Tag: Mosaic crochet

Hello Spring Cal – Part 1

Updated on June 26, 2026

Today is the day, the Hello Spring Cal starts!

As a few people have asked me about this: yes, I’ll be posting my colour choices and the colour placement I’m using for the individual parts of the CAL here.

So let’s start with my

Yarn and colours

I used Stylecraft Special DK and a 4 mm hook. My colours are

  • 1001 White
  • 1822 Pistachio
  • 1027 Khaki
  • 1081 Saffron
  • 1723 Tomato
Yarn samples of colours White, Khaki, Pistachio, Saffron and Tomato used for the Hello Spring CAL blanket

When I saw Ana’s pattern, I’d originally had a slightly different colour scheme in mind.
But for some reason, it didn’t work. Although I tried two different colour arrangements, I realised fairly quickly that it wasn’t going to work. It was perhaps a bit too dark for a spring design. So I decided against it and needed to come up with something new.

Two mosaic crochet samples showing the effect of different colour placement, both using the colours White, Graphite, Pistachio and Apricot.
Colour Samples in White, Graphite, Pistachio and Apricot


Even so, I LOVE these swatches. I haven’t unraveled them yet and will keep them as inspiration. I’m absolutely certain I’ll use these colours one day!

Whilst searching for further colour combinations, I came across a drawing featuring stylised flowers in two different shades of green against a white background. Somehow, it really gave me that ‘spring’ feeling. To achieve this look, I chose White and Pistachio as the main colours and added a touch of Khaki. I completed the look with a few splashes of Saffron and Tomato.

mosaic crochet sample showing the same pattern in the colours White, Khaki, Pistachio and Saffron

And here is my colour scheme for Part 1

List of row-by-row colour placement for Part 1 of the Hello Spring Mosaic CAL, part 1
List of row-by-row colour placement for Part 1 of the Hello Spring Mosaic CAL, part 2

Update, July 2024:
I have redesigned the documents showing my colour scheme and combined them into a single file.
The content, however, has remained the same.

My colours Hello Spring parts 1- 6Download
Part 1 of the Hello Spring Mosaic CAL, showing patterns 1, 2, 3 and 4

Oh, I almost forgot! The pattern is available here.

And last but not least, here’s a photo showing all the test versions created by the ‘One Skein of Love’ test team.

collage showing sneak peeks of the blankets made by the Hello Spring CAL test team

See you next week!

Hello Spring Cal

Revised on June 26, 2026

The days are not only getting a bit longer but also a bit warmer. The first bushes and trees are sprouting and the sparrows are preparing their nests under our roof. Spring is coming in the northern hemisphere!

Ana from One Skein of Love is celebrating the season with her Hello Spring Cal.
Another project that’s kept me busy over the last few weeks – alongside ‘Midnight Snowflakes’, knitting socks, a short holiday break and lnormal everyday life.

I started testing the Hello Spring Cal in early February.

The pattern is designed as a blanket and – much like Winter Wonderland – consists of various motifs that can be combined in a variety of ways. Due to time constraints, I’ve only crocheted 5 repeats this time – when I’ve finished, it will make a beautiful wall hanging.

My choice of colours was inspired by a drawing I found online: flowers in two or three different shades of green against a white background. They looked so fresh and airy and immediately reminded me of spring. Unfortunately, I can’t show it here for copyright reasons.

But I’ve tried to recreate that feel using ‘Stylecraft Special DK’ from my stash, and I hope I’ve managed to capture that spring-like look.

I used mainly White and Pistachio combined with Khaki and a hint of Saffron and Tomato.

At the moment, I’m still working on the border – we had a wonderful holiday last week. But I hope to be able to show you more of it next week!

The Cal starts next Monday, 21 March 2022, and runs for 6 weeks. Further information and, of course, the pattern are available in Ana’s Ravelry store.

Midnight Snowflakes

Finally!

Finally I was able to start this pattern. I fell in love with it when Ana published the pattern about one year ago. Since then I have promised hubby to make him a blanket with it. When Ana lately announced her MAL I thought it was a good time to start with it.

The colours

It is always hard to choose the right colours for a blanket. At least it is for me. It is very rare that I see a pattern and immediately know which colours I want to make it in. For Midnight Snowflakes I instantly had white combined with a grey tone in mind. White for the background with grey snowflakes! But something made me hesitate. I probably knew instinctively that hubby wouldn’t like it. And so it was!

