Today part 1 of Ana’s Wintry Forest Cal was released. Lots of fun to all who follow the Cal.
My wall hangers are finally decorated in our living room and I love them, love them, love them.
For those who are interested here some details:
My Colours
Even though I’ve already shown the colours in a previous post, here they are again:
I used
Cream, Mocha, Grey and a little bit of Denim – all from Stylecraft Special DK and Stonewash from King Cole Comfort DK (that‘s the lovely blue on the upper left)
and worked with a 4 mm hook.
You will find detailed information about the colours I used for each row / pattern in my next post as download.
Finally I can show something I worked on for the last few weeks: Wintry Forest.
Wintry Forest is the new Cal by Ana Morais Soares from One Skein of Love. It will come in 6 parts (5 for the blanket and 1 for the border) and starts on November 10th. The Intro File with all relevant information is already available on Ana’s Ravelry page.
When I started testing it about 4 weeks ago I knew right away that I was going to make a wall decoration. But this time the decision about colour was a difficult one. It cost me a lot of time and nerves.
At first I thought about using just cream and grey, but I abandoned the idea after one of my fellow testers used exactly this colour combination. My next idea was to make it colourful, changing background and contrast colour for each pattern. So I picked about 10 or 12 colours from my Stylecraft Special DK and began mixing and matching them. I ended up with a pile of colour swatches but somehow I didn‘t get the colour placement balanced. So I also discarded this idea.
The picture above shows only some of them :D
Nevertheless I will keep my pile of swatches as I found some really nice combinations. For instance I never thought that Mocha and Pale Rose would look that great together. Duck Egg and Storm Blue also are a great combination. Strong but beautiful!
In the end, I came back to my idea with Cream and Grey and decided on a combination of
Cream, Mocha, Grey (Stylecraft Special DK) and Stonewash (King Cole Comfort DK).
I also added a little bit of Denim (Stylecraft), just because I fell in love with that colour and thought that it matches the rest.
The colours remind me on a cold and sunny winter morning. I love them!
I separated the pattern (10 different designs) into three parts and am just framing my panels with borders and make some tassels.
Hopefully I will be able to show you my completed decoration next week when the Cal starts.
In August 2022 I was able to test another pattern for Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity: the Sage Advice Square, another lovely Afghan square.
The pattern
The Sage Advice Square was designed using an Aran / worsted yarn weight (#4). Depending on the hook size it is supposed to be either 11 x 11 inches (using a 4.5 mm hook) or 12 x 12 inches ( using a 5 mm hook). That makes approx. 28 cm respectively 30.5 cm in the square.
The design is full of texture and features a variety of stitch combinations. It was absolutely fun to test it!
The skill level is rated as easy intermediate.
The paid pattern includes round-by-round pictures that show the stitch placement and clarify instructions. It also has an ‘easy navigate’ function that allows you to switch from written instructions to pictures or stitch explanations without any scrolling.
Besides there is a free version – without the additional features – available on Pam’s website.
You’ll find the links at the end of this post.
My yarn choice
My plan to use Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 for all the test pieces I make for Pam (with a view to eventually piecing all the squares together into a beautiful blanket) is slowly fading away. Once again I had the feeling that I didn’t have the right colours in my Rainbow Cotton stash to do justice to this lovely design.
So I used a yarn that I’d actually ordered to try out for a completely different project: Drops Muskat. Drops Muskat is a mercerised cotton yarn, classified as DK yarn (#3) with a yardage of 100 m per 50 g. It comes in 45 colours and has a lovely shine that gives it a bit a vintage touch (at least in my eyes). It does tend to split a bit, so you have to be careful when crocheting, but I’ve worked with yarns where this was even worse. And in my opinion, the end result is well worth the effort.
Some more details about my version
Yarn
Drops Muskat 100 % cotton, #3
Colours
following colour way 2 A — 81, Clay B — 61, Light Beige C — 85, Mustard D — 24, Taupe
Head Over Heels is the new design from Pam Knighton-Haener / A Yarn of Serendipity. I had the pleasure to test this lovely Afghan square back in July 2022.
