Southern Diamonds Baby Blanket CAL/Week 1

July 31, 2016 by Kathy Lashley Leave a Comment

Wow! I showed a sneak peek of the Southern Diamonds Baby Blanket and lots of you wanted to do a CAL (crochet-along)! I’m so excited that many of you wanted to crochet the baby blanket together actually. It’s always so much fun to see all the different personalities come out in the projects when everyone starts posting their pictures in the ELK Studio Crocheter’s Facebook group!

Get the PDF pattern on Etsy HERE.

I bought the Cascade North Shore yarn earlier this year in the hopes of making a baby blanket. When I first saw the yarn, I thought it was cotton and of course had to touch it…yep, cotton right? It was amazing for me to read the label and discover the yarn is 100% acrylic. It has the most fabulous sheen and is super soft! It just glided easily through my hands while crocheting. I would definitely recommend the yarn to anyone.

Let me just say though, if you are one that just crochets “over” the yarn to weave in the ends, you may want to actually use a tapestry needle for this project because the yarn is very soft plus with the open stitches….a little more effort would make the project more secure!

Since this is also a Southern Diamonds CAL, all information will be added to the Southern Diamonds MAIN PAGE.

Let’s get on with the schedule and materials you’ll need for the Southern Diamonds Baby Blanket!

Supplies

Cascade North Shore, 100 grams/220 yards, #3 DK weight, 100% acrylic, 01 Blue Bell (3 skeins), 03 Sapphire (2 skeins), 07 White (2 Skeins)
G Hook/4.0 mm
Tapestry needle for weaving in the ends.

Gauge: 6 V-Stitches and 9 Rows = 4″

Finished Measurement: 30″ x 32″

Schedule for the Blanket

July 31, 2016 – Week 1/Schedule and Materials Announcement
August 5, 2016 – Week 2/Rows 1-25
August 12, 2016 – Week 3/Rows 26-55
August 19, 2016 – Week 4/Edging

As always, you can join all the crochet-along chatter in the ELK Studio Facebook group! It’s an incredible group with nothing but lots of support. We have all skills levels from a beginner to the more advanced and everyone is there to answer your questions.

Follow ELK Studio on your favorite social media sites. You can find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram!

You can also register for the newsletter to stay up-to-date on the ELK Studio happenings!

It’s the Southern Diamonds Shawl Crochet-Along Details!

May 7, 2016 by Kathy Lashley Leave a Comment

Yippee! Are you ready for the schedule of the Southern Diamonds Shawl Crochet-Along? This project will definitely be a “show-stopper” with all your friends. Once they see this shawl…..get ready because they will want one for themselves! The shaping of Southern Diamonds is an angel wing shape which is perfect for contouring your body shape. It doesn’t necessarily lay perfectly flat when you lay it out….but when you wrap it around you, I think you’ll be very pleased with the results. There also won’t be any fuss about it falling off your shoulders either because of the shaping, but you could always use a shawl pin to keep it in place to give it that “finished look”. There are a couple of surprises for you….so be sure to scroll to the bottom of the blog post!

I really hope you’ll join me and all the other folks in the ELK Studio Crocheter’s Group. In the group you will find lots of support and help with all of your crochet questions. We have everyone from the beginner to the more advanced crocheter (because don’t you need all the different experience levels to learn anyway)? The project is really easy to crochet, and I would probably rate it as an “easy” project but maybe a good challenge for the beginner. If you know single crochet and double crochet…you can do this project. It’s just the way the stitches are combined that may take concentration….plus you’ll need to keep up with your stitch count too (but that’s a given on any project).

Here is a Breakdown of the Upcoming Schedule

Week 1: May 7, 2016/Supply List and Schedule
Week 2: May 14, 2016/Rows: 1-11
Week 3: May 21, 2016/Rows: 12-27
Week 4: May 28, 2016/Rows: 28-39

Supply List

Premier Cotton Fair Yarn, 3.5 oz/317 yards, 52% cotton, 48% Acrylic, Colorway is Blue Iris (3 Skeins)
Hook Size: G/4.0 mm
Tapestry Needle for weaving in the ends.

Annie’s has the best price right now for the yarn at $4.99/skein!

Plus, once you get to their site, be sure to check out their code for 50% off shipping costs!

But you can also find the yarn at JoAnn and Michael’s too!

I am so happy to announce that I will be giving away a $25 gift card from Amazon to someone so that you can buy your own Premier Cotton Fair Yarn! The giveaway will end Monday, May 9th at 11:59 pm CST….so be sure to register so that you can get the yarn to make your own Southern Diamonds Shawl!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I also wanted to tell you that I have a great sale going on right now to celebrate Mother’s Day! All of the patterns in my Ravelry Store are 50% off! Here’s how you get the great deal! Read the details below!

To receive my paid patterns (e books not included) at a 50% discount, follow the directions below EXACTLY how they are listed. The code expires Monday, May 9th at 11:59 pm CST.

NO REFUNDS will be given for “accidentally” purchasing the pattern so read all the instructions before clicking the link!

Click HERE for the Ravelry Link.
Choose Your Pattern.
Click on the Pattern Link.
Add the pattern to your cart.
Click on Enter Coupon Code.
Enter the code MOM16
Click on Check out!

Have a great weekend everyone and Happy Mother’s Day!

~Kathy

Yarn Discovery #8 ELK Studio Style!

February 15, 2016 by Kathy Lashley Leave a Comment

I’m very excited to bring Yarn Discovery #8 to you this week! Once again, I received this yarn when I attended TNNA last month. I will admit the colors of the Baah Yarn are some of the most exquisite I’ve seen and used as a designer. The pictures really don’t do the yarn enough justice, although I think you can really see the vibrant colors radiantly shining. Oh, and the feel of the yarn is incredible too! The Baah yarn tag line is “Color You Can Feel”! I certainly agree with the slogan don’t you?

