Tag: Pattern Tests

Testing the Wheel of What Square by A Yarn of Serendipity

I had the pleasure of testing the Wheel of What Square by A Yarn of Serendipity – a beautifully textured Afghan block that’s easy to customize with colours and perfect for mix-and-match patchwork blankets.

A new design by Pam Knighton-Haener

A few months ago, back in August, I had the pleasure of testing another pattern for Pam Knighton-Haener of A Yarn of Serendipity. Pam has just released her beautiful new design: the Wheel of What Square.

The Wheel of What Square is another lovely Afghan block that perfectly complements all of Pam’s other designs. Like most of her squares, this one is designed in Aran / worsted weight yarn (#4). It measures about 11 or 12 inches, depending on whether a 4.5 mm or 5 mm crochet hook is used. All of Pam’s 11–12 inch squares share the same stitch count per side, so you can easily mix and match them to create a gorgeous patchwork blanket.

About the pattern

The pattern is rated as intermediate, but as always, Pam provides detailed, round-by-round photos that make it easy to follow along – even if you’re not an advanced crocheter.

Pam also includes two different colour versions in her pattern:

  • Version 1 uses four colours
  • Version 2 is worked in a single colour for a clean, classic look

My Test Version of the Wheel of What Square

For my test version I used Stylecraft Special DK from my stash and a 4 mm hook.

I opted for some light, summery colours.

As I used five colours in my version, it was difficult to stick to Pam’s original colour scheme.
As so often, I created my own combination – the one you can see on the left in the photo.

My finished square measures about 25 cm (10 in). It’s a little smaller than Pam’s sample simply because I used DK / light worsted yarn (#3), while she used Aran / worsted weight yarn (#4).

I‘m totally happy with how it turned out!

A Spark of Inspiration

I have to confess, after my square was finished and blocked, it was still lying on my desk for quite a while — I just didn’t get around to taking pictures. But seeing it every day sparked a new idea in my mind:

Every time I looked at it, I thought “This design would look amazing in Christmas colours!”

So of course, I had to try it!

My Wheel of What Christmas Version

For my Christmas version, I again used yarn from my stash – a mix of Stylecraft Special DK and Yarnsmiths Create DK, with the same 4 mm hook.

This time, I followed Pam’s Colourway 1, but replaced her shades with my own festive choices:

  • Colour A: 3090 Claret Red – Yarnsmiths Create DK
  • Colour B: 1824 Cypress – Stylecraft Special DK
  • Colour C: 3045 Off White – Yarnsmiths Create DK
  • Colour D: 1834 Lincoln – Stylecraft Special DK

And the result?

I absolutely love it!

The colours give the design such a warm and festive touch – perfect for the holiday season.

Final Thoughts

The Wheel of What Square is another beautifully written and well-thought-out design from Pam. It’s fun to crochet, looks amazing in any colour combination, and fits perfectly with her other squares.

If you’d like to try the Wheel of What Square yourself, you can find Pam’s pattern on Ravelry.

Discover the “Around the World Square” Afghan Pattern

Some weeks ago I had the pleasure to test another design by Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity.
The Around the World Square is another lovely Afghan square with an intermediate skill level. As almost always in Pam’s patterns there are also a few special stitches this time. But everything is well explained and there are plenty of detailed pictures to help. I therefore think that even an ambitious beginner can work the pattern.

The size and the number of stitches per side, of course, fit perfectly with Pam’s other squares.
The pattern is available on Ravelry, and if you hurry, you can still get a 30% discount until the end of July. The discount also applies to all other patterns by Pam. It’s worth a look!

For my version I used Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/6 from my stash.
It is 100 % cotton and has 105 m / 50 g (115 yards / 1.76 ounces).
Hobbii classifies it as a fine/sports weight yarn. I personally find it to be more on the thicker side, almost a DK weight. I have therefore mostly use a 3.75 or 4.0 mm hook to work with it. This time I decided on my 4.0 mm Clover Amour hook and I am happy with the result.

My finished square is about 26 cm (10.5 in)

These are my colours.

Unfortunately, by now, some of them are discontinued in the 8/6 quality.

Pam offers two different colour schemes in her pattern. One uses seven colours and the other uses five.

I decided on a version with 5 colours. At first, however, I wasn’t so sure whether my colours would really go together. That’s why I didn’t simply replace the colours of the five-colour version with my own. I have once again created my individual colour placement. Even though I had doubts at first, I think the colours match quite well.

I have listed my colour placement here.

And this is the result. I’m really happy with it!

