VVCAL blanket in green palette – A very green post :)

With my trusty KnitPicks Palette yarn, I’ve started a new Vibrant Vintage CAL blanket. You may remember this CAL from January – August 2016 – the Facebook Group has nearly 4000 members! You can find the 33 free granny square patterns in PDF format at Ravelry or at the post linked above.

In the meantime, check out this spiffy green version!

Palette yarn is awesome and as the name suggests, there are a ton of colors – and some are even heathered.

I made one tester square to see what hook I was going to use – Size E! Then I had a serious planning sesh for my chosen squares – the recipient wants mostly three dimensional squares instead of flat ones.

And some joining in progress! You can see a bunch of join options on the VVCAL main page linked above, or look through all the joining methods I show on my site. Or to see what some IG crafters have already done by browse the #VVCAL hashtag on Instagram.

Looking forward to showing y’all more of this blanket as I make it! To see what else I’ve been up to, you can scroll through my WIDN post category. Thanks for stopping in and happy crafting!

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One last status report on this teeny gauge VVCAL blanket before I start joining it and digging into that wide, lush border.

New planning supplies thanks to the tax free weekend and discounts on back-to-school funsies. Graph paper notebooks are the bees knees! And I’m not sure I need another binder, but honestly, floral and stripes?! I’ve been trying so hard to bring back that 2013 fashion trend and this whole time it’s been alive and well on stationery??

This is KnitPicks Palette yarn.

The VVCAL squares already work well together but I’m throwing in a few surprise squares as I took the oppotunity to design some new squares. Yay!

I dragged out my hand-drawn charts from the Vibrant Vintage CAL for this blanket project. Gorgeous hook roll by Instagram’s @SewRayMe.

Joining attempt #1:

And #2 – amongst about 3 more…

I tried several joins for these squares and I didn’t like any of them. So of course I came up with a different Join altogether!

The Row by Row JAYG, or the “Boomerang Join” is a simpler alternative to the continuous Join-as-you-go, but still lets you weave far fewer ends and makes for a quicker joining experience. Read about this Join here. There’s even a video!

Looking forward to sharing this FO with you all, as soon as I can finish it. 🙂

– RC
Sometimes I look at my WIP and think, “Why are you like this?” Lol – but this method is faster, or at least in my mind.

Besides, this pic from January 2015 has over a hundred thousand pins or something, so it can’t be that crazy..

But what IS crazy is how many joins I tried for these squares… eventually I just invented a Join for them – the Row by Row JAYG, and I didn’t even end up using it!! Honestly…

What I did end up using was a version of the Flat Braid Join with only one chain instead of three or five. I made a YouTube video for it!

Along the way I also tried my go-to PLT Join, but I didn’t think it had enough oomph to echo the Lacy squares.

I also tried out making the PLT move on only certain stitches so it would have a pretty Celtic effect. I didn’t end up liking that one either… but it was kinda pretty!

Gratuitous granny square pic… these are the VVCAL (Vibrant Vintage CAL) squares from the cal I hosted in 2016. Check it out! 33 free square patterns, multiple joining options, and a wide Lace border.

And here is the final blanket. All that frogging was worth it. Then I almost ran out of the white yarn. (This is KnitPicks Palette yarn, by the way – aff.) I added in the green border rounds to get the piece a tad larger, and I do like the little frame it makes.

Also, I had to change the border a bit just to keep from running out of yarn. But I was pleased with the result anyhow.

A couple more pics!

And BONUS Green content ❤️❤️❤️

Our trip to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. If you’re taking a trip to SA, this place is a total hidden gem. It’s serene, beautiful, and the kids enjoyed every moment, plus it’s not over-crowded, so you can spread out.