I love yarn and I love working with yarn. I especially love crochet and Tunisian crochet.
Sometimes I test crochet patterns, sometimes I design something myself and sometimes I just make something nice for myself.
In April I was able to test another design of Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity.
She designed this lovely square for someone who changed the trajectory of her craft, Margaret.
I used Drops Paris and Drops Love You 8 for this test. I followed color way 1 and replaced the colors as follows
Colour A / Off White
Colour B / Jeans Blue
Colour C / Sage Green
And here my result
I love the combination of Blue and Sage, it’s kind of calming. Using a 4,5 mm hook my blocked square is about 30 cm / 12 inch.
I loved testing this design. Pam’s patterns are always very detailed and well worked out! The skill level is intermediate but every stitch is explained very well. And there are clear and helpful row by row pictures that show exactly the stitch placement and so on.
If you like the Margaret square you should also have a look at at a series of squares she designed in legacy of her grandchildren. I was able to test one of them in September 2020, the Carter Jude Square.
is one of the projects I am working on besides testing crochet patterns.
When Summer turns into Fall – Pattern
The pattern is by Ana Morais Soares from One Skein of Love and is done in Overlay Mosaic crochet. It was published in November 2020 and for me it was love at first sight. I already wrote about it in a previous post.
I really love Mosaic Crochet! Incredible that I only got to know about Overlay Mosaic crochet a year ago. Sometimes I still get scared when I see all the tails but I like the fact that it is only worked from the front. I think this way the stitches look so much neater. And an envelope or double border is such a great finish!
When Summer turns into Fall – Colours
As I said, I fell in love with When Summer turns into Fall at first sight. The warm, autumnal colours Ana has chosen go so well with the name of the blanket and they remind me on autumn leaves in the sunshine on one of the last warm days of the year.
So no doubt that I would make this blanket in the original colors:
Parchment, Walnut, Gold, Copper and Lime, all Stylecraft Special Dk.
The only change I planned was replacing Lime with Pistachio, one of my new favorite colors, that I bought but never used.
Unfortunately that didn’t work at all!
In the original design Lime is combined with Parchment and the pattern comes into its own. If Pistachio is combined with Parchment there is no contrast at all, even in best daylight. Unfortunately I had crocheted almost the entire pattern 3 until I was really convinced that it wouldn’t work. So I had to redo this part of the pattern completely.
Instead of Lime I am now using Nijmegen from Scheepjes Colour Crafter. This shade is (nearly?) identical with SSDK, Lime. I chose Scheepjes as meanwhile I am able to order some of their yarns here in Germany – that goes so much faster. Stylecraft is mostly shipped directly from UK and nowadays it takes nearly two weeks till it arrives.
Although my progress is VERY slow, I am happy how my blanket turns out! Originally I had planned to have it ready When Summer turns into Fall again. But I’m afraid it won’t work. When I need a break from testing every now and then I crochet a few rows – it’s a very relaxing project.
By the way, my Pistachio now has also found its destination: I am just testing Ana’s new design and I am using Pistachio and Meadow. Don’t they look great together?
April has gone, May has come and my days are still busy …
Although the weather is too chilly for this season, some of our perennials are starting to bloom. I did some gardening, pulled weeds, cut back and planted some lettuce and herbs in the cold frame.
And besides the usual housework I finished some crochet tests.
Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity designed another lovely 12inch square. Her tests are always run in different phases so I am afraid it still will take some time until the pattern will be released and I can show the results.
Also worked on a test for another blanket designed by BebaBlanket. The pattern will be released somewhere in August.
And I am still working on the last rows of a beautiful test for Moi-Raya. It‘s a square made in Carreaux Crochet and – as soon as I’ve finished it – I will tell more about it in another post.
When I had a deep dive in my craft corner to find a suitable Aran yarn for Pam‘s test I came across some squares made from a pattern I bought 5 years ago
Stardust Melodies – The pattern
Stardust Melodies is a design by Polly Plum – 24 beautiful, textured afghan blocks.
All are named after famous old songs like Dream a Little Dream of Me, Fools Rush In or It Had to Be You, just to name a few of them.
Sometimes I like to listen to this old music, sung by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Elvis, Cole Porter and all the others …
Stardust Melodies was released in 2017 as a Cal, consisting of 12 free squares and the option to buy an eBook with 12 additional squares. The skill levels vary between easy, intermediate and advanced.
