I recently had the opportunity to test a new design from Pam Knighton-Haener / A Yarn of Serendipity: The Pinwheel Square.
The pattern was just released and is available on Ravelry. You will find a link at the end of this post. The skill level of the pattern is categorised as mid-intermediate. As always, the written instructions are very clear and accompanied by detailed photos for each round. Made with Aran / Worsted Weight yarn (#4) the final size of the square will be 11 or 12 inch / 28 or 30,5 cm – depending on the size of the crochet hook used. And of course, the final stitch count matches all the others from Pam’s squares.
My yarn and colours
As you may know, I often use a light weight (#2) cotton yarn for these tests. For example Schachenmayr Catania or Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4. The reason is simply that I’ve accumulated a wide variety of colours of these yarns through crocheting amigurumi, so I am happy to use them up. Besides the great colour range, both yarns also have good stitch definition.
Somehow this time I decided to go with my stash of Stylecraft Special DK.
I recently used a similar colour combination for another overlay mosaic crochet test. It was all in neutrals, and I loved the result. I was curious to see how a colour palette like that would look in traditional crochet.
Well, I am more than happy with the result!
I used a 4 mm hook and the final size of my square is 26 cm – about 10 1/4 inch. If you are interested in my colour way, here my notes.
I hope you all had a great start in 2024 and are doing well!
I’d like to start the new year by showing an ‘old’ project: My Legacy Blanket.
If you’ve read my posts on this topic from last year, you’ll no doubt know that the Legacy Blanket a design by Pam Knighton-Haener from ‘A Yarn of Serendipity’. She designed this blanket as a legacy for her grandchildren. You can read the story about it here.
The quilt consists of 12 different squares and has a wide border. When Pam finished the instructions for the border last year, she also revised the instructions for the 12 squares. So I had the opportunity to test a few of them.
I started this project sometime in July or August last year. You might remember that I found it difficult to choose the yarn and colours. And I went through quite a few trials and errors when it came to arranging the colours too. In the end, I ended up crocheting more than one square twice because I wasn’t happy with my colour arrangement. To be honest, I still had my doubts when I was joining the squares … BUT – surprisingly – once it was finished, everything fitted perfectly. I think it’s turned out really well and I LOVE the result!
My blanket was finished by the middle of December, but unfortunately I had no chance to take some nice pictures. We had a VERY long period with lots of rain, dark clouds, a bit of snow, fog, lots of rain again, well, winter …, you get the picture …
But here, at last, is a brief summary and a few photos:
My Yarn and Colours
My final choice of yarn and colours was
Drops Lima – 65% Wool, 35% Alpaca (100 m / 50 g)
colour 100 – Off White
Drops Merino Extra Fine – 100% Wool (105 m / 50g)
colour 07 – Light Taupe
colour 15 – Light Sea Green
Lima and Merino Extra Fine are both DK-weight yarns (#3, Light Worsted). The fact that I mixed the two yarns was simply a matter of colour tones. Colour 100 – Off White looks slightly softer on Lima than on Merino, probably because of the yarn’s texture. And I preferred that
My Layout and Colour Placement
I used Drops Lima in Off White as main colour and only added a few accents with Light Taupe and Light Sea Green. So, in my notes below, I just listed the rounds with the accent colours – all other rounds are worked in Off White.
If you are interested in my colour scheme you can also download it here
My squares and the border are worked with a 4 mm hook throughout. Only for the Zipper Join and the last round of the border I went up to a 5 mm hook.
Each of my squares measures about 25 cm (about 10”). The final size of the blanket is about 90 x 115 cm ( 35,5 x 45 inches).
I’m sorry, but with all the changes and re-starts I’ve made, I didn’t keep track of how much yarn I used. In total, I used just over 900 g of yarn. As a very rough estimate, I’d say you’ll need almost 50 g of Off White for each of the squares, plus another 100 g or 150 g for the border. On top of that, you’ll need 2 or 3 balls each of Light Taupe and Light Sea Green. But that’s just a rough guide.
The patterns for all these lovely squares and the border are available in Pam’s Ravelry store.
In case you missed my previous posts about this project, you will find them here
I don’t want to miss the chance to show you my Em Cabal Square. I tested this pattern – designed by Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity – a few weeks ago. The Em Cabal Square is a special design for the Ravelry BAMCAL2023 – Block-A-Month Crochet-A-Long, a group on Ravelry. Every month, three different Afghan crochet squares are featured in this group. The designs are chosen by the moderators and/or group members, and you can decide whether you’d like to crochet one (or all) of them. By the end of the year, you’ll have a beautiful blanket. What a brilliant idea!