I named this project Sands by the Sea Shore because of the beautiful blue next to the shades of brown. It seemed like a perfect fit to me.

Please Favorite or Queue on Ravelry!

I know Chevron is a classic pattern, so I thought how wonderful would it be to take 3 skeins of the beautiful Baah yarn and mix it with the Chevron stitch But…..I also wanted to put a unique spin on the pattern to make it more eye catching. Have you noticed there is nothing symmetrical about the rows of colors? I honestly just changed colors when it “felt” right, but I think it turned out perfectly. The colors blended so well that you could “get away” with just being creative with the color changes and since it is considered a fingering weight yarn, you had enough room to play around because the project didn’t grow as quickly as it would if you were using worsted weight. I actually tried the same technique of random color changes using a worsted weight yarn and just couldn’t pull off the same effect. With the Baah Yarn, you can really use your own creativity and come up with something spectacular too!

Be sure to FIND a local yarn store near you that sells the yarn!

I wanted this blog post to be as informative as it could be, so I asked my ELK Studio Crocheter’s Group some of the questions they would love to know about a yarn they had never used. Let me start with the specifications of the yarn first:

LaJolla, 100% Superwash Merino Fingering Weight
205 meters / 400 yards per 100 gram / 3.5 oz skein
Gauge: 30 sts / 4 inches (10 cm)
Care Instructions: Handwash and lay flat to dry.

Now let’s talk about some of the other things you really want to know.

Can you tell me about the texture of the yarn?

It’s a fingering weight yarn and is 100% superwash merino so with those two combinations….you get a very lightweight yarn that is really soft and nice.

How far will one skein take you in a project?

The chevron pattern is a “closed” stitch pattern, so I used almost the entire 3 skeins for my project and felt like I was able to achieve my goal. However, if I were to use an open stitch like a shell or something….I could see the 3 skeins being more than enough for any other shawl or even a garment project.

What do you think is the best type of projects for the yarn?

You couldn’t go wrong with using this yarn for a garment or accessory.

What did you like best about the yarn?

The richness of the colors are certainly attention grabbing and how the Blue Topaz mixed with the Hazelnut and Pecan were amazing. The Blue Topaz certainly is the show stopper in this particular project, but I don’t believe it would be that way without the other two complimentary yarns.

Pattern Instructions

Supplies:

Baah, La Jolla Yarn, 100% Superwash Merino, Fingering Weight, 400 yards/100 gram/3.5 oz skein, Colorways: Pecan, Hazelnut and Blue Topaz.
Hook – E/3.50
Tapestry Needle for weaving in the ends

Gauge: Blocked: 1.5 stitch pattern repeats and 8 Rows = 2.5″

Finished Size: 52″ x 14.5″

Sizes:

Ch 280 + 4 = 50″ (extra small) (1,1,1) Skein
Ch 308 + 4 = 55″ (small) (2,2,2) Skeins
Ch 336 + 4 = 60″ (medium) (2,2,2) Skeins
Ch 364 + 4 = 65″ (large) (2,2,2) Skeins
Ch 392 + 4 = 70″ (extra large) (2,2,2) Skeins

Notes:

If you decided to make your project larger or smaller, just make sure you chain in multiples of 14 sts + 4.
Ch 3 at the beginning of a row counts as the first dc, unless otherwise stated.
See the color sequence chart below.

Special Stitches:

Decrease Stitch: (uses next 3 sts), *YO, insert hook in next st, YO, pull up a loop, YO, draw through 2 loops on hook, repeat from * 2 times, YO, pull through all 4 loops on hook. (counts as one dc).

Abbreviations:
ch(s) – chain(s)
dc – double crochet
rep- repeat
sc – single crochet
sp(s) – space(s)
st(s) – stitch(es)
YO – Yarn Over

Row 1: Ch (284,312,340,368,396), dc in 4th ch from hook and next 5 chs, decrease (See Special Stitches), dc in next 5 chs, *(dc, ch 1, dc) in next ch, dc in next 5 chs, decrease, dc in next 5 ch, repeat from * across to last ch, 2 dc in last ch. (282,310,338,366,394 sts)

Row 2: Ch 3 (See Pattern Notes), dc in first st, dc in next 5 sts, decrease, dc in next 5 sts, *(dc, ch 1, dc) in next ch-1 sp, dc in next 5 sts, decrease, dc in next 5 sts, repeat from * across to last st, 2 dc in top of ch 3.

Repeat Row 2 until Row 39 or until you have reached your desired width. Fasten off. Weave in the ends.

Optional Edging:

Row 1: With RS (right side) facing, using Color C, join by sl st in last st, ch 1, 3 sc in last st, sc evenly across side, 3 sc in first ch of foundation ch, sc in next 5 chs, *2 sc in next ch, 3 sc in next ch, 2 sc in next ch**, sc in next 11 chs, ending last repeat at **, until last 7 ch, sc in next 6 chs, 3 sc in top of ch 3, sc evenly across side, 3 sc in first st, sc in next 12 sts, ^2 sc in next st, 3 sc in ch-1 sp, 2 sc in next st^^, sc in next 11 sts, repeat from ^, ending last repeat at ^^, until last 12 sts, sc in last 12 sts, join by sl st to first sc.

Optional Row 2: Ch 1, sc in first st, 3 sc in corner st, *sc across until next corner st, 3 sc in next corner st, repeat from * around, join by sl st to first st.

I hope you’ve loved today’s Yarn Discovery post! Be sure to visit the Baah Yarn Facebook page and tell them you’re from ELK Studio stopping by to say HI and that you love their yarn!!!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored blog post as I was given the yarn. All opinions are purely my own.