I liked both, the designs as well as the idea of naming them after old songs. So I bought the eBook 5 years ago, not knowing that this will become one of my long-time-projects.
Stardust Melodies – My project
I always have some WIPs around me as I like to switch between different projects. I finish most of them in a reasonable time, but there are some that stay with me for longer. They sometimes disappear to live in a drawer but only to reappear when the time has come. And so it happened to Stardust Melodies.
I originally started this project in 2017 but put it aside after making a few squares. I wasn‘t happy with the color I had chosen and I also have to admit that I found some of squares quite difficult to make at that time. So I‘ve probably lost interest a little.
About two years later I stumbled across the pattern again and was fascinated again by the varied but matching designs. So I had a second start. I tried different yarns to see what works best. And the break also showed me, how much I had learned within the past two years – the squares weren’t difficult at all.
Stardust Melodies – My yarn
My yarn choice was King Cole Cottonsoft DK, more or less leftovers from another project. I still like the result very much.
I think now the time has come to finally end this project! I will have to sit down to work out how far I can get with my leftover yarns. As far as I have seen two of my colors are meanwhile discontinued and the other two are currently out of stock. Hm….. we will see…..
Stardust Melodies – Some impressions
Here a selection of the squares I already made.
Photo above Just One of those Things / Don’t Fence me In / Begin the Beguine (Top, from left to right) Mack the Knife / I’m Beginning to See the Light / Fools Rush In (Bottom, from left to right)
The Carnival Treat Dudes is the new pattern by misssBerlin. Candy Apple, Cotton Candy and Popcorn Dude. Another lovely Trio!
It was a great fun again to test this pattern! And this time it was also very educational to me. But that’s one thing I love with testing patterns. I not only get new ideas, but also learn a lot and improve my skills – not to mention the exchange with other crocheters.
The Candy Apple
I started with the Candy Apple. It was love at first sight! I like the round caps anyway, but this one is not only round, it really has the bulbous shape of an apple. Even the small pit, where the stem and leaf normally sit, is shown. And of course the Candy Apple has a Candy Cane and a little leaf for decoration.
And sometimes you are lucky enough to have exactly the right color in your stash. My Candy Apple is made with Scheepjes Catona, no. 516 – Candy Apple.
The Cotton Candy
The Dudes and their caps are mostly made with a Cotton sports weight yarn, but for the Cotton Candy it is recommended to use an Acrylic DK yarn. The instructions for the cap are specially written for slightly thicker yarn, using a slightly thinner hook. I used Stylecraft Special DK with a 3,5 mm hook. It worked pretty good and the cap fitted perfectly. But it was a personal drama to me in other ways: I wasn’t happy with the shape at all. In Dana’s (the person behind misssBerlin) photos the shaping was very smooth and soft and mine didn’t look like that at all. Dana tried to calm me down and told me that brushing will ease the shape …
… Well, she was so right! But I only got that after a series of tests of my own.
As I know that the look of a crochet piece depends a lot on tension, stitch height and so on I tried to make little changes to improve the shaping of my Cotton Candy cap … I ended up doing three caps, but wasn’t really satisfied with any of them. So I took the chance to make another test.:
To get the fluffy look the finished cap is brushed with a pet slicker brush or something similar. Until now I’ve always been very cautious with brushing, being afraid to damage the whole item. Now, having three (unloved) caps to choose from I could be a little braver. So I decided to try how hard the yarn can be brushed before it breaks completely. What shall I say … it withstands quite a lot! The result is even better if you are not too careful …
Now, look at my finished cap…. I am so happy with it! Oh, do I have to mention that this is the cap I did first and the one I liked the least? Well, quite a learning curve I guess! By the way, I used a small wire brush from the hardware store for “pre-brushing” and gave it a „finish“ with a hard clothes brush.
The Popcorn Dude
Making the Popcorn Dude needs a lot of concentration and some time. But it’s so worth it! As the popcorn box should fit snug I chose a smaller hook (2,25 mm) and went up to my regular 2,25 mm hook for the popcorn kernels. Doesn‘t it look yummy?
In the picture the cap is worn by my new Dude that I made during the test. I think so far he is my best one! What practice can do…
For the yarn, colors and hooks I used in detail please see my Ravelry Page. And you also should have a look at the Ravelry page of one of my fellow testers. She tested two of the caps using a 0,75 mm hook and size 40 thread. So cute!
is another pattern test for BebaBlanket. She just released the pattern for this lovely chevron blanket in her Ravelry store.