Em Cabal one of the squares for the month of October. It is a 12 inch square with 39 stitches per side. The skill level is beginning advanced. Like all of Pam’s patterns, this one also includes detailed stitch descriptions and helpful pictures for each round.
For my test version I used Drops Safran (160 m / 50 g) and Cotton Kings 8/4 (170 m / 50 g) and a 2,75 mm hook. Both yarns are 100 % cotton – soft and nice to work with.
I followed Pam’s colourway and used
A – Drops Safran, # 60, Moss Green
B – Cotton Kings, # 41, Spring Green
C – Drops Safran, # 71, Marzipan
D – Drops Safran, # 11, Strong Yellow
At first, I wasn’t sure whether the two shades of green would go together, but I’m really pleased with the result. That said, the square looks great in a single colour too!
Somehow, the pattern reminds me a bit of Florentine Tiles. What do you think?
Do you love crocheting squares? I’ve only just discovered my great love for them! A square is usually finished in no time and – something that’s very important to me – you see results quickly. That also makes them great ‘in-between projects’. What’s more, they’re lovely to crochet when it’s still warm – you’re not stuck under a big, warm blanket. However, that’s not so important to me at the moment as it’s suddenly turned cold and autumnal here.
You may know that Pam Knighton-Haener from ‘A Yarn of Serendipity’ designed a very special blanket some time ago as a legacy for her grandchildren. It consists of 12 different squares, each symbolising her grandchildren and her family. The instructions for joining the squares and for the border are currently being tested. She has also revised the instructions for the squares, and I’ve had the chance to test a few of them. A great opportunity for a new blanket. It will only be the second one I’ve ever crocheted from assembled squares. Unbelievable!
So far I have already made 9 out of 12 squares. Unfortunately ›made‹ does not mean that they are actually finished. Only 3 of them are blocked with all the yarn ends worked away. For another 3 I am currently rethinking my colour placement and 3 squares still have a lot of loose ends that need to be done.
I’m afraid that’s one of my bad habits: I only weave in the loose ends once a square is finished. Yes, I’ve tried to change that! Yes, I know it’s much easier and less frustrating to do it straight away! The only problem is: if I weave in the loose ends straight away, I often spot a mistake afterwards (again, yes – of course I know I should check it beforehand – but still…). By now, I’m almost convinced that weaving in the loose ends straight away might bring bad luck – so I just let them live a little longer. Good things take time, as the saying goes.
Nevertheless, I love working on this blanket and I love my finished squares.
I am using a combination of Drops Lima and Drops Merino Extra Fine – both DK / Light worsted yarns – with a 4 mm hook. Drops Lima consists of 65 % Wool and 35 % Alpaca. It has 100 m per 50 g. Merino Extra Fine is 100 % Wool with 105 m / 50 g. My main colour is Lima #100, Off White. The accent colours are Merino Extra Fine #07, Light Taupe (Light Brown) and #15 Light Greyish Green.
I hope the blanket will wash well. Lima can only be hand-washed, but I really like the feel of the yarn. And I decided to combine the two yarns because of the colours. Colour 100, Off White, is identical in Lima and Merino Extra Fine, yet it still looks slightly different. Probably due to the structure of the yarn, the contrast with my accent colours looks softer in Lima. And I much preferred this look.
My finished squares are about 25 cm / nearly 10 inches.
Landyn Tahj
Kinnedy Nichelle
Jalen Stanley
All patterns for the Legacy Blanket -some paid, some free – are available in Pam’s Ravelry store.
Unbelievable, the Aureole Mandala is the first mandala I have ever crocheted! I have wanted to do something like this for a very long time. At the back of my mind, there is an idea to decorate a wall in our living room with colorful mandalas… So I was happy when Pam came up with her pattern for testing.
My test version is made with Drops Safran. It is a sport weight yarn and has 160 m / 50 g. It is just a tiny Aureole Mandala. With my 2,75 mm hook it turned out about 17 cm in diameter, that is just under 7 inch. I will see if I can find a suitable ring to attach it. It will make a lovely wall decoration. I love the colours!
Colour A – # 23, Brown
Colour B – # 11, Strong Yellow
Colour C – # 71, Marzipan
Colour D – # 28, Orange
The pattern is rated as intermediate and available as a free pattern in Pam’s Ravelry store. As always there are explanations for all the stitches used and helpful and detailed pictures for each round.
My second Mandala
Quite a good result: shortly after the first Mandala was done, I made a second one – hehe. Pam had just hosted an Aureole Mandala CAL in her Facebook Group. The pattern was split into two rounds a day. So I joined in and made a second one.
