Tag Archives: stylecraft

Fruit Garden CAL – Complete

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Hi all! I’m really pleased to share with you photos of the completed lap blankets. It was great fun and to be honest, I’ve been feeling a bit at a loose end now that these are over.

I will definitely use some parts of this pattern (by Janie Crow) for other projects, such as cushion covers, but more on that when I actually do make them!

While I do have some smaller projects on the go, however, I am now on the lookout for the next big one….if anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to message me!

Fruit Garden CAL – progress

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It’s been a while since I last posted – and it’s not because I have no projects completed or on the go, but sheer laziness on my part in taking photos of my work! I am much happier with a hook, or needle in hand than setting the scene and taking the pics! So today, I decided that, come what may, I needed to pick up my handy mobile phone and snap a few shots.

Anyway, back to the Janie Crow CAL which I started a while back – I had ordered the yarn pack for the light colour scheme as the other one was out of stock, but my heart was set on the dark scheme too.

Here is where I got to so far using the original colour scheme (n.b. the CAL is not yet over – we’re still around halfway)

As I could not find the yarn packs in stock for the dark scheme, I opted to find similar shades locally in a different brand of wool (Schachenmayr). Due to COVID-19 impact on shipping, not all colours were available , and not wanting to wait for more shipments to arrive, I went with a few alternatives. You can see the outcome below.

I have to say that I much prefer the quality and feel of the Schachenmayr acrylic yarn to the Stylecraft one. It feel a lot softer. The other difference I noted is the Schachenmayer yarn is a little thicker – so the end result is a bit larger – but I don’t mind that and I’m quite happy with the outcome.

I still have quite a stash of yarn, so maybe I will make yet another blanket in a totally different colour scheme of my own design 🙂

If you are following the same CAL, I would love to see your work! Please feel free to share .

Stylecraft Fruit Garden Crochet Along (CAL) by Jane Crowfoot

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I recently came across a post in one of the Facebook crochet groups for a most beautiful Crochet-Along (CAL) project inspired by embroidery works by May Morris,  daughter of William Morris . I could not resist – so I signed up, bought the yarn pack and have just started.

As we have just started, only the first part of the pattern has been released, and I can say that it is written very clearly. The designer has also provided a youtube video, in which she has shared some really good tips. I will surely be applying some of the tips to all my projects henceforth – so very worth taking a look.

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Here is my first set of tiles. (Note that these are not blocked yet as we will be blocking them at the end of the project. Also, the threads you see in the corners are actually being used as stitch markers.)

I find the most efficient approach to making multiple tiles in the same pattern is to first do one completely, so you familiarise yourself with the pattern, and then work on the remaining colour by colour. So, in this set, I did one tile completely, and for the remaining 7 tiles, – I first crocheted 7 flowers, then did the green background for all 7, then proceeded to do the parchment part. There is no rule of how you should do this, it’s just a matter of preference.

This pattern is available in 2 colour recipes (a third is expected in September 2020, when this CAL will be run again). Nonetheless, you could also come up with your own colour combination. I have also seen a monochrome version of the tile which someone tried out – and it is quite pretty – but I love colours – so it’s not for me 🙂 .

If you want to give it a try, this pattern is available free on the designers site : https://www.janiecrow.com/fruit-garden-cal.html.

Photo credit : Janie Crow website (janiecrow.com)