Simply striped



I feel strangely unmotivated this week.  I should be making great PCH strides, but I'm not.  I had a thousand crafty ideas a while ago, but now they've lost their dazzle.  I seem to be floundering a little at the moment, undecided or quite what to do and quite where to start.  Unfamiliar territory for me as normally the 'next big idea' has already formulated in my head and is ready to go.  So by the time I finish on one project, I'm ready to go straight off onto the next.

All in all, it's a good job I had a rather exciting finish at the weekend that I can share with you.  And, it's a good one (I think), so hopefully I will feel bright and breezy and my Mo will be very much back with my Jo by the end of this post.




What do you think so far?  Like the look of it?  I do, I love and adore it very much.  I keep touching it and unfolding and re-folding it and smoothing my hand along it's softy cottony expanse.  Delicious!

I did mention to you that you'd gotten some Kool Kotton recently didn't I?  Well, that's what I've been playing with the past couple of weeks and my word have I had fun playing!  I've enjoyed myself ridiculously, it probably should be shameful, but I don't care.  Yarn and wonderfully yarny colours make me so silly happy and I love it!


Let's talk about the yarn for a moment, because I know some of you want to know.  I think this yarn is fabulous.  It's soft and works up beautifully.  It splits occasionally, (it is cotton after all) but really not much.  It's very reasonably priced and I only found one knot!  (See Rowan!!)  The only problem with this yarn is the limited colour range available.  Having said that though, the colours they do have, I loved.  They worked so well together that nearly every combination I picked up worked, it was great. 


I think it's another reason why this project was so enjoyable to make, I didn't fret and fuss over colour combinations for these stripes, everything seemed to come together easily and with little effort.  That's not always the case I assure you!

Having said that, I did have a little false start at the beginning.  I's only got a few stripes in when I suddenly panicked that my colours weren't quite right.  I had two purples, which were a little too similar and wondered if I needed a little something more.



So I hunted around for a compatible yarn to throw into the mix and settled on Sirdar Calico.   Not a perfect match at 158m per 50g rather than Kool Kotton's 130m but as the closest matching ones were over £5, I decided the Calico would do.



 So I swapped one of the purples for the yellow and reserved the spare purple for the border.  I do love the little colour injection that the yellow brings but you know, I think the blanket would have be great without it too.






I spotted the Vintage Vertical Stripe pattern ages ago on Ravelry and had squirrelled it away in my favourites until the right moment came along.  There's some gorgeous VVS blankets on Ravelry if you want to take a look.   I just added my own concoction of a shell style border to finish it off.



This delightful new addition can't stay with me though.  It's due to go to a new home sometime in the summer, to meet a different sort of 'new addition'.  I shall find it hard to part with I think, but at least I'll get a little more time with it before it has to leave!





Data, data, data:

The pattern:  Vintage Vertical Stripe by Bella Dia (Rav pattern page)
The yarn:  James C Brett Kool Kotton and Sirdar Calico

The colours:
1.  Kool Kotton - Tomato (KK11)
2.  Kool Kotton - Denim (KK3)
3.  Calico - Bandana (728)
4.  Kool Kotton - Olive (KK12)
5.  Kool Kotton - Putty (KK9)
6.  Kool Kotton -Tuquoise/Aqua (KK8)
7.  Kool Kotton - Coral (KK7)
8.  Kool Kotton - Mint (KK6)
9.  Kool Kotton - Pale Pink (KK1)
10.  Kool Kotton - Mauve (KK10)
11.  Kool Kotton - Purple (KK2)

Hook size: 4mm (US - G) for blanket and 5mm (US - H) for the starting chain.
Starting chain: 113 (110 trebles, plus 3 for the turning chain)
Rows: 105
Yards: 1520
Size (with border): 80x95cm (31x37.5in)

I think that's all.  If there's anything else you'd like to know, just ask!





S x

Comments

  1. It is really nice! Thank you for sharing!
    Esther.

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  2. It's lovely! A simple but very effective stripey pattern. I know what you mean about lack of motivation just now ~ I'm feeling the same and am struggling wwith a pair of socks that I think will have to be frogged a bit before I can make some more progress. Love the blanket though ~ Thanks for sharing :Ox

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  3. No no no Sandra, you got me all fired up with PCH!
    *wags finger*

    Your vintage stripe look fantastic. The colours are SO beautiful.It was going to be the first blanket I would make, but I bugger it up beyond recognition and is now in its third life as a cowl shawl. Can't wait for winter :-D

    Would love to get my hands on Kool Kotton. And Debbie Bliss. And Rowan. And everything you have up in the north! Roll on December, I'm flying up with a small, fold-up suitcase hidden in my bag.

