LAZY HOOKER'S CAL WEEK 2

SMALL POPCORN SQUARE (MAKE 2) 

Ch4

Slip stitch to join into a ring

1) Ch1, 8dc in ring, slsttj

2) Begin Popcorn:  Ch3, 4 tr in same place,

Remove hook from loop and replace into the top of the ch3 then back in loop of last treble made

YO pull through = 1 begin popcorn made

Chain 3

* Make 1 5tr popcorn in next stitch (do 5 trebles, remove hook, replace in top of 1st tr, then through top of last treble, yo pull through) ch3

Remove hook, put hook back in 1st treble then back through last treble

YO pull through, 1 popcorn made

2 popcorns made

Repeat from * to end completing 8 popcorn petals

3) Slip stitch into the next 3-ch space

Begin popcorn (see above), ch3,

1 popcorn in same space, ch3

*1 popcorn, ch3, 1 popcorn, ch3 in next ch-sp . Rep from * all the way around , slsttj (16 popcorn petals worked)

4)  Slip stitch into the next ch-3 sp

Ch3, 2 tr in same space,

*3 tr in each of the next 2 ch-sps

3 dbtr 2ch 3dbtr in next ch-sp (=corner)

3 tr in each of the next 3 ch-sps,

Rep from * 3 times to the end , slsttj in top of 1st tr

5)  (Ch4, miss 3 sts, 1dc in  next st ) 3 times,

*2htr 1ch 2htr in corner space, (ch4, miss 3 sts, 1 dc in next st) 4 times, rep from * all the way round, slsttj

6) Slip stitch in to the next ch-sp, ch2 (=1 htr), 1 htr in same place,

1 htr in next dc

Now do 2htr in every ch-sp, 1 htr in every dc and (2htr2ch2htr) in every corner space all around

Slsttj

7) ch2, * miss 1st, 1dc in next st, 1 ch rep from * all around, doing (2dc1ch2dc) in each corner space, slsttj

LAZY HOOKER'S CAL WEEK 1

SMALL STARBURST       (MAKE 2)

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ THE PREVIOUS POST 'FACTS AND FIGURES' BEFORE STARTING THIS CAL

Ch4, work 11 tr in 4th ch from hook (ie the first chain you made). (12 tr)

1) ch5 (=1tr +2ch), *1tr2ch in between the next 2 trs, rep from * to end, sl st to join. (12 spaced trs)

 2) Sl st in to next ch-sp, ch1, 3dc in same place, *3dc in next ch-sp, rep from * to end, slsttj

3) Ch2 = 1 htr, 1 htr in every stitch around

4) Begin Cluster:  Ch3=1 tr,  (yo into st, pull through , yo pull thr 2 loops, yo into next st, yo pull through, yo pull through 2 loops, yo pull through all 3 loops.
Ch 4, *work a Tr Cluster over the next 3 stitchs ( yo in to st, yo pull through loop, yo pull through 2 loops) 3 times, yo, pull through ALL 4 LOOPS = 1 tr cluster made, CH4 rep from * to end making 12 cluster petals. Slsttj.

begin cluster and first full cluster

12 star points/petals

 5) Ch3 =1tr,  work * (3 dbtr 2ch 3dbtr in the next ch-sp), then 1tr in top of the next cluster,  3 trs in the next ch-4 sp, 1 tr in top of the next cluster, 3 trs in next 4 ch-sp, 1 tr in top of next cluster, repeat from * 3 more times ending with 1 tr in top of the ch3. SLsttj

this shows the 3 dbtrs2ch3dbtrs plus the tr in the next cluster

 6) Place marker, ch2, *miss 1 st, 1dc in next st, 1 ch, rep from *around doing 2dc1ch2dc in every corner, slstj

7) Ch2, * 1dc in next ch-sp,1ch, rep from * around doing 2dc 1ch 2dc in every corner.

8) Repeat row 7

Fasten off ends and BLOCK. (see Facts and Figures previous post)

LAZY HOOKER'S CAL FACTS AND FIGURES

FACTS AND FIGURES 

STARTS SUNDAY 13th MARCH 2016

Hook used :  SIZE 5 - I'm using my faithful Clover Amour


                                                                     

Yarn used: 1600g (approx) of any CHUNKY ( I am recommending either James C Brett Marble Chunky or King Cole Riot Chunky, both widely available on line or in Stitchery Do or Ashridge if you live local.) PLUS SOME PLAIN CHUNKY TO DO THE BORDERS/EDGE

                       


I have hooked up a few different colour-ways to help you choose...so so hard!

Total number of squares made: 28 small ( 4 different designs)  and 5 large (2 different designs)


Dimensions: MINIMUM SIZE 140cm by 110cm PLUS the borders/edge

Time taken : 19 weeks plus the edge/borders  Starts 13 March 2016  Ends 31 July 2016  (approx)

Designs : These are all my own designs although I have been inspired by some fabulous other squares out there including some by Jan Eaton and Joyce Lewis 

Blocking :I will be blocking every square as I make them to ensure that they are all the same size. I do this by pinning them out to the desired size on foam mats then spraying well with cold water and leaving to dry naturally.