Tested Pattern Review: Dahlia of Yore Square

Last week I showed you the new design by Pam Knighton-Haener from A Yarn of Serendipity: the Dahlia of Yore Square.
Today I‘d like to show you my version of this design. I had the pleasure of helping to test the pattern and am absolutely happy with the result.

I have tried to do justice to the name with my choice of yarn. I therefore decided on Drops Muskat. I think it looks a bit vintage due to the somewhat muted colours and the silky sheen.

I have to admit, though, that I had to look up the name of the design first. I wasn’t familiar with the word yore. So, in case you feel the same way since English is not your native language either, here is the explanation I got from Google:

Yore means “long ago” and is used in the same way as “yesteryear”, “days gone by” and “old times”. Yore has a sentimental or nostalgic undertone and implies that the old times described are in some way superior to the present.

But back to my yarn and colours. Drops Muskat is a mercerised cotton and has about 100 m / 50 g. It is rated as a Double Knit (DK) / light worsted yarn weight (#3), great to work with a 4 mm hook.

I had originally bought this yarn for another project. That was so long ago that I can’t even remember what exactly it was for. In the past I have used it for another of Pam’s designs, the Sage Advice square. (Different colours but also a very nice vintage look.)
Unfortunately, Muskat is not quite easy to crochet with. You have to be very careful not to pull any threads. But the result is fantastic, isn’t it? And as I said, I like these muted colours.

Here my choice:

Drops Muskat
– 87 Pomegranate
– 09 Nutmeg
– 82 Silver Orchid

Unfortunately theses colours are very hard to capture in a photo. So, in  my photos, the Silver Orchid looks a little more silver than it is in reality.

I followed colourway 1 from the pattern and replaced
– colour A with Silver Orchid
– colour B with Nutmeg and
– colours C and D with Pomegranate

The only change I made is that I worked rounds 15 and 16 in colour C instead of B.

My finished and blocked square measures about 26 cm, that’s about 10 1/4 inch.

The pattern is available on Ravelry. Of course, the size and stitch count match Pam’s other squares perfectly.
The skill level is rated as mid-intermediate. As usual in Pam’s designs there are a few special stitches. But they are all well explained. Additionally, detailed photos for each round help in case something should be unclear. It‘s definitely worth trying!

My Winter’s Love blanket – it’s finished

Last weekend I made the last stitches on my Winter’s Love blanket. YAY – it is finished!

I really enjoyed working on it!

Here is a Short Summary

Winter‘s Love is the current Cal (Crochet-a-long) by Ana Morais Soares from One Skein of Love. The Cal already started on 22. November 2024. It is divided into 4 parts and part 4 – the last one – will already be published on Friday (13. December 2024). Time flies …
But it is never too late to get the pattern. It’s perhaps a little late to get the blanket ready for Christmas. But starting it at Christmas and finishing it for next year is certainly a very nice idea too.

In case you are interested, the pattern is available here.

During the last weeks I had the pleasure of testing this lovely pattern. I had a late start though. Due to our holidays I was only able to start working on it in the second half of October. Besides my normal life (and some health issues) it took me about 7 weeks to finish it. Late for the test – but nevertheless, 7 weeks are not too bad for finishing a blanket, I think. I am not a fast crocheter anyway!

My yarn and yarn amounts

It is the first time I have used Yarnsmiths Create DK. Yarnsmiths is an own brand from Wool Warehouse in the UK.

Create DK is an 100 % Acrylic yarn. It comes in 100 g balls and has a yardage of 290 m / 100g. It is currently available in 120 colours.

I decided to go with Claret Red (3090) and Off White (3045) for my blanket.

In total I needed

4 balls Off-White
6 balls Claret Red

I really like the quality of Create DK. It has a consistent thickness and is soft and smooth. It was absolutely fun to work with! I will have to get some more colours.

Finished Size of my blanket

My finished blanket is about 120 x 150 cm. That’s about 47 x 59 inch. I worked with a 4 mm hook.

My colour placement

After a first try (in the photo the strip on top), I decided to start my blanket with a dark background, having the motifs in white.
That means I started the foundation row in Off White (C1) and used Claret Red as C2.

I kept this scheme for the first 8 patterns of the blanket. For the last 3 patterns, however, I decided to swap the colours.

I have already written about the reasons for this in my previous post. There you will also find detailed information about what exactly I did to swap the colours. Besides there is also an overview of my detailed colour placement for all patterns of the blanket. Only the colours of the border are not listed there. Now, the slip-stitch round, front- and back layer and the joining round were all worked in Claret Red. That‘s it.