This time I used a mixture of Drops Paris, Drops Love You 8, and Cotton Aran from Paintbox. All three are Aran or worsted weight yarns with 75m / 50g (Drops) and 85m / 50g (Paintbox). Those who know me know that I am not a fan of this yarn weight. I always have a hard time with it, and I always find that my stitches look a bit messy. Well…
By mistake, this time I used a 5.0mm instead of my 4.5 mm hook. When I realised that in round 7, I decided to continue with it. It actually worked out quite well. After blocking my Mandala measures about 27 cm / just under 11 inch.
Already in April, Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity released a new design: another beautiful Afghan square, the Jewel Square. Fortunately I was able to help to test this pretty pattern – I am a bit late with this post though.
The Pattern
As with most of her patterns, Pam has used Aran / worsted weight yarn (#4) for this design. The finished size will be 11 or 12 inches (about 28 or 30 cm), depending on the hook size you use (4.5 or 5 mm hook).
As always, the pattern is very clearly laid out with detailed stitch explanations, helpful pictures for each round, and two different colour ways.
My Yarn and Colours
I used Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4 and a 2,75 mm hook. The finished size of my square is about 20 cm / 8 inch.
As colours, I’ve chosen a soft, light grey, two different blues and a mint tone. I bought the blue and grey tones a while ago. I planned to use them for all of Pam’s pattern tests and eventually piece the squares together into a lovely blanket – some day…. So far, it never came to it.
I still really love the shades of blue. But at the time I opted to pair them with grey as a neutral colour as the contrast with white just seemed too hard to me. Now, however, I find that this colour combination can sometimes look a bit dreary and dull, especially in photos. So I decided to spice up the colour scheme a bit while I was working on the ‘Jewel Square’. That’s why I added the mint green.
At first, I wasn’t sure for a long time whether this was really a good idea. Perhaps it would have been better to use dark blue again instead of mint green? But now I quite like the contrast. It’s a lovely touch!
My Colourplacement
I followed Pam’s colour way 1 using the following colours
Colour A 25, Pastelmint Colour B – 29, Jeans Blue Colour C – 97, Mist Colour D – 28, Light Jeans Blue
All from Hobbii, Rainbow Cotton 8/4 (Fingering weight – 170 m / 50 g)
The only change I made: I swapped the colour D for A in round 11.
In case I’ve made you curious: the pattern is available in Pam’s Ravelrystore and all her other places.
Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity just released one of her new designs: Efflorescent Square. I am happy that I was able to test it!
Efflorescence demonstrates the growth and beauty of nature’s flower bloom and the personal growth and splendor of human love.
Pam
My test piece is made with Drops Safran. It is a sport weight cotton yarn (#2) with a yardage of 160 m per 50 g.
It was the first time I’ve used this yarn and I am very happy with this choice. It is a soft yarn and nice to work with. I definitely will get some more colours. It also will be a good match with my Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4! As recommended on the yarn label I used a 3 mm hook. But it should also work with my 2,75 mm hook that I usually use with Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4.
I didn’t follow one of Pam’s colour ways this time, but created my own. Therefor I have listed the colours for each round below.
Here are the details of my version:
Pattern
Efflorescent Square Available on Ravelry (link below)
Designer
Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity
Technique
Traditional crochet
Yarn and Hook
Drops Safran Clover Soft Touch, 3 mm
Colours
A – 28, Orange B – 10, Vanilla Cream C – 23, Dark Taupe D – 18, Off White E – 11, Sunshine F – 65, Pistachio
Colours per round
Round 1 – A, Orange Round 2 – B, Vanilla Cream Round 3 – C, Dark Taupe Round 4 – D, Off White Round 5 – E, Sunshine Round 6 – A, Orange Round 7 – F, Pistachio Round 8 – B, Vanilla Cream Round 9 – D, Off White Round 10 – D, Off White Round 11 – A, Orange Round 12 – D, Off White Round 13 – D, Off White Round 14 – D, Off White Round 15 – A, Orange
Phew, I finally managed to set up the Ravelry store and Mere Curiosity is uploaded! I am really excited!
The pattern is now available here. As already mentioned, we will donate the proceeds for the Ukraine aid to Unicef.
You will find some more details about the Mere Curiosity Square either on Ravelry or in my previous post.
Although all special stitches used are explained in the pattern: if you are not familiar with some stitches or e.g. the technique of working in the 3rd loop, have a look at the ‘Good to know’ section. I have put together some explanations there in the last few days.
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)
Hooked on Häkelmaschen 