After he told me that this is much too bright (???) my idea was to switch the colours and do the snowflakes in classic white and the background in a dark grey. Looking for a yarn that might be a bit more special than my standard acrylic yarn I came across Cookie from Järbo. The colour Cloudy was exactly what I was looking for, off white changing to a soft, light grey – and on sale! From what I saw in the photos this would go great with Rotterdam from Scheepjes Colour Crafter. (Rotterdam is a dark grey, very similar to Graphite from Stylecraft Special DK.) So I placed my order.

My disappointment could not have been greater when the yarn arrived. Rotterdam was what I expected, but … You can already see it in my photos. Instead of white with a little bit of grey my Cookie is grey with a little bit of white. Much too dark in combination with Rotterdam – even hubby agreed.

I have to say, the yarn itself is great. Nice and soft with a great stitch definition. I didn’t send it back. It will be used in another project. It would certainly look good in a Winter Wonderland.

Since I did not want to order online again on suspicion I had to find another match with colours I had. Combinations with Stylecraft Special DK in A Hint of Silver or Parma Violet looked nice but were not what I had in mind. I liked the contrast with white, hubby didn’t. I even tried to create a gradient myself but either the contrast between my colours was too low or there was no gradation in between.

Finally I found Duck Egg in my stash. I like the combination of Duck Egg and dark grey and hubby agreed. This is how my choice of colour came about. To be honest, I still don’t know if hubby really likes it or if he was just so annoyed that he said yes.

The MAL runs util 28. February 2022. The pattern is available via Ravelry. Until the end of February there is a 50% discount (code on Ana’s Facebook group).

Midnight Snowflakes pattern by One Skein of Love, hooked by ELeni

Have a nice week!

Winter Wonderland – Round up

After the Winter Wonderland Cal is over now I thought it might be a good idea to collect all information about my blanket in one place.

Winter Wonderland Cal

Cal – timeframe

11. November – 16. December 2021

Pattern

Winter Wonderland Mosaic Cal
available on Ravelry
and Etsy

Designer

Ana Morais Soares from One Skein of Love

Technique

Overlay Mosaic crochet

Test phase

12. October – 14. November 2021

finished

26. November 2021

Colour inspiration

Mood board by Pippin Porppycock

Yarn and colours

Stylecraft Special DK (295 m / 100 g)

White
Silver
Grey
Graphite
Lipstick

4 balls
2 balls
2 balls
3 balls
2 balls

Hook

Clover Amour Hook, 4 mm

Gauge

23 stitches, 15 rows —> 13,5 x 8 cm

Repeats

9 repeats, 183 stitches

Rows / Patterns

256 rows, Pattern 1 – 14, following the Cal pattern

Border

Double border

Finished Size

114 x 148 cm

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

And for those who are interested – my detailed yarn amounts

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

Long overdue update, June 2024: I’ve finally redesigned the documents with my colour scheme. Please don’t be surprised that it looks a little different, the content is the same.

My colours Winter Wonderland-v2Download

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

I worked on this project for about 61/2 weeks. It was a stressful time but I enjoyed it a lot. It‘s definitely my most favorite project in 2021.

Please also have a look at my previous Winter Wonderland posts

Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 1
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 2
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 3
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 4
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 5
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 6

Winter Wonderland – My colours part 6

Revised on July 2, 2026

Part 6 is the final part of the Winter Wonderland CAL and includes the instructions for the border.

As usual, the border will be a double border to hide all the yarn ends.

I know that a lot of people don’t like the double border. If you’re one of them, you can of course choose a different option.
Personally, I love double borders. In my opinion, they’re the most beautiful finish for a mosaic blanket. They might be a bit more time-consuming, perhaps, but they give the blanket a neat look and a lovely drape.

Unfortunately, I had a bit of trouble with my round of slip stitches this time. My border was meant to be two-tone: the back layer in Lipstick and the front layer in Graphite with a strip of Lipstick. So I thought a round of slip stitches in red would look nice. I started the round, but I just couldn’t manage to get it to look neat.

I suspect my Lipstick yarn was just a little thicker. After the third attempt, I gave up and changed to Silver.