But, to make it easier, I have now also summarised my entire colour placement in a pdf file. So, if you are interested you can download it here

Winters Love colour schemeDownload

Well, that’s the end of another big crochet project. After that, I always have the feeling of falling into a kind of big hole. Do you know that?

I still have no idea what I’m going to do next. Unfortunately, I’m having problems with one of my eyes at the moment (and a few appointments at the eye doctor). So I think it’s going to be something small. Maybe some Granny Squares? Or something small for Christmas? Hm, let’s see!

Wish you a lovely time 💕

My previous posts about Winter‘s Love

Winter’s Love Cal

My Winter‘s Love blanket – A quick update

Winter’s Love CAL

Now it’s that very special time of the year again! In the northern hemisphere, winter is lurking just around the corner. Christmas is just over 5 weeks away. And Ana from One Skein of Love has just introduced her new Winter CAL (crochet along): Winter’s Love!

Winter’s Love is another blanket design in Overlay Mosaic. It matches her earlier winter designs – Winter Wonderland, Wintry Forest and Magic Winter – perfectly.

Picture by Ana Morais Soares / One Skein of Love

Lovely, isn’t it?

Winter’s Love CAL Dates

The Winter’s Love Cal will start on Friday, 22. November 2024.

It is divided into four parts.
Part 1 will be released on Friday, 22. November 2024. Parts 2 – 4 follow at intervals of one week each. So the dates are

  • Part 1 – 22. November 2024
  • Part 2 – 29. November 2024
  • Part 3 – 06. December 2024
  • Part 4 – 13. December 2024

All information about the CAL is already available on Ravelry. After you purchased the pattern you can download an introduction file with all relevant notes. Yarn amounts, size and gauge, pattern notes, abbreviations, tutorials and so on.

My version of Winter’s Love

I promised Ana in October that I would test the pattern. I’m sorry to say that I am not finished yet. Life and, unfortunately, my health got in the way a bit.

Luckily I’ve already done a good bit that I can show. And of course I’m hurrying to finish as quickly as possible.

My yarn

This time I am trying something different: Yarnsmiths Create DK.

Yarnsmiths is a relatively new yarn and an own brand from Wool Warehouse. (My favorite online yarn shop. Unfortunately located in Great Britain.)

Create DK is a 100 % Acrylic yarn. At the moment it comes in 120 different shades. I guess many of them are similar to the colours from Stylecraft Special DK. But there are also some special ones. It’s definitely worth a look!
The yardage is 290 m per 100 g ball. Recommended hook size is 4 mm.

It works up nicely! I like it and will definitely try some more colours.

My colours and colour placement

When I saw Ana’s new design for the first time I instantly thought of classic colours.
So I had originally planned to use white, red and grey to give it kind of a Nordic look.
I ordered some Off-White, Claret Red ans Storm Grey. I primarily wanted to use the off-white as a background colour and make the motifs in red. A little grey in between.

After my yarn arrived, I initially followed Ana’s pattern just replacing her cream coloured yarn with Off-White.

After the first few rows, however, I changed my mind. The claret-red fascinated me and I considered swapping the colours. 

The picture below shows both versions. The sample on top is my first one, using Off-White as background. The other one (with the little blue stitch marker) is the one with swapped colours.

What shall I say? I didn’t have to think for long! The one with the swapped colours was my favourite and became my final version. Without the grey though.
Throughout the pattern I use Off White as colour C1 and Claret Red as colour C2.

My progress so far

This is what I have so far. I just reached the end of part 2. 150 rows are done.

Now on to part 3. Another 75 rows to go.

I’ll keep you updated on my progress

And just a side note on my yarn order:

Yep, after years of abstinence, I finally dared to order from Wool Warehouse in the UK again. I hadn’t ordered there since the Brexit (the UK’s exit from the European Economic Union).
I knew that I would have to pay extra taxes. Ok, but unfortunately, I had read a lot about people from Europe who had to pay horrendous amounts. So I really wasn’t sure how everything would work.
I am happy that I finally tried it! It is nothing to be scared of!

My order was delivered by DHL. The parcel was not tracked. That was a bit of a pity because you never know when you can expect delivery. But it arrived within a week or so. I got a note from DHL and had to pick the parcel up in the post office. There I paid the import sales tax. This corresponds to the usual 19% VAT here. And I also had to pay a small handling fee to DHL. But in total the price was still reasonable.

