I've woven in the ends on my last two spring-themed sampler afghan blocks! Just have to find the perfect arrangement ;o) and the perfect join ;o) and then get them all attached! Seriously though, I'm planning to not nit-pick this too much. Though all the blocks have the same stitch-count, some are a bit bigger/smaller than the average, but I'm hopeful that it'll even out when they're joined.
Here are the two final blocks...
"Spiro Star of Spring":
Pattern: "Spiro Star", by Helen Shrimpton
(free pattern, available on Ravelry)
Some of the project notes I read suggested that it was best to use the photo tutorial version of the pattern (avoiding errors), which I did through the twelfth round. At that point, I followed a fellow Raveller's rewrite, which is meant to reduce rippling (see my project notes on Ravelry for the person's Ravelry handle). Following this method, I think it turned out pretty well. It seems to lie flat, at least.
To get my target size and stitch-count, I converted the last two rounds to single crochet.
I'm not sure how I feel about my color placement. Maybe there's too much of a concentration of green in the center... It should be okay when mixed in with the other blocks, though, and the design itself is very pretty. It is reminiscent of one of those "Spirograph" doodles.
"Spring is Rebirth":
Pattern: "Rebirth", by Magdalene Lee
(free pattern, available on Ravelry)
This is one that is actually on the official CAL list. (Appropriate to finish with it, perhaps.)
I had such trouble getting started on this one! It's not that the pattern is particularly difficult (well, if you don't mind puff stitches, at least). I think I was just distracted. In any case, I had to restart three times. The third time was indeed the charm, but by then I was so sick of making puff stitches that I swapped the second round of them out for popcorn stitches. (That's the round of pale green in the photos above.)
I think it looks fine with popcorn stitches instead of puffs-- just a little different; still nice-- but it did necessitate changing the next round slightly. I also made a few other minor alterations. (Details in my project notes on Ravelry.)
This is an interesting block with tons of texture and room for color-play. The double zig-zag is very eye-catching!
Here's the stack of afghan blocks... All twenty-four of 'em. Anyone want to volunteer to join them for me? ;o)
I may have mentioned that I was planning to sew some quilt-style, pieced curtains for my kitchen windows. I finally chose my prints and started, over the weekend.
The pattern I've decided on is made up of half-square triangles (HSTs), and because I'll need a lot of them, I decided to try making them 8-at-a-time. (You might remember that I've made a quilt top-- yet to be made into a quilt sandwich-- that was constructed entirely of HSTs. That time, I made them "only" 2-at-a-time. I guess it's good to try new methods-- especially when you're still a beginner and there's so much that's new to you!)
I'm still on the "trimming down to size" step:
Once these units are finished, I don't think it should take too long to make, but it is getting close to Christmas, so it'll probably take longer than it otherwise would. I'm just looking forward to pressing them open and starting to arrange them! :o)
Here are the two final blocks...
"Spiro Star of Spring":
Pattern: "Spiro Star", by Helen Shrimpton
(free pattern, available on Ravelry)
Some of the project notes I read suggested that it was best to use the photo tutorial version of the pattern (avoiding errors), which I did through the twelfth round. At that point, I followed a fellow Raveller's rewrite, which is meant to reduce rippling (see my project notes on Ravelry for the person's Ravelry handle). Following this method, I think it turned out pretty well. It seems to lie flat, at least.
To get my target size and stitch-count, I converted the last two rounds to single crochet.
I'm not sure how I feel about my color placement. Maybe there's too much of a concentration of green in the center... It should be okay when mixed in with the other blocks, though, and the design itself is very pretty. It is reminiscent of one of those "Spirograph" doodles.
- - - - - - -
"Spring is Rebirth":
Pattern: "Rebirth", by Magdalene Lee
(free pattern, available on Ravelry)
This is one that is actually on the official CAL list. (Appropriate to finish with it, perhaps.)
I had such trouble getting started on this one! It's not that the pattern is particularly difficult (well, if you don't mind puff stitches, at least). I think I was just distracted. In any case, I had to restart three times. The third time was indeed the charm, but by then I was so sick of making puff stitches that I swapped the second round of them out for popcorn stitches. (That's the round of pale green in the photos above.)
I think it looks fine with popcorn stitches instead of puffs-- just a little different; still nice-- but it did necessitate changing the next round slightly. I also made a few other minor alterations. (Details in my project notes on Ravelry.)
This is an interesting block with tons of texture and room for color-play. The double zig-zag is very eye-catching!
- - - - - - -
Here's the stack of afghan blocks... All twenty-four of 'em. Anyone want to volunteer to join them for me? ;o)
- - - - - - -
I may have mentioned that I was planning to sew some quilt-style, pieced curtains for my kitchen windows. I finally chose my prints and started, over the weekend.
The pattern I've decided on is made up of half-square triangles (HSTs), and because I'll need a lot of them, I decided to try making them 8-at-a-time. (You might remember that I've made a quilt top-- yet to be made into a quilt sandwich-- that was constructed entirely of HSTs. That time, I made them "only" 2-at-a-time. I guess it's good to try new methods-- especially when you're still a beginner and there's so much that's new to you!)
I'm still on the "trimming down to size" step:
Once these units are finished, I don't think it should take too long to make, but it is getting close to Christmas, so it'll probably take longer than it otherwise would. I'm just looking forward to pressing them open and starting to arrange them! :o)