I love chevron patterns. I have just dealt with this topic, so I know that there are a lot of different variations. But isn’t it amazing how you can influence the look of a simple chevron pattern by combining it with mosaic crochet?
I started with this test at the end of November last year, but I had a very slow start. I can’t say how many color combinations I’ve tried and discarded! Finally I decided to go with Stylecraft Special DK in Graphite and Duck Egg and I think this was a good decision.
The pattern is similar to the Chevron Apache Waves pattern that BebaBlanket released last year. Only the technique is different. Apache Waves is done Overlay Mosaic technique and Mosaic Chevron is worked in a technique that – in some places – is called Inset Mosaic.
In short words, the difference between both is, that Overlay is worked only from the frontside and the yarn is cut and the color is changed after every row. With Inset two rows are worked with the same color and the yarn is carried along the sides. (There are even more differences, but that is perhaps worth another blog post.)
I had the chance to test Chevron Apache Waves last year and made a place mat with this pattern.
It was my first pattern in overlay mosaic technique and so I didn‘t know much about the different border options. I just left all the tails as a fringe, which is one of the various options, and that works pretty good for a place mat or coaster.
In the meantime I have already done several mosaic patterns, both Inset and Overlay. I think Mosaic Chevron is my third blanket made with Inset mosaic technique. The result is a nice lap blanket. It measures about 74 x 102 cm.
Mosaic Chevron – pattern
Except for the mosaic double crochet the chevron pattern is done completely in single crochet and therefor I used a 4,5 mm hook. I was afraid that otherwise it would get too tight and I don‘t like blankets that feel hard and stiff.
As color A I used Duck Egg and color B is Graphite.
I started with 166 chains, that are 7 repeats in width and mixed the pattern with plain chevron sections.
Mosaic Chevron – My Layout
My layout looks like this:
3 pattern repeats
plain section consisting of
6 rows color B
2 rows color A
2 rows color B
2 rows color A
6 rows color B
3 pattern repeats, starting again with row 1
plain section (as above)
3 pattern repeats starting with row 1
The pattern states to start with row 3 after the plain section. And when I write that I started with row 1 that‘s just a different way of writing. It means, that I did two more plain rows in color A, just to get the same color scheme I started with.
Mosaic Chevron – My border
Compared with my Apache Waves place mat my Mosaic Chevron had only a few yarn tails. But of course on one side the carried yarn is visible. So I was looking for a plain and simple border, just to hide the threads.
I decided to go with just one row of single crochet in Graphite, worked with a 4 mm hook.
Here my scheme:
Top: following row 1 of the chevron pattern
Left side: one single crochet in every row
Bottom: following row 1 of the chevron pattern but without skipping stitches and the „tips“ worked in the chain spaces
Right side: one single crochet in every row
3 single crochet in each of the four corner stitches
I really enjoyed working on this pattern. It is easy to memorize and relaxing! And the graphic result is great in my eyes!
In terms of calendar, we have had spring for over 3 weeks now. But the weather outside doesn’t feel like that yet. The nights are still cold and the days chilly. It’s real April weather – as we call it. Sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy, sometimes rainy and we also had some tiny snowflakes.
Nevertheless nature awakens. The first bushes and fruit trees are blooming and the forest is also beginning to turn green. The sparrows are just preparing to breed under our roof again. And in the morning you are woken up by the chirping of the birds.
I love this time of the year, but I think I actually like every season. I just don’t like the super hot days in summer, when it is too hot for the slightest movement at 40 degrees Celsius.
I am just so exited about the little peach tree that we bought last year and that is blooming on our terrace. It is supposed to stay small so that it can grow in a bucket. We also bought a small cherry tree and some apples – all in buckets as our garden is not very big and most of the space is already occupied by an old pine tree and a little birch.
I am curious to see wether we will have some fruits this summer. We already had some very tasty apples last year but the peaches haven’t ripened properly.
„Old“ tests
I finally finished one of my tests for BebaBlanket. I think she is going to release the pattern on the coming weekend, so I prepared already my Ravelry page and a post about the lap blanket I made.
Besides misssBerlin is currently running a test. New caps for the Dudes. I mentioned it before.Cuteness overload! I just finished the three new caps, there are only a few beads left that have to be sewn on. Two tiny arms also must be sewn on, as, besides the caps, I managed to make a new Dude as well.
Another reason why I am waiting for better weather. When the sun is shining it is easier to take photos as you don’t have to worry about decent lighting.
