Mandala Madness - Part 11

Part 11 is now complete on all three blankets and it was much quicker to do than part 10! It was a relief to have an easier part to do again and there was only one new stitch to learn, a long single crochet. The blanket shape has started to change again with the addition of what I would call a diamond shape that is made up of doubles, trebles and double trebles. This did make the blanket feel a bit wobbly but it gives such a lovely effect.

I have a new favourite texture and it was done in round 73. I think it looks like a rope effect and it makes you want to feel it. I am really pleased with how neat it looks. It has worked well on all of the blankets. Both of the double knit ones it has been done in a shade of pink. The colour really "pops" on the black version where the pink is so bright. I did wonder how it would look on the colour change where the double trebles would not have a contrast colour to work with but the texture shows through. The colour has now gone from the light plum to a much darker plum by the end of this part and I am getting very near the end of the "cake". I really don't think I will have enough to complete part 12 so a trip to the wool shop is going to have to be done, taking the blanket with me to see which of the Scheepjes whirl colours will go in best next. It will have to follow on from a dark plum and still be in keeping with the colours that are already done.

The long single crochets came at the very end of the part and were very simple to do, inserting the hook in the stitch below and pulling it up. It gives added texture as well as a decorative effect. Well that's part 11 done......

Onto part 12.....................

Mandala Madness - Part 10

Wow! I have managed to complete part 10 on the blankets, and what a part that was to do. With the previous part I mentioned that it seemed to feel like a break after completing all the long stitches on part 8 but also had the feeling that it could be the calm before the storm. It is a long part to complete and you definitely need patience as some rounds are more time consuming than others.

I have got used to doing popcorns and long stitches but to do both of them together and making sure that they all fell in the right place got tricky at times. Where you were working over the top of previous rounds it also felt as though you were not making progression in making the blanket any larger but the satisfaction when it was completed and seeing how it added to the beautiful texture certainly made it worth it and you could clearly see how it had progressed and added to the overall look of the blankets.

I am not a fan of having more than one colour on the go at the same time. Its time consuming to keep swopping over and also runs the risk that comes with keeping the correct tension on both yarns. I am not a fan of it when it comes to knitting either! That's just a personal thing and it is something that I am pleased that I can do. I do however love the effect that it brings and know I would hate weaving all those ends in if it was done individually. I would still be weaving now and possibly for the next couple of weeks. I didn't have that problem though when it came to the colour change blanket. I did this one second out of the three and it was a bit quicker to do and I really love how it has changed colour from the pale pink(ish) colour and started to go into a pale plum. The texture really does show up, obviously not as much as the double knit versions.

I am so pleased that I have managed to get this part done. It was definitely a challenge, but I love the results.

Onto part 11 ...................................