Sewing in ends. I will be taking the LAZY hooker's way of crocheting the ends under as much as possible as I go to minimise the amount of sewing in at the end. Do whatever you find best.

GENERAL INFO

One of the reasons that I love crochet so much is that it is SO forgiving in comparison to knitting. If you make a mistake it is nearly always possible to correct it without having to take loads of work out. Bear this in mind as the stitch count will not always be vital, as long as you have the same number on each side and the pattern stays symmetrical. I am basically apologizing in advance for errors in my patterns...but want to reassure you that you can make it good by adding/omitting the odd stitch here and there. Honestly it works out fine! Just make sure that you don't miss out the HIDDEN stitch after the corners - you'll need to pull the corner stitches to the right a bit to find it. 

Each square will have a LINEN stitch border in the main colour to give them all some continuity, so if you find that one of your squares is much bigger or smaller than the rest, just add or omit the final row of linen stitch.

The exact SIZE of each square is not vital either as long as they are ALL THE SAME. My small squares come up at about 16cm by 16cm and the big ones about 34cm by 34 cm. As long as you can get 2 of the small squares on the edge of the big square comfortably then you'll be ok. The squares can easily be BLOCKED in to the right size and they will all stretch nicely when bordered too.

ABBREVIATIONS

ch - chain
sl st tj - slip stitch to join
dc - double crochet
htr - half treble crochet
tr - treble crochet
dbtr - double treble
YO - yarn over
POPCORN stitch - do as many (trebles) as indicated, remove hook from loop, replace hook in top of the first treble/ch3 and put back in to last loop, YO pull though both loops tightly.
CLUSTER stitch - do as many (trebles) as indicated but do not complete the final pull through until all trebles worked, then YO and pull through ALL the loops left on the hook.
V-STITCH - (1tr 1ch 1tr) all in same place

Unless otherwise stated,

  Ch1 at the beginning does NOT  count as a dc
 Ch2 at the beginning counts as a HTR
 Ch3 at the beginning counts as a TR


PREVIEW OF THE DESIGN PLAN

This is a (very) rough illustration of how all the squares fit together, so that those of you planning to use a different/plain yarn can plan how to position them. This blanket is adaptable to make it more personal. Choose your own yarn, add more squares, add a bigger border, make it yours. 

The Lazy Barkham Hooker's CAL 2016 INTRODUCTION AND EXCUSES...

This has been a while coming, I know and it's not quite there yet either.  Apologies to those who have been patiently waiting; life just has a habit of getting in the way of crochet (how dare it?!). THEREFORE, to whet your appetites a touch and to allow those who want to take part,  time  to order their yarn, here is a brief teaser of what it's all about....

It's called THE LAZY HOOKER'S CAL because I'm a lazy hooker I guess, so I wanted to make this one as easy and stress-free as possible. There will be just 6 different designs of squares which will be repeated throughout to create a symmetrical pattern (so lazy),  I will be using CHUNKY yarn so it grows nice and fast, and I have chosen some fantastic COLOUR-CHANGING yarn so that I don't need to sew in hundreds of ends.HURRAH for that! I am going to suggest that you use either

 JAMES C BRETT MARBLE CHUNKY which is 100% acrylic and comes in huge 200g balls

                                              

or the fabulous KING COLE RIOT CHUNKY which is a wool mix and comes in 100g balls

                                        

These are just a few of the colours and they won't disappoint. If you are one of my local Barkham Hookers you can get a great deal on these yarns by going to see Rebecca in STITCHERY DO in Wokingham for both yarns or Cindy at ASHRIDGE FARM GARDEN CENTRE for the Riot Chunky. Just mention that you're doing the CAL and they will order everything you need at a great price. #let'ssupportlocal! 
 For those of you not local you can of course order on-line from several shops - just google the wool to see the best offers for you. You will need 1600g of the main yarn plus some plain yarn of your choice to do the borders, so you'll need to order 8 balls of the James C Brett and 16 balls of the King Cole Riot. We'll sort the borders out later so don't worry about that yet.

It will measure approx 140cm by 110cm without the borders/edging so it's not huge; more of a good throw for the sofa or a runner for the bed. You can make it bigger or smaller by adding or removing  squares from the top and bottom and can decide whether to do a big border or not. The choice is yours!

We will be doing between 1 and 2 squares a week depending on their size and I expect the whole blanket to take 19 weeks plus the time spent on the edge.

Here's a little taster of one of the large squares. This is using the KING COLE RIOT in 'Monsoon'.

I love how the colours change so beautifully making it look like you've spent AGES swapping in new colours...SO LAZY!

This is one of the 5 large squares. I will be blocking every single one to ensure that they are all the same size.

I hope to get the first pattern out for SUNDAY 13th MARCH and will release each new part every Sunday from then on so WATCH THIS SPACE.....