FREE PATTERN: The Blanket Stitch, Squared

Hey everyone!

I'm so excited to share a new free pattern with you today! I've been hankering for an easy evening crochet project and decided to make another Wrap with Love blanket. I wondered - could I make this easier for myself and do the same lovely squishy stitch pattern in the round rather than back and forth?

With a bit of experimentation and maths (I never thought I'd do this much maths in my life), I've got it! 

Without further ado, The Blanket Stitch, Squared :D 

Queue or favourite it on Ravelry here: 

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-blanket-stitch-squared 

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FREE PATTERN: THE BLANKET STITCH, SQUARED
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Finished size: 10" / 25cm 

Materials

40g DK/8 ply yarn
4.5mm hook
Scissors
Yarn needle

This pattern uses all US terminology

MC - magic circle (tutorial from Every Trick on the Hook)

st - stitch 
slst - slip stitch

ch - chain

sc - single crochet

hdc - half double crochet

dc - double crochet

Blanket stitch block: (sc, 2dc)

Directions:

Make a magic circle.

Round 1 - Into MC, (sc, 2dc) 4 times. slst to first sc, ch1 and turn. (1 block on each side)

Round 2 - In the stitch you just joined to in the round below (so just behind your working yarn), (sc, 2dc, sc, 2dc). *Skip 2st, (sc, 2dc, sc, 2dc) into the next st, which is the sc from the previous round* Repeat * to * 3 times. slst to first sc, ch1 and turn. (2 blocks on each side)

NOTE: Each stitch that has two blocks in it (i.e. sc, 2dc, sc, 2dc) is a corner! In the next row, the corner is worked in the central sc which is bolded above.

Round 3 - In the stitch you just joined to in the round below (so just behind your working yarn), (sc, 2dc). *Skip 2st, (sc, 2dc, sc, 2dc) into the next st, which is the sc from the previous round, skip 2st, (sc, 2dc) in next stitch* Repeat * to * around your square. slst to first sc, ch1 and turn. (3 blocks on each side)

Rounds 4-14 - Repeat Row 3, adding one more blanket stitch block (sc, 2dc) in between the corners of each row. Measure your square after Row 14 to see if you're close to 10"/25cm; if not, do another row or two! 

Round 15 - (make sure you turned at the end of Row 14!) sc in each stitch. In corner sc, work (hdc, ch2, hdc). slst to first sc to finish, cut yarn and weave in ends.

FREE PATTERN: Granny 5 Petal Flower Square

Did you participate in Granny Square Day 2022 this week? It's not something I usually do, but on Sunday evening I had some time to myself (!!) while everyone was asleep (!!!) and there wasn't anything else urgent that needed doing (!!!!) so I decided to do a little doodling with my hook and see if I could come up with something a bit different for my contribution. 

Squaring a pentagon can be a bit tricky, but I think I figured it out! The trick was to make 5 pointed flower into a circle first, and then square the circle ;) 

Queue or favourite it on Ravelry here: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/granny-5-petal-flower-square

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FREE PATTERN: GRANNY 5 PETAL FLOWER SQUARE
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Finished size: 6" / 15cm 

Materials

Small amounts of Stylecraft Organic Cotton in Buttermilk, Blush, Papaya and Gypsum
4mm/G hook
Scissors
Yarn needle

This pattern uses all US terminology

MC - magic circle

st - stitch 
slst - slip stitch

ch - chain

sc - single crochet

hdc - half double crochet

dc - double crochet

tr - treble crochet

blo - back loop only

flo - front loop only

Directions:

Round 1 (Buttermilk) - make MC, 15dc in MC. finish off. 

Round 2 (Papaya) - join to any stitch with sc. sc in each stitch around, slst to join to first sc. ch1. 

Round 3 (Papaya) - in FLO, [sc, (hdc, dc, hdc) in next st, sc] around. slst to join to first sc. finish off.

Round 4 (Coral) - in BLO of same stitch of Round 2 as you worked the (hdc, dc, hdc) in Round 3, join with sc. [ch4, skip 2 st, sc in next stitch] around, joining with slst to the first sc worked in this round. ch1. 