The only thing I have to make sure of is that my order does not exceed € 150. Then there are no customs duties and I only have to pay the import VAT. I really wish I had tried it earlier!

Mystified Square

I’m happy to finally be able to show you my version of the Mystified Square.
It is the new design from Pam Knighton-Haener / A Yarn of Serendipity. The pattern has just been published. AND: it has been chosen by the Ravelry BAMCAL group as their block of the month for November.

Ravelry BAMCAL

Have you heard of BAMCAL on Ravelry?
If not, BAMCAL stands for Block-A-Month Crochet-A-Long. This is a Crochet-Along organised every year by a special group on Ravelry.

The CAL runs throughout the year. Each month 3 different Afghan squares are featured. Two squares, a 6 inch and a 12 inch, are chosen by the mods. A third is chosen by the group members in a poll. All patterns are free – at least for the month they are chosen for.
You can choose to do one or all of them – it’s up to you. At the end of the year you can combine all your squares into a blanket. Or make anything else you can think of.


I absolutely love this idea! Maybe I should join in next year?

Mystified Square – The Pattern

The Mystified Square is designed for Aran / worsted weight yarn (#4). But it will also work very well with other yarn weights. Of course, using a different yarn weight will affect the final size.

With worsted weight yarn, the finished square will be 11 or 12 inches (28 or 30,5 cm). This depends on whether a 4.5 or 5 mm crochet hook is used.

The pattern is classified as mid-intermediate. It uses various stitches, including some special ones. But no worries, they are all very well explained. And a picture tutorial helps with each round.

The design comes in two colourways, each with 5 different colours. Of course, you can also create your own colour scheme. I bet it would also look great in just one colour!

The pattern is available on Ravelry.

My Test Version

I already tested this pattern for Pam some weeks, or rather months, ago. I think it was in early August.
Of course, everything had to be kept secret until the pattern was finally published. Hard time :-)

As always, I did not use the suggested Aran yarn. I still don’t like working with it and feel a bit uncomfortable using a 5 mm hook. So, this time I decided to use up some Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/6 (a #3 yarn) from my stash.

I used colourway 2, but replaced the colours as follows

  • Hobbi Rainbow Cotton 8/6 (50 g / 105 m)
    • A – 065, Apricot (discontinued?)
    • B – 73, Pearl Gray
    • C – 047, Dark Old Rose
    • D – 049, Peach (discontinued?)
    • E – 012, Volcano Gray

Unfortunately it looks like two of my colours are already discontinued. At least I couldn’t find them in the actual Hobbii shop.

I like the way the colours come together. I just noticed that they are a bit difficult to capture in a photograph. The Dark Old Rose in particular is a little reluctant to show its true beauty…

Using a 3,75 mm hook my square turned out to be about 25 cm / 10 inch.

I really enjoyed working on this pattern and am happy with the result!

Are you going to try the pattern? If so, have fun 💕

Popping Hearts

In July Ana from One Skein of Love released a new pattern: Popping Hearts. She designed it for Hobbii as a Hobbii Plus (paid) pattern.

In case you don’t know Hobbii yet: Hobbii is a shop for yarn and crafting supplies that is located in Denmark. They sell online but they also have at least two or three retail outlets in the very north of Germany. Maybe in other countries too? I don‘t know.

Ana’s Design

The Popping Hearts blanket is made in overlay mosaic technique. But it is not worked in rows, as you may be familiar with, it consists of single squares that are joined together. So it is a great project to work on in the summer! And it’s easy to carry with you to the park or the beach …

The squares are worked in the round using two colours. The colour is changed after every round but the yarn is not cut. It is simply carried along – which of course minimises the number of loose ends!

Ana used Hobbii Fluffy Day for her blanket. Fluffy Day is an acrylic yarn that is available in many beautiful colours. Her blanket consists of 5 x 5 squares and measures approx. 110 x 110 cm.  The size of the blanket can easily be changed by using more or fewer squares. The same applies to the shape of the blanket.

And of course you can also play with colour. Ana has used the same colour combination for all the squares. But you can also swap the colours for every second square or make a kind of patchwork blanket with lots of different colours. It’s up to you!

Photo credit: Ana Morais Soares / One Skein of Love

The pattern is available on the Hobbii website and in Ana‘s shops.

My Challenge

During the Popping Hearts test phase I was busy with other things and couldn’t bring myself to crochet a blanket or even make a small sample on the side. So I helped with proofreading the pattern and some technical editing: checking and comparing the written texts with the charts, checking colours, abbreviations, stitch counts and so on.