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  4. Gorgeous, I can see why it will be hard to part with!

    Alison
    x

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  5. Very pretty! Love the shell border too. Nice work!

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  6. Absolutely stunning! I personally think the colour swap was perfect - the yellow gives the blanket freshness and the purple border really softens and prettifies. (Hark at me, I sound like an art critic or wine buff!!)

    Don't panic re your mojo, I'm sure it'll be back soon.

    Just off to go and gaze at your pictures again ..!

    Heather x

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  7. Oooh, stripey goodness - love it!
    Maria x

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  8. Cozy, stripey yumminess. I like how the yellow adds a little bit of sunshine.
    Can`t wait to see what you have planned next.....

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  9. Hey there Sandra!

    First: thank you for the sweet compliments you left on my blog a little while ago!

    And ooh, i LOVE your blanket! It's beautiful!
    The stripes, the yarn, the border, the colours... gorgeous :)
    And I think it was a very wise decision to add the yellow!
    It really works with the rest, I think it gives your blanket that extra sparkle :) I love it!
    Have a great day! xx

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  10. It's a lovely blanket. Yellow is always a good addition.
    I find the more expensive yarns have more knots than the cheaper ones. It is annoying, especially if, like me, you don't want to just work over the knot.

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  11. This is so pretty and such great colors!

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  12. It's so pretty! The purple border finishes it wonerfully!

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  13. Beautiful! So lovely, and the colour combination is lovely. I too have slacked a little on PCH, but I'm not giving up! I still have big plans! A flick through pinterest might help?

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  14. Such pretty colors! The pictures really look nice on your blog; the colors complement each other :)
    Well done!
    xo,
    wink

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  15. What a pretty blanket. There is just something so appealing about a crocheted blanket and yours is perfect.

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  16. Hi Sandra! That is so inspiring and simply gorgeous, I have a little addition coming this year and so you may just have given me exactly what I want :0) I love the colours but with my limited budget I usually have to stick to Stylecraft DK but there may be some pretty colours there too.
    Hope your week carries on in such a wonderful fulfilling crafty way ..... how can you say you are uninspired!!!!
    love Val xx

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  17. Absolutely gorgeous colours, I love it! Thanks so much for all the yarn info too, very helpful! Your cardi in the previous post is a stunner, LOVE it! :) xx

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  18. It's beautiful, the colours you have chosen are lovely. I wouldn't want to part with it. Sue.

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  19. Hi Sandra, it is absolutely perfect to my eyes! Lovely how those colors seem to pop as soon as you add a line of red... Really, it is fabulous and very inspiring. Thank you for sharing this beauty with us!

    love
    Maaike

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  20. This blanket is amazingly beautiful, and I love it!!!!!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely gorgeous blanket. I love the colour combinations.
      Anne xx

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  21. Beeeeeeeeautiful. I absolutely love it. I love the colours and the yarn looks lovely. And it's soooo cheap. My next venture is going to be with it. Well done, you should be very proud of yourself Someone else is going to have a PCH soon too!!

    Helen xx

    I just Love your blog. You are great!

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  22. Bee-U-T-full.
    Very nice selection of colors.

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  23. What a beautiful blanket! I love the pattern and will be adding it to my rav in order to use some time in the future. Also, I think the yellow looks really wonderful in the blanket. Of course, I am rather partial to yellow, but still, it's such a happy, cheery color! Well done!

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  24. I've seen this pattern before. Your's is beautiful. Your color choices are great.
    Teresa

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  25. Your blog is lovely and i love your crochet blanket the colours are gorgeous xx

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  26. This is gorgeous Sandra!!! I keep seeing crocheted things and leaving comments to the effect that my novice crochet skills might just be up to them, but I don't seem to get much further. But this pattern I have added to my Rav queue. Watch this space :D

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  27. omgosh, really! I'm sitting over here, dying! the blanket, the cardigan, the curtains... love love love! you do beautiful such beautiful work xo amy

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