Round 5 (Coral) - ch1. in next chain space, [sc, hdc, 3dc in next st, hdc, sc, ch1]. repeat [] around, joining to first sc with slst. ch1. 

Round 6 (Coral) - sc in each stitch around, including the ch1 space. finish off.

Round 7 (Papaya) - join with sc in blo of the stitch after the sc in a ch1 space. [hdc, dc, (dc, ch2, dc), hdc, dc, sc, spike dc into top of dc of Round 3 below, sc]. Repeat [] around, skipping final sc on final repeat. slst to first sc to join, ch1. 

Round 8 (Papaya) - sc in each stitch, with 3sc in ch2sp at the point of each petal. join to first sc with slst and finish off.

Round 9 (Gypsum) - join with sc in centre sc of 3sc worked into a ch2sp of Round 7. [sc, hdc in next 2st, dc in next 2st, tr, dc in next 2st, hdc in next 2st, sc in next 2st] repeat [] around, omitting final sc on final repeat and join with slst to first sc. ch1. 

Round 10 (Gypsum) - [dc in next 3st, 2dc in next st] around, but do 3dc in the final stitch not 2. Join with slst to first dc. ch1. 

Round 11 (Gypsum) -  [sc in next 3st, hdc in next 3 st, dc in next 3st, (2tr, ch2, 2tr) in next st, dc in next 3st, hdc in next 3st, sc in next 3 st] repeat [ ] around and join to first sc with slst. ch1.

Round 12 (Gypsum) - sc in each stitch around, working 3sc in the corner ch2 space. finish off and stitch in ends! 

Stylecraft Blogstars Garden Party!

Hi everyone!

It's been an age - racing around after tiny people certainly doesn't allow much time for blogging, or crafting, or... well, pretty much anything else. Allie is 4 years old today, and the time has absolutely flown! 

We were so excited when Stylecraft and the Blogstars suggested a Garden Party for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee this year - we hope you visited JosieKitten's blog for her gorgeous Macaron circular cushion pattern on Friday! 

The Garden Party concept was just the creative spark we needed to put together a new design in our Bargello series. This is our Bargello Ribbon Table Runner (all photos in this post credit to Stylecraft Yarns and their amazing photography and design team). 

I've had this design mumbling around in the back of my head for ages, but just haven't had time to activate my almonds and get it out of the brain and into some yarn. It's based on a quilted bargello table runner that my mum has in a glorious patchwork pattern book, but in a pastel rainbow. I love the illusion of the ribbon twisting around itself up your table!

As with our existing bargello patterns, I'm not going to lie - the style of writing the pattern is a bit strange. Please know that I tried as many different ways of writing the pattern as I could think of, and this was the clearest! I encourage you to read it all (even the boring introduction bit), and watch the videos linked in the pattern, and always reach out (on social media, or by email to wrappedwithlovebymichelle@gmail.com is more reliable than commenting here) if you need a hand to get going. The pattern has been tested by three crocheters of varying skill levels, and the text independently reviewed. 

A plus for purchasers between now and December 31, 2022 - US$2.50 (over half the purchase price after fees) will be donated to The Rotary Foundation's End Polio Now campaign. Rotary has been working to defeat polio for over 35 years now, and worldwide cases have reduced by 99.9% in that time. There are only two countries now where polio is endemic, and ever decreasing numbers of wild polio cases in the world. As a proud Rotarian, I'm honoured to be able to support this very worthy cause. We are THIS CLOSE to ending the scourge of polio worldwide.

And now, the pattern! To view or purchase the pattern on Ravelry, go here:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bargello-ribbon-table-runner

Keep bloghopping on 24 May to Janie Crow, who has created some really special decorations for our Garden Party!  

Yarn Review: You and Me!

Hey everybody! 

What an epic year we've had! Life regularly seems close to normal here in Australia, but we are still having outbreaks and mini lockdowns.

In between work and Rotary and now chasing two tiny humans around, I've had some time to try out Stylecraft's (now not all that new) yarn, You and Me. 

In short, I LOVE IT - and definitely not because they sent the first ball to me for free. As proof, I've been back to one of the big online retailers and bought more for myself to make jumpers for the kids. 

