random so this is the perfect way out of what I know would be hours wasted faffing about thinking about the colours and whether they were balanced and equal.



I started off by making the 2 big 12-round squares to see how the colours worked together.




Then I got cracking on the panels in order so that I can join them together and watch it grow. It's addictive, let me tell you.



I wanted a project like this to keep on the back burner to come back to between smaller projects, but I've made a good start at it and my wrist is actually sore from hooking! I will post Babette's progress through the summer...

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At the other end of the crochet spectrum is this:




When I was in the Cotton Patch a while back looking for fabrics for my red/turquoise quilt, I spotted a drawer full of these lovely embroidery threads. When I see colour en masse, the temptation is too much and I came home wondering what I could use it for.



Then I had the brainwave of trying to downsize some of my amigurumi by substituting this thread for the usual dk yarn that I use.


So, I placed an order for a selection of colours and played around to find the right size hook - 1.5mm - to get the crochet tight enough not to let any stuffing escape. I chose one of my favourite patterns... And look! A tiny head is made!



Fiddly but fun! I can only work on this in daylight (maybe I need to get an eyetest...) as the stitches are impossibly small and in black it's even harder to see them. But isn't he cute? I can't show you how much smaller he is than the original as he doesn't live here anymore, but he's about an inch and a half tall (or small?!).



Now there's something you don't see often - a penguin amongst succulents!

I think I may have OCD. Obsessive Crochet Disorder. I've now got a bee in my bonnet over this yarn - it's gorgeous, take my word for it, and the colours? Delicious.

7 comments:

  1. He is sooooo cute! And my optician reliably informs me that loosing the ability to do fine work at night is the start of the eye ageing process. Sob, sniff, 120 watt bulbs all round please.

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  2. Good grief - that blanket looks tricky - thank goodness I know that you are the Queen of the Finishers.

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  3. I started a babette.

    I am not the Queen of Finishers!

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  4. If OCD causes penguins then it is worth it!

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  5. The Babette blanket looks really interesting. I have been crocheting a huge granny square for ages now and I am so bored of it!!! I like the fact that the Babette blanket has squares of different sizes. Now, the little penguin is so adorable. I am much in favour of smaller projects! x

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  6. Oh sweeeet! That little amirugami is adorable! I use Finca threads, the colours are delicious aren't they? And that DB eco cotton is gorgeous stuff isn't it? The colours are beautiful, All DB coloured yarns are beautiful, love her yarns. Your babette blanket is going to be fab, fab, fabulous!
    Have a good weekend.
    Love Vanessa xxx (do you mind if i knit)

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