Wednesday 29 May 2013

Rainy Morning Crochet

Hello Lovelies,
the sunshine over the bank holiday weekend was SUCH a treat, yesterday the rain came and it didn't make me feel depressed at all. I know the garden will benefit from a good soaking and the rain is the reason our countryside is so beautifully green. I don't mind the odd rainy days, it's a good excuse to stay indoors and I have a project I'm very excited about on my hook at the moment. The square at the end of my previous post has been abandoned ....the colours were all wrong.



This is what I'm working on at the moment........

 Oooooh, these colourful , happy granny squares are really making me smile. I just love how they are turning out.

As I listened to the rain pitter patter on the conservatory roof I enjoyed a sweet treat and some yarn play.......



My big project bag is full of Stylecraft Acrylic from my stash........


which I'm using to make these granny squares. I just love granny squares don't you ....the possibilites are endless.
I'm feeling particularly happy with this project as I've developed a sort of system to make choosing the colours a bit easier.



I do find random is hard to do successfully so I've made myself some rules. I wonder if any of you do this too ?

My bag contains 6 main colour groups, they are

1. Blue / Turquoise shades
2. Lilac / Purple shades
3. Pink / Red shades
4. Green shades
5. Orange shades
6. Yellow shades
Each square has to contain only three of these groups , so if we look at these four squares in the picture below , top left contains purple, orange and green shades.
Top right has yellow, pink and green.
Bottom left has orange, green and pink.
Finally bottom right has yellow, orange and blue........


I just love the way this is making choosing colours so much easier. But the main reason I'm doing this is because I want the squares to be a bit like different coloured patches. It's hard to explain ....I'm aiming for a sort of patterned patchwork effect. So each square will look like a different fabric in a square patchwork.
I love  solid coloured square  granny blankets ( I made a baby blanket like this HERE ). I love Lucy's Granny Patchwork picnic blanket, but I didn't want to start another solid coloured square blanket at the moment. I'm also very influenced by the two gorgeous granny blankets I linked to last week...they are HERE and HERE if you missed them last time.


I suppose it's a funny time of year to start a blanket . But, like Lucy's, this is going to be an outdoor, picnic blanket. Something relatively quick to make, using inexpensive yarn, that will be easy to wash .


I had such a nice time looking out at the rain while I played with colourful yarn. Tom Tit was sitting on the fence and Mr Blackbird came right onto the patio while I sat quietly hooking .

The garden looked lovely despite the dampness, so I even braved the rain to take a few close up pictures...





Then I was glad to come back indoors and finish my ninth square.......


 Each square is seven rounds so they are a good size........6 1/2 inches or 14 cm.
I'm thinking seven rows of seven squares with a wide border will give me a blanket that's big enough to be useful but not too big to carry around.........


I'm going to sew them together as I want to be able to play around with the arrangement of the squares at the end. This will also mean it's a very portable project.
I'm having a lot of fun with it so far and looking forward to using this Summer blanket on family outings this year...so I think I better get on with it :0)
Jacquie x

49 comments:

  1. That looks good, can't wait to the the crochet progress!
    Esther.

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  2. These granny squares look great! I like their color! :o)

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  3. Gorgeous, love your colour plan.... I do hope we get some sunshine so you can sit on it and picnic ... Sarah x

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  4. I love your new picnic blanket project and how you're choosing your colour schemes for each square. What a lovely project to have on the go!

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  5. granny squares are the right option to have a go with colours!!!!
    They look so nice!!!!
    happy crocheting, xxxx Ale

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  6. Great tip for choosing colours! I'm gonna give it a try.

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  7. Kakiya beautiful squares! Threads of bright, juicy!
    And I really like your work place and the view from the window!
    And we have now too cool and the rain. My cat is sitting on the veranda looking out the window as the rain drumming on the windows and railing.
    I, too, am going to go to crochet - I have in the Cape for cooler days. Very soon I'm going on a trip to Lake Baikal, and I think this is my cape to me there is useful in puteshstviya on karabli.
    I - Katherine, http://dashuska2.blogspot.ru/

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  8. I was astonished when saw your garden - beautiful and I would like so much to be there now :)
    The blanket already looks gorgeous! I can imagine you spreading it every time your loved ones want to take a nap or a rest :)

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  9. Gorgeous blog post, just what I needed on this grey, wet morning :0) thank you x

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  10. Your squares look lovely. I really need to get on & learn to crochet.

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  11. Now that's the right attitude toward the rain - I'm trying very hard but do miss going in the garden without getting soggy! Love the colour choosing idea as this can often be such a stumbling block x Jane

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  12. You have made fabulous colour combinations.

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  13. So much inspiration I see! I just want to dive into my bag of yarn. LOL I love your photos and your creations. I'm so glad I found you. XD

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  14. I am so jealous of your springtime showers, it rains maybe 10 days a year where I live. I love photos of raindrops on leaves, and petals. Also your crochet squares are so bright and cheery, makes me wished I had the patience to learn another craft.

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  15. Your squares are very pretty, and the view out your window is spectacular. I wouldn't get much work done if I had such a pretty view.

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  16. I think that way too about choosing colour combinations, there is always a formula in my head!