Although I had originally planned to use Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 for all of Pam’s tests, this time I felt I didn’t have the right colours for this design. So I went back to Stylecraft Special DK after all.
I really like using this yarn for mosaic crochet, but when it comes to traditional crochet, I often find that the stitch definition could be better. Especially with the variety of different stitches Pam uses in her designs. So, instead of the 4 mm crochet hook I normally use for this yarn, I opted for a 4.5 mm hook this time. I’m still not entirely happy, but the result is better.
I love the colours though. I wanted to try this combination for a long time
Cream, Apricot, Pistachio, Silver and Graphite.
Square I
For my test square I followed Pam‘s colour way 2 with some slight changes for two rounds.
While hooking the square, I was absolutely fascinated by the centre part. This made me wonder how it would look in a different colour arrangement. So I made a second square using the same colours, but this time following my own ideas about how to arrange the colours. I am not sure which one I like better…
I’ve been thinking about applying one of the squares to a cushion cover. Unfortunately the only plain cover I have is in a dark grey. Not a perfect combination. So I’m thinking about getting another cover or making a third square in slightly brighter colours, hm … Well, we will see!
Square Ii
Here some details
Pattern
Head Over Heels Square available on Ravelry (link below)
For this day Ana Morais Soares from One Skein of Love has designed this lovely square: Sweet Marigold Square. The pattern is featured in Simply Crochet Magazine. This month they will have a supplement with 52 Granny Squares patterns that will be put together into a blanket. The blanket and their fees will be donated to Operation Orphan, a non profit organization.
I had the pleasure to test Ana’s pattern earlier this year. My version is made with Schachenmayr Catania – a Sport weight (#2)Cotton yarn (125 m / 50 g) – and a 2,5 mm hook. It turned out about 12 cm.
My colours are
Colour A – 427 Scampi Colour B – 401 Apricot Colour C and D – 269 Graublau
I am curious to see the other squares from the Simply Crochet Magazine supplement!
Sweet Delusions – another beautiful design by Pam Knighton-Haener, A Yarn of Serendipity.
It’s my third completed crochet test for Pam this year and there’s still more to come … YAY!
The Sweet Delusions Square is featured in the BAMCAL 2022 – Crochet a Block-a-Month— on Ravelry. It’s the August square. The pattern is available for free on Pam’s website or as a paid pattern on Ravelry. The paid version includes additional features like the very helpful round-by-roubd pictures and links that help you navigate through the document.
For my version of the Sweet Delusions Square, I used Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 again.
I’m absolutely happy with the result!
The colours go really well together. Although I can imagine it in other colours too. Maybe different shades of green with a touch of cream? Or shades of purple? The possibilities are endless!
Have you already seen the new pattern by misssBerlin? The Cruciferous are part of her new Mellow Fellow series. A yummy cauliflower and broccoli.
I had the pleasure to test this pattern during the last days. As always it was a lot of fun. Dana‘s cute Amigurumi are always very inspiring.
My veggies are made with Catania from Schachenmayr and a 2,5 mm hook (my Clover Soft Touch). For the cauliflower I used the colour 130 Cream throughout. The little broccoli is made with 392 Lime for the stalk and 212 Khaki for the florets. Both are crocheted more or less in one piece, only the little arms are sewn on.
Everything is explained very well in the pattern. If you know how to do chains, single crochet and double crochet (US terms) you are able to do it! Although I think that the placement of the stitches in the florets is a bit tricky at times and needs patience! The skill level is rated as adventurous beginner/ intermediate.
You also should have a look at the other fellows of this series!
I already wrote about the little mushroom and the trees in this post.
But there are also little Acorns and Cacti available. Unfortunately I was not able to test these but here two of Dana‘s photos. Aren‘t they cute? I will have to make them to complete my collection!
