Mandala Madness - starting to square the circle

So, the last mandala blanket to get started, out of the four, is going to be the first one that gets squared off. It is a glorious day today with the sun shining brightly. It is also going to get much warmer as the day goes on. The world cup is also on the TV.

I have been putting off starting to square off the blankets. Firstly, I really like how they look as a circle. Secondly, it has been warm and I haven't wanted the heavy weight on my lap so have been doing lots of small crochet pieces - mostly my calorie free bag charm treats. And lastly, I have been really nervous how it will turn out using the colour change wools. Ironically it is the colour change blanket that I have decided to jump straight in and start with.

The instructions are very well written, and although they are by a different designer, it could be from the same one as the stitches are similar and the flow of the pattern is also not out of place. There are 29 rows to be done in order to complete the squaring of although once the corners have gone in on round 14 I can imagine that more or less rows could be done in order to achieve the desired effect. I have done 11 so far but it does give an idea of how the colours are going to blend in. Where the wool is a colour change wool I made the decision to not do one corner at a time and complete it but to do one row at a time on each corner so that the colours are matching as each one blends into the next one. This I am hoping will give some sort of symmetry before the corners get too big and before the straight edges start to come in.

I am really pleased with how they have started to go in and am looking forward to the next stage, finishing them off and starting on the long sides. Its not long to go now before the blanket will be completely finished. I am hoping to get all four done and squared off before winter starts to set in. It seems a long way off having only just had the summer solstice yesterday but we all now how time flies and before you know it summer is over and it is back to those cold long days of winter. I am going to make the most of the warm weather whilst it lasts, even if it does mean trying to crochet the blankets in it!