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  17. Hi
    Just love the colors you are working with and beautiful photos also

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  18. Jacquie,

    Your yard looks so verdant and beautiful. Reminds me of your kitchen window drawing.
    I, almost always, never get the color combinations right for my granny squares. I am going to use your rules. Thanks. Love your blog.

    Sapna
    Sapna

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  19. Hi There, In my opinion, you had the perfect day!!! Hope the rest of your week will be the same!!! Thank you for the color tips!!!That is something I really struggle with!!!In fact that process often takes longer than the making of the blanket!!!So I really do appreciate any color help!!!
    Love
    AMarie

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  20. An excellent way of choosing colour combinations - I struggle to get it right. Rainy here too but I'm hoping for some sunshine this weekend :)

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  21. really gorgeous, this style just calls me over and over. It really is the classic granny blanket. I like the idea of rules for random! it can actually take a lot of decision making. Enjoy the making, Heather x

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  22. Gorgeous, must practise more so I can make equally pretty squares! X

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  23. Love, love, love the crochet! :) x

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  24. Love those squares - they are so perfect and dinky! Nothing so satisfying as seeing a pile of granny squares building up. x

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  25. Oh yes, absolutely, a few rules can set you free, at least I always find they do. Your color choices are so beautiful! I'll be enjoying watching your progress. :)

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  26. very nice picnic blanket and love all your plants and flowers.

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  27. Thanks for sharing your "how to do random tip" Jacquie, strange as it seems, you are right when you say that making random coloured squares can sometimes be tricky. Your squares are inspiring me to get cracking with a couple of baby granny blankets I want to make for two of my pregnant colleagues. You are such an inspiration, thanks xxx penny

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  28. Ah! Such lovely grannies! They are going to make such a happy, summery blanket! :)

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  29. I love grannies! It's looking great so far, I love the colour combinations. They're rather addictive though, I was making some more granny triangles for Yarndale and got rather carried away, none of the housework got done today! I also discovered mine are too big, I've had to remove the last round, should have measured them sooner...

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  30. Love the colours used for your Granny Squares. I've just started by first blanket and want a scrappy effect, it is difficult choosing the colours and making sure they blend. I've recorded all the colours and the combinations and hopefully I will get a good mix and not have any colour standing out like a sore thumb.

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  31. I love your use of the lighter colours, like apricot and lemon. they sit really well and make the brighter colours even brighter x

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  32. Lovely granny squares, looking good! Maybe another granny square project might be next on my agenda... :-)

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  33. Lovely grannies Jacquie and clever planning for colour choices; your garden pics are so refreshing with the rain droplets and that is a beautiful tulip. Lovely post, thank you. Joy

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  34. Jacquie ... have been enjoying your posts, as always, but ... I'm REALLY missing your drawings!!

    Sharon in Alabama (USA)

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  35. Jacqui, are you using the Lucy Pack or additional colours - your squares are lovely xx

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  36. Seriously, I gave away all my crochet stuff last winter since I hadn't touched it in years. Then I found your blog and now I'm regretting that decision big time. It looks such a wonderful way to spend the rainy days we have right now. Cheery!

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  37. Lovely pictures, your garden is a beautiful lush green. And the squares look great, I look forward to seeing the finished blanket in due course.

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  38. Oh LOVELY!!!!!!!!!!
    Your squares are gorgous, the colours are soo successful Jacquie!

    I too have an urge to make another GS blankie, I LOVE this one I've seen recently with 5 round squares....
    http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/we-love-lucy/2549461/1-25#15

    But......have far too many other commitments right now. Going to wait and begin a new blankie at the beginning of October as an after-Yarndale project to take me over the winter.

    I have another picnic blanket project in mind that I might try and get done this summer.....a duffle type drawstring bag to carry the blanket in, don't you think that would be ace? Kind of like those bags that sleeping bags get stuffed into. It's been in my mind for a while, I'm going to do it stripy. x

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  39. Love your garden and love the granny squares. It's the only thing in crochet that I've mastered and the possibilities with them are just endless.
    I do patchwork, and when I'm choosing my fabrics, I think my process is not too dissimilar. Although, I haven't really thought about it clearly.
    Enjoy your grannies!

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  40. What a lovely blog post full of colourful photos, just what I needed on this grey day here. I am doing a colourful ripple at the moment which I am loving, need to do a granny square one too me thinks :-) Loved your garden photos too, just beautiful.

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  41. I have a hankering to make some granny squares..... may need to get my hook out tomorrow!

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  42. I love your blog , work and pictures! It´s very inspiring...
    thanks for sharing your work. Greetings from Switzerland.

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  43. Your Granny Squares are just beautiful! I love, love, love the colors...this will be a very happy blanket to be under when finished.

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  44. I looooove granny squares and your colorful ones are just a beauty....they will be great as a picnic blanket :) Lovely.

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  45. It will turn out beautiful, it is already so nice. I am finishing mine granny blanket right know, and after sewing it all together I finally found out I need few more rows to make, it is just too short for me. It is hard to choose the colors now when it is almost done, so I completely found myself in your post;-) what I did is that I made random groups of yarns from my stash and won't repeat the color until all balls are used...I hope I can balance it that way.

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  46. Beautiful grannies!!! Love that yarn!
    Kate :}

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