Mandala Madness - Part 6

Well part 6 has a new stitch for me to learn and I absolutely love it! I now have been doing the bobble stitch. At first I was a bit apprehensive as it meant turning my blanket around and working from the back instead of the front. It was a little fiddly at first but I soon got used to it. I started doing this new stitch on the white blanket. The one that will eventually be given to my Mum and did the bobble section using the pink wool. I am still trying to work out how to repeat my accent colours on the double knit blankets. The repeat is; pink, green and then either blue or grey depending on which of the double knit blankets it is.

With the colour change I don't have that issue but I was concerned about working from the back with the bobbles. The wool very slowly changes and as I have been going in the same direction I was worried that I would end up with a section that might be more of a block of colour rather than the subtle variation in colour that is barely noticeable. I needn't have worried as where the rounds are still fairly small the change doesn't show and I know its there! The colour, by the end of the part, has changed again. The green has completely gone and a dusky pink colour has now started to creep in.

The part ended up finishing with a round that reminds me of a picket fence and for the first time there are big(ish) visible gaps in the work. It will be interesting to see how the next part starts from there. I am looking forward to it.

Onto part 7 ...................

Mandala Madness - Part 5

My three blankets are starting to change shape again. Instead of having sides that are more in a straight line they have started to look like a flower at the end of this part. The crochet has been nice to do and really straight forward. There have been no tricky stitches to try and learn which has been good (although I do like a good challenge). Working behind the popcorns has meant that the colour has travelled from one section to the next without it being too obvious and having either a big visible line or the need to cut the wool and join on.

I really like working from the back and around the posts as with both versions done in the double knit you get a line appearing when you have the colour change just a little bit lower. I also like how it makes that section stand a bit more proud than the rest of the work. I nice texture touch.

All three blankets are starting to show how the pattern ways are working. I like that I am getting an idea of the repeat colours with both of the double knit blankets but I also like how my colour change wool has changed again its colour and is starting to get rid of the green shade and bring in a fawn/beige colour.

Onto part 6 ...................................

Mandala Madness - Part 4

Part four of my Mandala Madness has now been completed on all of my three CAL's. There were no new stitches to learn in this part so it was pretty straight forward. It also had the added bonus of one of my favourite stitches to finish off with. The popcorn stitch! I love how this adds texture and interest. Making sure that the blanket isn't all one flat surface. The popcorn stitch is also broken up to match the ruffle sections from part three but is slightly longer as the blanket is growing in size. The double knit versions are now approximately 23 inches across (diameter) and the colour change version is smaller due to the thinner yarn used at approximately 16 inches.

I am still continuing to alternate the contrast colours on the double knit versions and I like how this repetition flows through both. Even though the pink and the greens are different shades, I have tried to match them and complete the same rounds using the black and white as the base colour.