„New tests“
And there are two completely unexpected tests:
One is from Moi-Raya and is about Carreaux Crochet. This is a very special crochet technique where you create a dense and thick fabric. It is double sided but worked in one work step. The motif is shown on both sides, only the colors are switched. Perfect for a potholder, coaster or something like that. In 2019 I worked with her for the first time and tested the basics for this technique. Here one of my test patches – front and back side.
The current test is for different tiles, the motifs are inspired by french flor tiles.
This is really a demanding test that takes time. The technique is not difficult and neither are the stitches. But I have to concentrate a lot to make no mistakes.
And also Pam from A Yarn of Serendipity designed another lovely square. The test is run in different phases and my part will start at the end of April. I’m really looking forward to it!
I was able to test for Pam for the first time in September last year. To give you an imagination of her lovely work, this is my test version of the Carter Jude Square.
It is part of a series of squares she designed as a legacy for her grandchildren.
As if I had nothing else to do I had to make a little decoration shortly before easter. I just couldn‘t resist when I saw this lovely animation of the Easter Dudes that Dana (misssBerlin) posted on Instagram. At nearly the same time I came across the easter eggs by Tatiana Saienko from Planet Piu and I thought both would go very well together. And voila!
The Easter Dudes
I had the chance to test the Easter Dudes back in 2019. I was – and still am – fascinated by the beautiful embroidery that Dana used to decorate the caps. I wish I could do that! Unfortunately, I never learned that and I have a really hard time doing it. So I am afraid, instead of pretty flowering branches, my embroidery will always be a bit more graphic and rustic.
The test for the Easter Dudes was about one Dude and one cap only.
I‘ve crocheted quite a few Dudes by now. And they all differ a bit. Although I – felt – always make them the same, they are always different. Smaller, bigger, thicker or thinner with different arms and / or noses. And there is Fred.
Fred is my first Easter Dude and the only one (I hardly dare to say) that has a name. I made him as a part of the test and somehow he turned out very small. And with his cap on he seems tiny and shy to me. That‘s why I gave him a name. He only wears his Easter Cap and doesn‘t have to model for other caps.
However it was fun to dig out the pattern again and to crochet another Easter Cap. This time I tried a little embroidery and I think it worked out quite well.
I used Camilla yarn from Woll Butt for the cap. That’s a German brand and I tried it for the first time. It‘s a cotton sport weight and has exactly the same yardage like Scheepjes Catona or Schachenmayr Catania. It‘s soft and easy to work with. For the embroidery I used Scheepjes Catona in the color Lavender. I just split the thread for it.
I always find it surprising how fast some things can be crocheted if you are not currently testing the pattern. Maybe I should do a few more? Or do one every year, together with
The Easter Eggs
I discovered this pattern by chance on Instagram. It is a free pattern that you will also get on Ravelry. More precisely, there are two instructions, one for a small egg and one for a bigger one. Both are easy and quick to make and you can let your creativity run free.
I started with the small yellow egg. It is the same yarn and color like the cap for the Easter Dude. I wasn‘t sure if it was good to stuff the egg first and then to embroider it, but it worked out very well.
The other eggs are also made with cotton yarn but different brands.
The big one is crocheted in one color as well and later embroidered. The blue yarn is from Wenco, also a German brand.
But at this point it was definitely enough embroidery for me! So I decided to crochet the other two small eggs in two colors.
The lavender egg has contrasting stripes in cream. (Lavender is Catona, Cream is Catania). The color changes are made in the rounds 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13. For the other one the main color is Cream and the green parts are done in rounds 5, 8-11 and 14.
Most of my crochet time is spent for testing. Right now I am working on three different tests for BebaBlanket. I have committed to make a small blanket for each of them. And misssBerlin will also soon have another test that I would like to take part in.
One of the tests for BebaBlanket has definitely to be finished in early April as the pattern probably will be released later that month. Luckily I am nearly finished with it. There are just two more repeats and a small border to do.
The pattern is a combination of mosaic and plain crochet. I started it last December but I first took some time to make a few color swatches. I am always unsure about the color combination, it is really so bad! Finally I decided to use Stylecraft Special DK in Graphite and Duck Egg and so far I love the result.
The other two tests have to be finished in early July respectively August.
It‘s such a shame that I can‘t show it all yet!
But what I can show are some kind of private projects that I definitely want to finish this year, besides all the testing, just for me. At least there are these two:
When Summer turns into Fall
A lovely blanket by Ana Morais Soares from One Skein Of Love. It is done in Overlay Mosaic technique.