Have you already seen that Ana from One Skein of Love is launching a new Cal? It will start on Thursday, 07. July 2022. The Intro file with all relevant information is now available on Ravelry. During the Cal there is a 30 % discount on the price and an extra 20% discount for members of Ana‘s Facebook group.
Although I am one of the testers I don’t hav a blanket to show you this time. And no own colour way, sorry! After crocheting almost exclusively test projects since autumn of last year, I needed a break. I urgently want to finish my (hubby‘s) Midnight Snowflakes blanket and a shawl I started designing months ago. So I “only“ checked the pattern by reading, counting stitches, checking colours, diagrams and everything and reading again … checking again…
But my fingers were itching! Ana designed lovely costal motifs to pay homage to her favourite beach: Costa Nova.
So I couldn‘t help. I had to think about colours that would suit the pattern and that I would use. I thought I would show you my favourite ideas, maybe you will like some of them?
(At this point once again many thanks to Stylecraft Yarns who allowed me to use the colour samples from their website.)
This one is my absolute favourite
and this one was my first idea
But I also love this one
Hard to decide, isn’t it? If you take part in the Cal I wish you a lot of fun already now 💕
This year, Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity has created some new designs and so far I have already been able to test three of them. Two are already published, so I can show them. The third one is still in the testing phase and will be released in August.
As you may know I have been unsure all the time which yarn to use. Pam’s squares are designed to use a cotton yarn in Aran weight. Depending on hook size – 4,5 or 5 mm hook – the finished size will be 11 or 12 inch – that’s about 28 respectively 30,5 cm.
When I started testing for Pam in 2020 I made my first squares with Drops Paris and Love you 8 using a 4,5 mm hook. I love the colours of Drops as they are soft and subtle but somehow I don’t like to work with Aran weight. It’s probably a matter of practice, but I’m never satisfied with the look of my stitches when I use Aran. Especially since Pam often uses trebles and double trebles. Somehow it stresses me out and I have been looking for alternatives. So, after a short excursion to Stylecraft Special DK (not as good stitch definition as cotton and harder to block), I came to Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4. It is a fingering weight with 170 m / 50 g. Much thinner than Aran but I still think my squares are a good size at around 19 or 20 cm. I like the colours, I’m happy with the look of my stitches, I feel less stressed – I’m sticking with it. Luckily Pam doesn’t mind me using it.
By now you probably know that Dana from misssBerlin is my favorite Amigurumi Designer. She has designed all the little Dudes you see here on this site. Unfortunately it’s been a while since I last tested for her, the Carnival Treat Dudes in April 2021.
Now she has created a brand new series, the Mellow Fellows and asked me at the end of April if I was able test them. Fortunately I could test at least two of the first four patterns that will be released over the next few weeks.
Mushrooms
First were the Mushrooms. Aren’t they cute?
The pattern includes the instructions to make these little mushrooms in two different sizes – about 8,5 and 10 cm tall. There is only little sewing as they are made more or less in one piece. As always Dana’s pattern is very detailed and easy to follow.
The pattern is written for a level 2 mercerized cotton yarn but I think you can also use any other yarn you like. I made my mushrooms with Schachenmayr Catania and a 2,5 mm hook. The colours I used are Natur and Red. I used the same colour to embroider the little dots on the Cap and a leftover of Black for the eyes.
They are really fun to make and I am absolutely happy how they turned out!
Trees
The trees pattern contains the instructions for an approx. 8.5 cm high Pine Tree and a Fruit Tree which is about 10 cm tall. Only the arms are sewn on for these two as well, the rest is crocheted in one piece.
I used Schachenmayr Catania in the colour Teddy for the bodies / trunks of both. The treetop of the Pine Tree is made with Khaki. The crown of the fruit tree can be varied depending on which fruit it is to bear. I made mine with Scheepjes Catona in the colour Forest Green, combined with Woll Butt Camilla (a German brand) in Hellgrün. It is an apple tree with green apples.
Hooked on Häkelmaschen 