When it came to translating the pattern into German, however, I had a few challenges at first.
Personally, I find it much easier to work according to English instructions. I find them much clearer and more concise. In German, it often sounds quite cumbersome to me.
So when I work according to an English pattern, I don’t translate it into German in my mind, but think in English. Unfortunately, this sometimes makes it a little more difficult when I’m working on a translation into German for Ana.

The construction of the Popping Hearts pattern is slightly different from the normal overlay mosaic worked in rows, so of course it also uses some different terms. No idea why, although I know the German crochet terms I just couldn’t remember some less common German expressions. I had difficulty translating a particular term Ana used, even though I knew there was an equivalent in German.
At this point, I had the idea to grab my hook and start crocheting. It’s amazing how a brain works in the background. Although I didn’t think in German terms when crocheting here either, it helped me and I suddenly had the German translation.
Well, this is how my square was created …
I’m pleased with the result – with the translation as well as with my square.

My Popping Hearts Square

For my sample I used Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/6 and a 3,75 mm hook.

My colours are

C1 – #25, Pastel Mint
C2 – #02, Natural White

As I only made a single square, I reduced the border a little and crocheted only two rounds. I used rounds 1 and 2 of Ana‘s border: round 1 in White and round 2 in Mint.

My finished square measures about 19 x 19 cm.

I often use these squares in my bedroom as a pad for my mobile phone or to place rings and bracelets on. Maybe I should make another one in reversed colours? Hm …

And finally, a note on the German translation: on the German Hobbii website, there is also a German version of the pattern available. However, this has been created by Hobbii and not by me. Just to prevent any confusion.

Have a lovely time 💕

Pinwheel Square

Another test for Pam

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.
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. Something like Schachenmayr Catania or Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/4. The reason is just that I have accumulated a lot of these yarns by crocheting amigurumi and can go with my stash. Besides they have a great colour range and a good stitch definition.

Somehow this time I decided to go with my stash of Stylecraft Special DK.

I have just used a similar colour combination for another test in overlay mosaic. Just all in neutrals. I loved the result and was curious how it would look in regular 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.

Happy hooking 💕

Magic Winter – My Start

Have you seen Ana‘s new Cal? Magic Winter will start on Friday, 17. November 2023. The Introduction File with all relevant information is already available on Ravelry.

I had the pleasure of testing this wonderful pattern and also do the translations into German.

The Magic Winter blanket is made in Overlay Mosaic technique and also has a small section of Tapestry Mosaic. Of course, the pattern explains how to do both.

When Ana showed me her new design for the first time, I immediately thought about a clear, cold and frozen winter morning when the sun rises with a rosy shine. On these days, my grandma used to say: ›look, the angels are baking biscuits in heaven‹. So I immediately knew how I wanted my blanket to look like: a cold and clear winter morning with a beautiful sunrise …

I used Stylecraft Special DK in White, Silver and Vintage Peach and I am very happy with the result. At the moment I‘m still working on the border and can‘t show you a finished blanket. But I can give you some impressions.

If you are interested in my colour placements, I have already listed them here for part 1 of the Cal. The rest, including my yarn amounts, will follow next week when I am hopefully finished with the blanket.

That‘s all for today. Have a lovely time 💕

Progress with my Legacy Blanket

YAY! It took a while because of all my doubts about the colours and the colour placements … But finally … all 12 squares are done! All tails worked away and all squares are blocked.

These are the three that have been missing in my collection so far.

Lauren Rose

Brood of Angels

Macey Ann

I have just prepared the first squares for joining and spent some time on the layout.

After some arranging and rearranging of the squares, I decided in favour of the layout shown on the left. I hope it will look nice!

The Zipper Join

In the Justyce Destany Border pattern for the Legacy Blanket Pam recommends to use the Zipper Join for joining the squares.

I have to admit, I am not a professional when it comes to joining squares. I once used the “Join as you go-method” for joining some granny squares – but I think that was it. So I had my first attempt on the zipper join when testing the Justyce Destany border.
The pattern contains a helpful link to a video tutorial that shows how to do this join. But, if you prefer written tutorials like I do: I also found a very clear and helpful one from Raffaella from Raffamusa Designs.
Nevertheless, the beginning is a bit fiddly – at least I think so … But I am slowly getting the hang of it.
I initially experimented a little with the hook size and finally decided on 5.0 mm hook. The squares are made with a 4 mm hook but with the larger hook size I find it easier to make the stitches even and not too tight. So far I am pleased with the result. It’s a very nice and flat join. Now on to the next ones!

Have a lovely time 💕