Saturday 25 August 2012

Project: Granny Square Blanket


My very first crochet project is a Granny Square Blanket.

The inspiration came from Mollie Makes Issue 13; a pattern by IlariaChiaratti for a basic granny square. I really loved the use of white with all the colourful centres of each square.

On a trip to my local market I stocked up on some Top Value DK, an acrylic yarn I had never used before. However at £1.15 a ball I thought it was a colourful easy care yarn, which seems good value, for my first project.

So far I have found the squares very satisfying and quick to crochet.
I have tried to be logical with the colour sequences, making 5 of each combination, so I do not have 20+ squares my favourite colour combination ruining the random colour sequence I would like to achieve.
All was going well until I decided to empty my carrier bag of completed squares onto the dining table so I could work out how many squares I needed to finish the project.
Laying them out randomly, so no to colours were next to each other, my 135 completed squares started to look like a blanket rather than a pile of yarn...success!

However I found the dark purple, dark green and grey colour combinations too dark. I was imagining a bright playful blanket and looking at what was in front of me I was slightly disappointed.
After taking a step back and thinking clearly about what my expectations were I realised I needed a slight re-jigg. My plan of attack:
·         Remove the dark-dark colour combinations
·         Add more white

I ended up removing 20 completed squares from my project bag and have started adding an extra round of white to every completed square, so now each square is 4 rounds.

This blanket has been work in progress since around March. I started to crochet it after I reserved my flat!! I currently live with my parents, but after saving I finally put a deposit down on my first home, alone! So since March I have been slowly working away on this blanket, so it will be ready for my new flat.
I have lots of works in progress for my new home. Hopefully I will be able to post about them over the next few months, so I can share some of my first home preparation.

Wednesday 22 August 2012

The very first post: Coral's Room.


I have enjoyed reading blogs for many years, they have provided hours of reading and endless sources of inspiration to me. I have learnt so many skills from bloggers who continuously take the time to share their knowledge and experiences for everyone to benefit from. After lurking for so long, I hope to be able to contribute in any tiny way to this lovely online community of crafters.

Being a 'Professional Starter' I have many works in progress, hopefully this blog will provide an incentive to finish and share my Works In Progress 'WIPs' which are currently stashed away in a number of places in my room, Hannah Coral's Room!

...and it’s also an opportunity to experience the happiness of starting even more crafty projects!