I finally finished the Summer in Sweden ("Weekend in Stockholm") afghan-- about a week ago, actually, but I'm just now getting around to taking a few photos. I tend to put off photographing completed crochet projects. Some of my least favorite types of photos to take, because they usually turn out blurry or otherwise blah, but I'll do my best. :o)
Here are a few of the better photos I managed to take this afternoon:
There are a few more in my Flickr photostream, too, but they're pretty much just more of the same. I may try to take a few more in better light and "pose", one of these days. For now, I really just wanted to do my little write-up before I completely forget what little I still remember about the making of the blanket. ;o)
Pattern:
Debbie Stoller's "Weekend in Stockholm Throw"
Yarn:
I used mixture of 100% acrylics. As for amounts, I used less than a skein of each of the colors listed below. Some were partial skeins to begin with, so I used less of those colors. I started a second skein of the Pound of Love, just to be sure I didn't run out on the joining and border. (I might have had enough if I'd used only the first skein, but I figured I'd find a use for the rest of the second skein, anyway.)
Caron Simply Soft:
Ocean
Dark Sage
Persimmon
Soft Blue
Lt. Country Blue
Loops & Threads Impeccable:
Lt. Fern
Grass
Pumpkin
Butterscotch
Caron One Pound:
Sunflower
Lion Brand Pound of Love:
Antique White
Hook:
I (5.5 mm)
Total Number of Squares:
54 squares in a 9 x 6 rectangle
Joining Method:
I held the squares face to face and slip stitched through the back loops only.
Edging / Border:
I liked the looks of the pattern-indicated border, but I really wanted to try out a wider and more elaborate (by my standards thus far) border than I've used before, and I'd already edged an afghan in simple scallops similar to the ones in the pattern.
I started with a round of sc in the main/joining color (Antique White Pound of Love), then moved on to a round of dc in the dark green (Caron Simply Soft, Dark Sage), followed by two rounds of hdc in the two very similar light blues (Caron Simply Soft, Soft Blue and Lt. Country Blue). After that, I went around two more times-- one round each of sc in Caron Simply Soft Persimmon and Ocean.
For the icing on the cake, I used border #59 from Edie Eckman's Around the Corner Crochet Borders book. I worked that two-round border in the Antique White.
(The border looks prettier in the book, I think... Must be the different yarns used. The Pound of Love yarn is a little thinner than a lot of worsted weight yarns. It's not bad on my blanket, though, just not quite how I pictured it. The more I see it, the more used to it I get, so eventually I'm sure I'll love it.)
Verdict:
This was a fun and relatively quick blanket to crochet. Also, the assembly line method worked well and may have had something to do with how quickly I finished the squares. I recommend this pattern-- but only if you either enjoy trebles or want to conquer your fear and/or dislike of them. (g) Seriously, there are tons of trebles in this motif. (Which also probably had something to do with the speediness of the squares.)
Now to wait for the weather to cool down enough that we can use it...
Here are a few of the better photos I managed to take this afternoon:
There are a few more in my Flickr photostream, too, but they're pretty much just more of the same. I may try to take a few more in better light and "pose", one of these days. For now, I really just wanted to do my little write-up before I completely forget what little I still remember about the making of the blanket. ;o)
Pattern:
Debbie Stoller's "Weekend in Stockholm Throw"
Yarn:
I used mixture of 100% acrylics. As for amounts, I used less than a skein of each of the colors listed below. Some were partial skeins to begin with, so I used less of those colors. I started a second skein of the Pound of Love, just to be sure I didn't run out on the joining and border. (I might have had enough if I'd used only the first skein, but I figured I'd find a use for the rest of the second skein, anyway.)
Caron Simply Soft:
Ocean
Dark Sage
Persimmon
Soft Blue
Lt. Country Blue
Loops & Threads Impeccable:
Lt. Fern
Grass
Pumpkin
Butterscotch
Caron One Pound:
Sunflower
Lion Brand Pound of Love:
Antique White
Hook:
I (5.5 mm)
Total Number of Squares:
54 squares in a 9 x 6 rectangle
Joining Method:
I held the squares face to face and slip stitched through the back loops only.
Edging / Border:
I liked the looks of the pattern-indicated border, but I really wanted to try out a wider and more elaborate (by my standards thus far) border than I've used before, and I'd already edged an afghan in simple scallops similar to the ones in the pattern.
I started with a round of sc in the main/joining color (Antique White Pound of Love), then moved on to a round of dc in the dark green (Caron Simply Soft, Dark Sage), followed by two rounds of hdc in the two very similar light blues (Caron Simply Soft, Soft Blue and Lt. Country Blue). After that, I went around two more times-- one round each of sc in Caron Simply Soft Persimmon and Ocean.
For the icing on the cake, I used border #59 from Edie Eckman's Around the Corner Crochet Borders book. I worked that two-round border in the Antique White.
(The border looks prettier in the book, I think... Must be the different yarns used. The Pound of Love yarn is a little thinner than a lot of worsted weight yarns. It's not bad on my blanket, though, just not quite how I pictured it. The more I see it, the more used to it I get, so eventually I'm sure I'll love it.)
Verdict:
This was a fun and relatively quick blanket to crochet. Also, the assembly line method worked well and may have had something to do with how quickly I finished the squares. I recommend this pattern-- but only if you either enjoy trebles or want to conquer your fear and/or dislike of them. (g) Seriously, there are tons of trebles in this motif. (Which also probably had something to do with the speediness of the squares.)
Now to wait for the weather to cool down enough that we can use it...