I fell in love with this blanket the first time I saw it and had to get the pattern. I like these autumn colors she used and so I will make it in the original color scheme. But it also will look great in other colors. Meanwhile I have seen it in many different shades and another favorite of mine is a two colored version in pastel tones.
The blanket consists of three different patterns that are repeated several times. It is also easy to customize. I am most excited about the patterned border because I have never made something like this.
The Seashell Dudes
Another pattern by misssBerlin. This time not a test, but a lovely Christmas gift 💕.
The Conch, Sea Urchin and Ammonite are a super maritime decoration and they immediately reminded me of the Northern Sea, one of my favorite holiday places.
I started this project at the end of January. After finishing the three Dudes I began with the Conch but didn’t get further than a few rows. That was exactly when the test for the Succulent Dudes started….I am afraid that I will have to make new Dudes – once again – as the planned Seashell Dudes are now gathering on a sideboard in my living room wearing the Succulent caps.
A fate like this overtakes most of my Dudes!
At least my colors are set for this project! I will use Scheepjes Catona, in color 505 Linen, for the Dudes. The caps will be made in Catona, color 528 Silver Blue, and Schachenmayr Catania in 263 Soft Apricot and 257 Bast.
That‘s all?
Of course not! But it depends on what else has to be done this year – in testing and besides testing. Spring has just come in the northern hemisphere and there will be a lot of gardening and also home renovation is a never-ending topic for us. But before I get bored …
… I already have yarn for the Meadow Embossed Crochet Bag by Natalia Kononova from Outstanding crochet. It’s Scheepjes Catona in the colors 387 Dark Olive and 395 Willow.
And there is another pattern for a blanket waiting. The Beach Walk Blanket by Marion Mitchell from Woolthreadpaint.I spotted it on Instagram and it also immediately reminded me of the Northern Sea.Honestly, I don’t think I will be able to do it this year. On the other hand, it is all done in Granny squares. So I suspect would be a nice summer project when it will actually be too hot to work on a big blanket. So maybe I could at least have a start…. I will keep you up to date!
Credits: The photos shown on the tablet in my pictures are the cover photos from the patterns The Seashell Dudes by misssBerlin and When Summer turns into Fall by One Skein of Love Many thanks to Dana (misssBerlin) and Ana (One Skein of Love) for the permission to use them.
I am happy that I had the opportunity to test for misssBerlin again! Also at the risk of repeating myself: I LOVE her patterns and especially her little Dudes. Meanwhile they are spread all over my house.
Her request came at just the right time for me. It comforts me a little bit over the fact that our vacation, planed for mid-march, was canceled due to Corona. The test was about three new caps only. But of course the final pattern will also contain the instructions for the three cute little Dudes.
The recommended yarn for these little creatures and their different caps is mostly a level 2, or sport weight, cotton yarn. My favorite yarn is Scheepjes Catona, which is hardly available in Germany, or Schachenmmayr Catania. Due to the ongoing lockdown my choice of cotton yarn is slowly shrinking. And I noticed again that I seem to have only a small selection of red shades. But it always seems to me as if I don‘t have the right colors when starting a new project. Do you know this feeling?
I listed the colors that I used in detail on my Ravelry project page. My favorite color for the Dudes themselves is Catona, Linen No. 505, it is a bit lighter than Linen No. 248 from Catania. The Dudes on my photos below are made with Catona.
“They are bald and shy, so they cover their heads and half of their faces with whatever they find in their surroundings …”
misssBerlin
….. writes Dana, the person behind misssBerlin, about the Dudes in the intro of her patterns
This time you have to take care, that they don‘t hide on the coffee table. But that would probably not be a good idea. The Suga’ Dudes look so delicious that they definitely would fall out there.
They come along with some yummy decoration, like Ganache, Candy Sprinkles, Whipped Cream, and a topping of raspberries, strawberry and cherry.
Everything is explained very well in the pattern. But it‘s always advisable to read first, otherwise you will be like me.
The Cupcake Dude
…has a topping of Ganache, Candy Sprinkles and a little red cherry …
The Sundae Dude
… makes me drool with his fresh, velvety raspberries
The Waffle Dude
… comes with a topping of Whipped Cream and strawberry
and here the complete trio
Aren‘t they cute and yummy? I really love this pattern and enjoyed testing it!
Hooked on Häkelmaschen 