I made one of my Impossible Hexagon Sweaters for Allie first, and it came up so rich and warm and sturdy, I can't imagine she will ever be able to wear it out. 

The yarn is an acrylic and cashmere-effect polyamide blend - it feels like it has the strength and stitch definition of cotton, but the warmth of acrylic and just so ridiculously soft and silky. 

I wanted to branch out this year to some different cardigan and jumper designs, and my eyes just about jumped out of my head when I spotted the Jasmine Sweater by Mon Petit Violon... yes yes yes yes yes!

It's taken weeks of scraping out a few minutes here and there, but finally I finished it last night, and couldn't wait to share it here! 

(Please excuse the grubbiness of the model - she had an excellent play with her new textas *eyeroll*) 

I love how the self-striping yarn worked in with the pattern. Often I find that highly textured designs lose all their effect when worked with other than a plain coloured yarn, but this worked really well -  I think it looks a bit like a Monet?

It's so cosy warm too which is fortunate, because it looks like Sydney is in for a very cold and dry winter. 

Check that stitch definition! I did have to fiddle with the pattern a bit to get the sleeves to fit, but I do have a very long skinny bean to clothe. Her little brother seems to be going the same way, although already much bigger than she was at this age. 

Do you have any other toddler/preschooler jumper or cardigan patterns you can suggest for me to try crocheting for this monkey? I'd love to hear your suggestions! 

PATTERN: Queen Bargello Wave Bedspread AND Bargello Blocks Throw!

Hi everyone! 

Obligatory acknowledgement here that I've been terrible at blogging consistently again, along with vague intention to do better in the future... 

This year has just been bananas for everyone! Hot tip: International Student Exchange and Regional Human Resources Consulting are NOT relaxing industries to work in during a global pandemic, 0/10 do not recommend. The jobs themselves are fascinating and interesting, but after the constant tsunamis of feelings coming at me for months on end, the idea of doing anything constructive other than staring at the wall has been too much to contemplate.

However, I have made progress on my goal of getting written/designed patterns actually up there and published this year, and today is one of those red letter days!

In August, I finally published (to no announcement and fanfare) my Impossible Hexagon Sweater and Cardigan patterns, which I'll blog about another day (but here are the links to the patterns if you want to have a look:

Impossible Hexagon Sweater

Impossible Hexagon Cardigan)

But, to today's news!

After the success of our Bargello Wave Baby Blanket, we decided to try and figure out how to make a bigger version that didn't lean even harder to the right, and by goodness we cracked it! Today I can share with you not one, but TWO larger bargello blanket patterns! Both of these test beauties were made by my partner in crochet crime Anne, and I'm sure you'll agree she's done an outstanding job.

BARGELLO BLOCKS THROW

Pattern Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bargello-blocks-throw 

This design is worked corner to corner using a unique block method, along with the classic bargello style of maintaining the same block height whilst changing the width of each column of blocks. This is what creates the wave effect! Anne took her test blanket to the beach and my jaw literally dropped when the photos came in.

QUEEN BARGELLO WAVE BEDSPREAD

Pattern Link: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/queen-bargello-wave-bedspread

The bedspread is a massive 210cm square (unblocked) to fit your queen size bed, and is made with larger blocks and two strands of yarn held together. 

If you love both of these patterns, for the next two weeks 

(until Saturday 21 November), 

put both patterns in your Ravelry cart and use the code

UNDULATE

to get a discount! 

Back to blogging!

Hi all!

I used to be a regular blogger, and, man, I enjoyed it. Often, I would write one post per week, documenting my crochet journey and life in general. When I started working for my own coaching business next to my regular full-time work, time became scarce, and as a result, blogging became less. Then, in 2018, my husband and I relocated to the Netherlands, started new jobs, and bought a house. If I thought I was busy before, I was wrong! So, my blogging “career” mostly stopped. I am still active on Instagram, but I miss blogging. In fact, whenever I talk to my husband about what I would like to do more blogging pops up within my top 5. Yet, even though I talk about it a lot, I never actually do it. It is so hard to pick up a routine after it got lost, isn’t it?

