Phew!
This one felt like it really dragged at the end, but it's done, done, done!
I washed and dried it this afternoon, then took it out onto the patio for a little photo shoot. I think I could've done better with my photos, but they'll do to get the point across. (The darkest colors look a little darker than in reality, unfortunately.)
So, the specifics.
(Here's the Ravelry project page.)
I'm sure you'll recognize the pattern. It's the popular "African Flower" or "Paperweight Granny" hexagon motif. There are multiple versions of the pattern floating around-- or multiple sources for it, at least.
The pattern's not difficult, but there are a ton of ends to weave in. (That's just the way it goes, if you change colors several times per motif.) Weaving the ends is definitely the most challenging and tiresome part of the project. Even though I took care to do a little at a time, as I went, it still ended up feeling like a lot of work.
I used a G hook (my favorite size, these days) and various brands of worsted weight yarn, including (but not limited to) Caron Simply Soft, Caron One Pound, I Love This Yarn, Loops & Threads Impeccable, Red Heart Super Saver, Vanna's Choice, and some thrift-store yarn that was either unmarked or no longer being produced.
Playing with the colors was the real joy of this project. There's a wonderful variety of ways to put them all together-- especially if you're using such a large palette as this.
I crocheted and wove in the ends of most of the center "flower" parts of the motifs before I started joining them-- but joining a few rows helped me see how many motifs I'd need, total. (Until you start connecting them, that's harder to predict than with squares, I think, because hexagons "nestle" together and cover less ground than you might realize.)
For the final, join-as-you-go round of the motifs, I worked from several colors of beige, ecru, cream, and buff, trying to disperse them in an even, pleasing way. I think that aspect was a success. It looks just as I'd pictured it-- warm and cozy. The variety of colors is fairly subtle, but I think it adds to the "scrappy", "gypsy" look of the blanket.
For the border, I went around the whole thing in single crochet three times in three different shades of the cream/ecru/beige yarns. Then I went around one last time in another beige yarn, this time strategically placing a few 5-dc popcorn stitches in amongst the single crochet. On the zig-zaggy sides, I put a popcorn stitch at the “peaks” and “valleys”-- high points and low points. For the shorter, straight sides, I just tried my best to place them evenly-- every nine or ten stitches or so. (They’re not perfectly spaced, but I really doubt it’ll be obvious.)
I started the afghan in April of last year-- then took a months-long break from it and only picked it back up much later in the year. Still, this has been a long, drawn-out project. I'm definitely happy to have this one off the hook!
(There are no measurements, by the way, because I'm too lazy to bother. ;o) It's made to be a generously sized blanket for one person. I'm able to stretch out underneath it quite comfortably, with room to spare, and I'm an average-sized woman of about 5'5"/5'6" height.)
P.S. There are a couple more photos on Flickr, too, for anyone interested. :o)
This one felt like it really dragged at the end, but it's done, done, done!
I washed and dried it this afternoon, then took it out onto the patio for a little photo shoot. I think I could've done better with my photos, but they'll do to get the point across. (The darkest colors look a little darker than in reality, unfortunately.)
So, the specifics.
(Here's the Ravelry project page.)
I'm sure you'll recognize the pattern. It's the popular "African Flower" or "Paperweight Granny" hexagon motif. There are multiple versions of the pattern floating around-- or multiple sources for it, at least.
The pattern's not difficult, but there are a ton of ends to weave in. (That's just the way it goes, if you change colors several times per motif.) Weaving the ends is definitely the most challenging and tiresome part of the project. Even though I took care to do a little at a time, as I went, it still ended up feeling like a lot of work.
I used a G hook (my favorite size, these days) and various brands of worsted weight yarn, including (but not limited to) Caron Simply Soft, Caron One Pound, I Love This Yarn, Loops & Threads Impeccable, Red Heart Super Saver, Vanna's Choice, and some thrift-store yarn that was either unmarked or no longer being produced.
Playing with the colors was the real joy of this project. There's a wonderful variety of ways to put them all together-- especially if you're using such a large palette as this.
I crocheted and wove in the ends of most of the center "flower" parts of the motifs before I started joining them-- but joining a few rows helped me see how many motifs I'd need, total. (Until you start connecting them, that's harder to predict than with squares, I think, because hexagons "nestle" together and cover less ground than you might realize.)
For the final, join-as-you-go round of the motifs, I worked from several colors of beige, ecru, cream, and buff, trying to disperse them in an even, pleasing way. I think that aspect was a success. It looks just as I'd pictured it-- warm and cozy. The variety of colors is fairly subtle, but I think it adds to the "scrappy", "gypsy" look of the blanket.
For the border, I went around the whole thing in single crochet three times in three different shades of the cream/ecru/beige yarns. Then I went around one last time in another beige yarn, this time strategically placing a few 5-dc popcorn stitches in amongst the single crochet. On the zig-zaggy sides, I put a popcorn stitch at the “peaks” and “valleys”-- high points and low points. For the shorter, straight sides, I just tried my best to place them evenly-- every nine or ten stitches or so. (They’re not perfectly spaced, but I really doubt it’ll be obvious.)
I started the afghan in April of last year-- then took a months-long break from it and only picked it back up much later in the year. Still, this has been a long, drawn-out project. I'm definitely happy to have this one off the hook!
(There are no measurements, by the way, because I'm too lazy to bother. ;o) It's made to be a generously sized blanket for one person. I'm able to stretch out underneath it quite comfortably, with room to spare, and I'm an average-sized woman of about 5'5"/5'6" height.)
P.S. There are a couple more photos on Flickr, too, for anyone interested. :o)