Special Yarn

I bought yarn to make a baby blanket for our niece who is expecting her first baby this summer. Our niece mentioned the nursery is decorated in grey and white chevron and one of her favourite colours is teal.

I splurged and bought Special Yarn for this blanket - four hanks of Berroco Ultra Alpacca in grey and one of Gems 100% Merino Wool in teal. I love the look and feel of this fine super soft Special Yarn.

I am making a grey baby blanket with a teal heart in the centre all worked in puff stitch. To imagine how this might look I took a photo showing teal in between two skeins of grey. I love this combination.

Using Special Yarn which comes in skeins requires extra preparation. First I rolled all the skeins into balls by untwisting the skeins, draping them over the back of a chair then rolling each ball by hand taking care not to tangle. Next I wound the balls into 'cakes' using my handy-dandy yarn ball winder. I wrote about that gadget here if you missed it.

I have finished winding all but one of the balls and started working on the blanket. I practiced the puff stitch making an Infinity Scarf in March. You can read about that here if you missed it. 

Unfortunately, two months passed after finishing the scarf before starting the blanket. My first attempt was abandoned after four rows as it was too loose and sloppy. My second attempt was neater with tighter, smaller stitches, but too short. I started over yet again adding four extra puff stitches to the length. Thank goodness my third attempt was just right. 

I have since worked through one skein completing 34 rows so far. Since this baby is due June 29th, I need to get moving. The clock is ticking with only six weeks to go. Fingers crossed I get it done in time. 

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Teal Dreams Ripple Blanket

This year, I intended to crochet using yarn from my stash. Instead, when my daughter suggested her sister-in-law who is due to have a baby any day might like a ripple blanket and praised the Sweet Summer Ripple Blanket I made for her two years ago, I couldn't resist. I rushed out to buy yarn in colours to match the nursery - teal, grey and white. I bought three shades of teal, three shades of grey and two shades of white for a total of eight different colours. I committed to making another Ripple Blanket.

This blanket took about two weeks to make. It was finished a couple days ago. I waited for a sunny day to take photos. 

I was considering calling it "Shades of Grey and Teal", but decided Teal Dreams Ripple Blanket was more appropriate. This combination of colours looks so calm and soothing. I love it.

Changing colours for each stripe creates a lot of ends to weave in and cut.

I love how mesmerizing stripey ripples look. I used approximately 1.5 balls of each colour, adding the rest to my stash. 

 

The blanket is folded and ready to go, although it will probably be months before it gets to California. We will take it with us when we visit our daughter in Boulder this summer. Our daughter and her husband travel to California regularly. Hopefully it will get there by next winter.

To make this blanket, I followed free instructions covering Ripple Blanket Know How posted by blogger Lucy at Attic24. I love all of Lucy's colourful crochet ripple blankets. Her brilliant colour combinations inspire me.

Technical details for this Teal Dreams Ripple Blanket are listed below for the crocheters out there who might like to make one too. 

Starting Chain - 157 (14x11+3)

Finished Size - 44"x62"

2 rows per stripe 

54 stripes

8 colours

Time to Complete - Approximately 30 hours (30 mins per stripe + border)

Patons Canadiana 100% worsted weight acrylic yarn:

2 balls (100 g/3.5 oz) of each colour

• Pale Teal 
• Medium Teal 
• Dark Teal 
• Pale Grey Mix
• Medium Grey Mix 
• Toasty Grey
• Winter White
• White

Hook size - 5 mm

Stripe Colours in this Teal Dreams Ripple Blanket:

1. Pale Teal
2. White
3. Pale Grey Mix
4. Dark Teal
5. Medium Grey Mix
6. Medium Teal
7. Toasty Grey
8. Winter White
9. Toasty Grey
10. Pale Teal
11. Medium Teal
12. Dark Teal
13. Pale Grey Mix
14. Winter White
15. Medium Grey Mix
16. White
17. Medium Grey Mix
18. Pale Teal
19. Dark Teal
20. Medium Teal
21. Pale Grey Mix
22. Toasty Grey
23. Winter White
24. White
25. Toasty Grey
26. Pale Grey Mix
27. Medium Teal
28. Dark Teal
29. Pale Teal
30. Medium Grey Mix
31. Winter White
32. White
33. Medium Grey Mix
34. Winter White
35. Pale Grey Mix
36. Dark Teal
37. Medium Teal
38. Pale Teal
39. Toasty Grey
40. Winter White
41. Toasty Grey
42. Medium Teal
43. Medium Grey Mix
44. Dark Teal
45. Pale Grey Mix
46. White
47. Pale Grey Mix
48. Dark Teal
49. Medium Grey Mix
50. Winter White
51. Medium Teal
52. Pale Grey MIx
53. White
54. Pale Teal

Border Colours:

Round 1: Pale Teal

Round 2: White

Round 3: Medium Teal

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