From then on, everything went smoothly. Until I’d finished the first round of the front layer. Ana’s method of crocheting a double border leaves a narrow line of slip stitches visible right next to the border. The silver thread looked good in combination with the grey sections at the top and bottom of the blanket, but I didn’t like the look of it at all in the darker areas at the sides. So I started again from the beginning and simply crocheted through both loops along the long sides.

If you’re following my colour scheme, I’d recommend using Lipstick, Grey or Graphite for the slip stitches. Silver and White are particularly hard to see on both sides.

Update, June 2024

I have redesigned the documents showing my colour scheme and combined them into a single file. The content, however, has remained the same.
The download file also includes information on the total amount of yarn required. You can find details on yarn usage in this post.

My colours Winter Wonderland-v2Download

Have fun with this last section of this beautiful pattern 💕

More posts in the Winter Wonderland series:

Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 1
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 2
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 3
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 4
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 5
Winter Wonderland Round up

Winter Wonderland – My colours Part 5

Revised on July 2, 2026

We’ve now reached week 5 of the ‘Winter Wonderland CAL’. This is the final section before the border.

As I mentioned in my post on Part 2 of the Cal, I had a few time-related issues with this test. Sometimes there’s just so much going on in everyday life. We had some urgent work to do on the house that couldn’t be put off.

To ensure I could still finish the test on time, I decided, in consultation with Ana, to put my blanket on hold for the time being. Starting with Pattern 11 in Part 4 of the CAL, I tested the instructions on a separate piece. A small swatch covering just 2 repeats. That was much quicker, but served the same purpose.

I just used a few bits of leftover yarn that I still had lying around in my basket. I hadn’t really paid much attention to the colours at the time. Still, when I’d finished, I actually really liked the combination.

It’s completely different from my blanket – a bit of a rustic look – but it’s lovely too. What do you think?

Stylecraft Special DK in Parchment and Mocha combined with King Cole Comfort DK in the colour Stonewash.

After that, I was finally able to finish my blanket in peace. And this is what Part 5 looks like in my ‘usual’ colours.

Winter Wonderland Cal – Part 5

My entire blanket, just before adding the border.

My colour scheme

Update, June 2024

have redesigned the documents showing my colour scheme and combined them into a single file. The content, however, has remained the same.
The download file also includes information on the total amount of yarn required. You can find details on yarn usage in this post.

My colours Winter Wonderland-v2Download

Winter Wonderland Pattern

More posts in the Winter Wonderland series:

Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 1
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 2
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 3
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 4
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 6
Winter Wonderland Round up

Winter Wonderland – My colours Part 4

Revised on July 1, 2026

Week 4 of the Winter Wonderland CAL is here. Time for snowmen!

But first, I’d like to list

My final yarn amounts

I listed the approximate amounts of yarn last week, whilst I was still working on the border. Here are a few more details, including the left overs.

I needed a total of 13 balls of Stylecraft Special DK and used 1.044 g / 3.080 m of it. That’s almost exactly the same amount as Ana used for her blanket.

My colours Part 4

To be honest, I found it a bit tricky choosing the colours for this part.

As ‘Graphite’ and ‘Lipstick’, which I used in Pattern 8, are relatively dark colours, I thought the blanket could do with something a bit lighter again. That’s why I chose a combination of the colours ‘White’ and ‘Silver’ for the section with the snowmen.

But once I’d finished their bodies and started on their heads, I wasn’t so sure anymore whether that had really been such a good choice. They looked a bit plump and pale.

Do you see what I mean?

Unfortunately, time is usually a major factor when testing a pattern. You have to think carefully about whether or not to rip back 15 rows. And as long as there isn’t a mistake that inevitably catches your eye, you usually leave it as it is. And that’s what I did this time too, even though I wasn’t entirely happy with it.

So I was all the more pleased when I noticed that Ana had created this little ‘fun touch’! Little ‘shawls’ to dress the snowmen. They really do work wonders, don‘t they?

I made eight little shawls in Graphite and one in Lipstick. The red shawl is being worn by Snowman No. 3 (the third from the right). Each scarf is crocheted from 40 chain stitches and I think they’re just the right length.

.

My colours Part 4

Update, June 2024

I have redesigned the documents showing my colour scheme and combined them into a single file. The content, however, has remained the same.
The download file also includes information on the total amount of yarn required. You can find details on yarn usage in this post.

