The Crochet Project projects by Sparkles

Hi all, Laura here again with more of my adventures in crochet!

You may have seen our recent posts about the upcoming Skimming Stones MCAL from The Crochet Project. I am very excited to take part in this as it is the perfect opportunity to combine crochet and our yarns! This will not be my first attempt at a pattern from The Crochet Project as in the past year I have completed quite a few projects and I would like to share these with you.

In September, I had the honour of being a bridesmaid for my friend at her wedding. The colour scheme for the event was to be dusky pink and dusky green and ECY had just released Milburn 4ply in Althaea and Thyme. The bridesmaids all chose a dusky sage green colour their dresses and so I discussed with the bride the idea of using dusky pink for coordinating shawls. She loved the idea and so i began searching for pattern ideas. I didn't have to look far as we had copies of The Shawl Project Book 1 from The Crochet Project in stock in our office.

Looking through the book, Transposition immediately caught my eye and I set to making my first shawl. The first two sections worked up quickly and really helped to build my confidence. I love the idea that these different sections can be working in different colours and that the number of repeats can be adjusted to make the finshed article larger or smaller as required.

One of my fellow bridesmaids requested Cherry Pi be made in matching yarn and so this was to be my next project. This was a bit more complicated and I am pretty sure I lost count in more than a few places. Still, it came out really well and the recipient loved it. We definitely needed the shawls to keep us warm as the sun set over the Spanish mountains on the day of the wedding. 

At Yarndale 2017 I had the opportunity to meet Joanne and Kat (I'm not ashamed to say I had a massive fangirl moment) and picked up a couple of patterns from their stand. I had found my next project, the Humbug Scarf and I had a skein of Titus 4ply in colourway Empire that was perfect for it. The 6 row repeat and short rows made this a perfect TV crochet project and has created a soft, smooth, lightweight scarf which will be ideal for those cooler autumn evenings.

By this point I had really caught the crochet bug and was choosing yarn that I loved and then looking for projects to use it in. This was definitely the case when it came to a batch of Titus DK colourway Black Orchid. I feel head-over-heels in love with the way the colours combined in the skein and was eager to see how this would translate into a project. I decided this would be ideal to use in a Fronds Shawl. This pattern is another fairly simple repeat making it quick to gain shape and see progress. I adore the edging which is reminiscent of dragon scales and the shape makes it really easy to wear. The DK weight makes the shawl warm while the silk content also gives a light feeling to it.

After finishing Fronds I spent a few months using patterns from a few other designers, up to EYF2018 which marked a year from starting to crochet. It was so nice to have some of my projects on display on our stall (and on my person!) and to get lots of lovely feedback on them. I came away from Edinburgh with a few more patterns to add to my library and the inspiration to try out socks as my next project.

With Milburn DK having been released that same weekend, I chose Rust as the colourway for my sock project and selected Saunders Socks from Riley & Saunders. These were super fun to make and it is so rewarding to have something that can be used over and over. The Milburn DK is warm, soft and smooth and the pattern gives plenty of interest to keep the focus and a lovely finish to the design.

So what next?

Well my next Crochet Project project is going to be the Skimming Stones MCAL using our Nateby 4ply, Carlisle Fingering and CO Sparkle 4ply and I have a few other projects in my Ravelry queue, including the Aberfoyle cardigan, Even Cowgirls get the Blues shawl and Riley Socks.

Tell us what you're crocheting in the comments? Will you be joining in with the MCAL and which yarns have you chosen?