Moorland Blanket CAL: Getting started

Ever since I decided to re-learn to crochet (Granny taught me when I was little, but I hadn’t done any for years and had to re-learn as an adult) I’ve been a huge fan of Lucy and her Attic24 blog. It’s always just bright and colourful, full of gorgeous inspiration and amazing patterns. So I was super excited when I found out that she would be starting a blanket CAL in 2017 – what a great way to start a new year!

attic24.typepad.com

I love the gorgeous moorland that provided the inspiration for this blanket – have a look at the Moorland Blanket CAL::Introduction for more of Lucy’s amazing moorland photos!

Now, even though I’ve known about this CAL for a while and knew that I wanted to be part of it, I’m a bit scatty and only remembered to order my yarn pack on Wednesday! I so wanted to be ready to join in right from the very beginning, but thought I might have to wait a day or two and catch up during the week. Thankfully it arrived Friday morning – hurrah!

The bag that the yarn was posted in is great for containing everything when I take my crochet out (it happens more than you might think… I often turn up at friends’ houses with a bag of yarn and a pair of slippers). But I also wanted to just admire all the colours and have them on display somewhere – and my hamper basket is the perfect place! 15 balls of Stylecraft Special DK deliciousness all packed into one lovely basket. Yum!

Lucy’s advice was to label a small length of each colour – it’s easy to forget the names of them all once the band has been removed. I’ve done this a few times before when I’ve been using a lot of different colours all at once. It’s easy to keep in my project notebook as it doesn’t take up much space and is a really useful reference point.

Another thing Lucy recommended is making up a tension square before starting. I don’t normally bother with these (I’m usually too impatient to get started on a project!) but since she insisted I thought I’d better! It was actually really useful because I realised that I was getting gaps at the beginning of some rows, so I was able to adjust my stitches to make the edges neater.

Friday night progress

Despite lots of really careful counting, I managed to be one stitch short on the foundation row – so annoying! But I was too lazy to start all over again, so fudged it by working two dcs into the last foundation stitch 😉 And it actually doesn’t really show, so I’m glad I didn’t bother taking everything apart!

I already love how it’s looking and the simple, easy to remember pattern is great – it doesn’t need huge amounts of concentration so I can enjoy films/audiobooks/conversations as I merrily hook away!

Saturday Progress

If you’re taking part in the Moorland Blanket CAL put a link to your blog/instagram/facebook so I can see how your blankets are looking!

6 thoughts on “Moorland Blanket CAL: Getting started”

    1. Yes, fairly thin card (but thick enough not to fall apart!) with holes punched down the side for yarn samples 🙂

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