My colours Winter Wonderland-v2Download

Winter Wonderland Pattern

More posts in the Winter Wonderland series:

Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 1
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 2
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 3
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 5
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 6
Winter Wonderland Round up

Winter Wonderland – My colours Part 3

Revised on July 1, 2026

Oh wow, it is already week 3 of the Winter Wonderland CAL

Fortunately, my blanket is almost finished now – I’m currently working on the border. Next week I’ll be able to tell you exactly how much yarn I’ve used in total, how much is left, and so on.

I was actually a bit sad when – after all these weeks – I’d crocheted the last stitch of the blanket section and cut the last thread!
Such a beautiful pattern – I had so much fun testing it. OK, I know I say that a lot! But this time, for the first time ever, I’m 100 per cent happy with my choice of colours. That makes it something really special for me!

My Part 3

My colour placement

Update, June 2024:

I have redesigned the documents showing my colour scheme and combined them into a single file. The content, however, has remained the same.
The download file also includes information on the total amount of yarn required. You can find details on yarn usage in this post.

My colours Winter Wonderland-v2Download

In case you are looking for the Winter Wonderland pattern, you can find it here.

Some more impressions of week 3:

More posts in the Winter Wonderland series:

Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 1
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 2
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 4
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 5
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 6
Winter Wonderland Round up

Winter Wonderland – My colours Part 2

Revised on July 1, 2026

I’d really been hoping the weather here would improve, but this year it’s a typical November. Cold, grey, rainy and foggy.
I’d actually forgotten to take a few nice photos after finishing Part 2. I wanted to make up for that now, but unfortunately the weather and light aren’t cooperative – so the ones I already had will have to do.

I’m currently working on the last twenty rows. Phew!
I don’t think this has ever happened to me before – that a pattern has already been published, but I haven’t finished my test project yet. But sometimes, unfortunately, life gets in the way!
I’m really glad that I was at least able to finish the test in advance by crocheting just a small sample – just over two repeats – of the final section. For this, I simply used some yarn from my stash. I really must take a photo to show you – the colours look really lovely too, but it’s a completely different look.

Yarn Update

Now that I’m almost finished with the blanket, I can get a better idea of how much yarn I’ll need in total. 

For the blanket it will be

  • 4 balls White
  • 2 balls Silver
  • 2 balls Grey
  • 2 balls Graphite
  • 1 ball Lipstick

For the border I will need an extra ball Lipstick and probably one more Graphite.

My colour placement

Update, June 2024:

I have redesigned the documents showing my colour scheme and combined them into a single file. The content, however, has remained the same.
The download file also includes information on the total amount of yarn required. You can find details on yarn usage in this post.

My colours Winter Wonderland-v2Download

In case you are looking for the Winter Wonderland pattern, you can find it here.

I hope you have fun 💕

More posts in the Winter Wonderland series:

Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 1
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 3
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 4
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 5
Winter Wonderland – My colours part 6
Winter Wonderland Round up

Winter Wonderland – My colours Part 1

Revised on July 1, 2026

Winter Wonderland, the new CAL by Ana Morais Soares / One Skein of Love has started today. Are you ready?

As promised, I’ll be listing the colours I’ve used here, row by row. At the end of this post, you’ll find a document available for download.

For my blanket, I used Stylecraft Special DK in the colours White, Silver, Grey, Graphite and Lipstick..

Although the pattern has now been fully tested, I’m unfortunately still working on my own version. So I can’t give any details on my total yarn usage just yet. I’ll keep you updated as soon as possible.

Here a photo of „my Part 1”. Aren‘t these reindeer cute?

And here my colour placement

Update June 2024:

I have redesigned the documents showing my colour scheme and combined them into a single file. The content, however, has remained the same.
The download file also includes information on the total amount of yarn required. You can find details on yarn usage in this post.

My colours Winter Wonderland-v2Download

In case you are looking for Ana‘s pattern, you will find it here.

I hope you will enjoy this pattern as much as I did.

Happy crocheting!

More posts in the Winter Wonderland series:

Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland – My colours part 2

Winter Wonderland – My colours part 3

Winter Wonderland – My colours part 4

Winter Wonderland – My colours part 5

Winter Wonderland – My colours part 6

Winter Wonderland Round up