Anyway, with this post, I am trying to bite the bullet and start blogging again! Fingers crossed, I will stick to it…

******

 

Life in the Netherlands is… wet. There has been so much rain over the last couple of weeks! Combined with grey clouds, it is sometimes hard to remember that there is a sun out there (somewhere…). Yet, the first signs of spring are here. In our (very) little garden, crocuses have been popping up for some weeks now, and I think the first daffodil is getting ready to bloom. 

In February, on a dry day (yes! We had these, too), we even planted new lilacs and a couple of other plants, which will hopefully be loved by bees and other insects. The decrease in insect numbers is incredibly worrying, and we are trying to do our best to help them find food. Gardens in our area tend to be desgined to require as little maintenance as possible. As a result, a lot of gardens are made out of stone only with a couple of flower pots (if at all). When we bought our house, our garden had very little in it that might appeal to bees. So, we have made it our task to transform our backyard. This project will, of course, take time, but I guess little steps are better than none. You should have heard my squeals of delight last summer whenever a bumblebee visited my newly planted lavender! I hope that this year, my little bumblebee will bring a lot of friends…

***** 

My crochet adventures over the last couple of weeks/months have been focused on Bargello crochet. Michelle has three (!) new Bargello patterns in the pipeline, which I have tested/am busy testing (one of them is in the naughty corner. Not because of the pattern, but because I made a mess counting stitches). I have finished one big blanket, and am working on an even larger one at the moment. The latter one is my favorite so far – it uses two strands of yarn, which means it a. is super-soft and b. works up quickly! 

I hope to have finished both blankets by the time Michelle comes to visit me in April! YES! Michelle is coming to visit! We have not seen each other in person since my trip to Australia in 2017, and, man, I can’t wait to see her in person again. Plus, I finally get to meet Allie! So exciting!

 

Next to the blankets, I have also made some owls. I forgot how addictive the pattern is! I have the feeling that there will be more turning up in our house soon... 

***** 

Okay! I made it through my first blogpost in 2020! Hurray! 

Hope to see you again next week!

Take care,

Anne

Teddy's Busy Day (+ yarn review!)

Hi everyone!

It has been a truly epic summer here in Australia, and I must admit I'm glad to be tumbling into February. Both Kiah and I ended up in hospital for several before Christmas with unrelated illnesses, the heat and humidity has been oppressive, the country has burned down and now there's floods. I think it's nearly time for a break!

So today I've put together something a bit fun for you, to show off Stylecraft's gorgeous new Regatta yarn. It's 74% cotton plus polyamide and elastane, which makes the yarn super bouncy. It still doesn't stretch lengthways like acrylic, but springs out sideways. I don't usually like making toys with cotton because the yarn gets "stringy" and the holes in the fabric get bigger and bigger, but with this yarn the sideways spring makes it look amazing. Check out the stitch definition, and these gorgeous colours! 

I used the Crew colourway, and Anne's adorable Cross Your Heart Teddy pattern. Allie has already claimed it, and loves cuddling Teddy and tucking him into bed . 

Stylecraft sent me this yarn to try out, but the opinions in this blogpost are my own and I am under no obligation to say nice things. 

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TEDDY'S BUSY DAY

*BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP*

Teddy rolled over and cracked open his eyes - it was 6am, time to start another day. He stumbled to the shower to wake himself up a bit. 

The shower wasn't quite enough, so he had to have a really strong coffee as well.

After coffee he felt a bit better, and so before work he had a play on the slide.

At work, Teddy had LOTS of drawing to do.

He also had to do reading, but that was ok - Teddy likes reading. 

Fortunately, then it was time for lunch!

After lunch, Teddy had to go to lots of meetings. Luckily there was cake at one of them, otherwise he didn't know how he would have coped.

Finally it was time to go home. On his way, Teddy stopped off at the gym to do his exercises. He was a bit optimistic about the weights but is very squishy so it wasn't a big problem.

Once he got home, Teddy popped out to the garden for a quick game of hide and seek (and to pull out the weeds of course).

Teddy had such a busy day! It was time for him to go to bed. Night night Teddy! 

See you in the morning!