Mandala Madness - version 4 - Part 17,18

So, the fourth blanket that I have been making has now been completed up to the end of Helen Shrimptons pattern. There is a separate pattern by another amazing designer that will enable me to "square the circle" and this I plan to do to all of the four blankets. Eventually.

I am so thrilled with how this one has turned out and I cant quite believe that it was only half way through January that I started it having been into a wool shop to buy a present for a lovely friend for her birthday and the batik cakes were just sat on the next shelf. I thought they looked so lovely and although I hadn't planned on making another blanket I just knew that these were crying out to do the next Mandala. This wool is so soft and is really nice to work with. An added bonus was that I finished the last round using up the very last part of the grey/purple cake. I only have enough to do about another 50 crab stitches and that it is. Talk about playing yarn chicken! When I do square up the blanket I will concentrate on using the purple and pink cakes that I used for the very beginning of the blanket. I think it will balance the blanket, to finish it with what I started it with. The final round where it uses the grey will also give the circle a definition, almost like an outline.

During the final rounds the half circles that were started in part 16 are finished and then the gaps between them are filled in to make the blanket into a complete circle. There are a lot of treble clusters to do and I love the texture that this adds to this section. There are also plenty of back post and front post stitches which again adds another level of texture.

So as one chapter of this blanket has come to an end another one will begin again. Soon.

The finished round Mandala Madness blanket ............