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2022 VVCAL: Night Sky Motif

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 17 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! Y’all, it’s the last week of hexies! I can’t believe it!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 17 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Night Sky Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Night Sky Motif

Find the Ravelry Page for this motif here and add your project!

The Cosmos: Night Sky

A clear night sky offers an ever-changing display of fascinating objects to see — stars, constellations, and bright planets, often the moon, and sometimes special events like meteor showers. Here are some interesting facts about the Night Sky!

  • During daylight we only see our Sun and sometimes the moon. At night we see the Moon, Planets and their moons, Comets, Asteroids, Meteors, Nebulae and Stars against the dark sky. Because of the finite speed of light, when you gaze up into the night sky, you are looking into the past. The bright star Sirius is 8.6 light years away. That means the light hitting your eye tonight has been traveling for 8.6 years. Put another way: When you look at Sirius tonight, you see it as it was 8.6 years ago. As you look at more distant objects, the effect becomes bigger and bigger. The stars of the Big Dipper range from 60 to 125 light years away. When you look at Dubhe, the front star in the “bowl” of the Dipper, you are seeing light from before you were born. The Andromeda Galaxy is the most distant object readily visible to the naked eye. It is 2.5 million light years away. The light from it that we see right now is 2.5 million years old. We are therefore seeing the Andromeda Galaxy as it was at a time long before modern humans existed! The closest human relatives alive at the time were members of the genus Australopithecus. [More]
  • When you look up at the night sky with your naked eye all of the stars appear to be the same color, but in actuality they are not. Stars have different colors depending on their temperature. The hottest stars are blue, followed by white, yellow, orange, red, and the coolest stars are brown. Heated objects change colors as they get hotter, a glowing red object is hot but it represents the lowest heat seen under light. As something gets hotter it changes to white and then blue. Our sun is a “Green star,” or rather a green-blue star, as its actual color borders these two shades. Once influenced by its surroundings the sun appears to be white or yellow to us humans looking up from planet Earth. Most of the stars you see in the night sky are bigger and brighter than the sun. All of the 50 most prominent stars you can see in the sky from Earth are MUCH brighter and bigger than the sun. The dimmest of all 50 is Alpha Centauri, which is still more than 1.5 times brighter than the sun. Every constellation in the sky is visible with the naked eye, just as our ancestors saw them. [More]
  • Globular clusters refer to a conglomeration of thousands of stars that are packed together to give the appearance of a large fuzzy star when viewed with the naked eye. However, on a closer look using a powerful telescope, a globular cluster is an array of glittering stars tightly bound together by gravity, which is responsible for their spherical appearance. The closest and the brightest globular cluster is called the M22 and can be seen nestled in the same area as the Sagittarius constellation. The M22 is located 10,000 light-years away from the earth.
  • Space is full of debris and asteroids make up the majority of it. It is estimated that there are more than 150 million asteroids in the solar system. Once in a while, some get close enough to be pulled into the earth’s atmosphere by gravity. As they fall, they burn brightly, giving the impression of a falling star. Such sights are magnificent to behold, and many cultures around the world believe they are harbingers of good luck. Earth receives a minimum of 30 meteor showers in a year, and these only accounts for the visible ones. Most meteors and asteroids burn up in the atmosphere even before they go far. [More]
  • Mauna Kea, Hawaii is the top spot to gaze at the Night Sky. The largest astronomical observatory sits on a dormant volcano that is 14,000ft tall. There is very little city light, so the view is quite clear. 11 countries have built observatories on the volcano.
  • Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah is another great place to observe. The air is dry and clean, at a high elevation away from city lights, and a group called the “Dark Rangers” offers astronomy programs throughout the year.
  • Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska is the third greatest location to gaze at the Night Sky. From this location, you can see the Aurora Borealis. The Northern Lights are a spectacular sight! [More]

In its efforts to help educate the public about the hazards of light pollution spoiling both the natural environment and our understanding of the cosmos, and to help preserve the natural night sky for future stargazers, the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) has certified a selection of open areas as “International Dark Sky Parks.”

Jacob Frank, a media manager for the Four Corners School of Outdoor Education in Monticello, Utah, photographed the sky at one such site, the Hovenweep National Monument on the Utah-Colorado border.

Night Sky Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • beg beginning
  • beg 3dccl (beg dc, 2dccl) in same st/sp – counts as 1 3dccl
  • beg 4trcl beg tr, * yoh 2 times, insert hook in same st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 2 times, yoh and pull through all 4 lps
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • beg tr (1sc, ch2) – counts as 1 tr
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • 3dccl 3dc cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 3 times, yoh, draw yarn through 4 lps
  • 4trcl 4tr cluster: * yoh 2 times, insert hook in st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 3 times, yoh and pull through all 5 lps
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (US Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, [1sc, ch2] 3 times, ss in first sc. [3 sc, 3 sp]

Rnd 2 Beg 4trcl in next ch-sp, [(ch3, 4trcl in same ch-sp) 2 times, ch3, 4trcl in next ch-sp] 3 times omt final 4trcl, ss in beg 4trcl. [9 4trcl, 9 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg 3dccl in first ch-sp, [ch2, 3dccl in same ch-sp, ch2, 3dccl in next ch-sp] 9 times omt final 3dccl, ss in beg 3dccl. [18 3dccl, 18 sp]

Rnd 4 4sc in 18 sps, ss in first sc. [72 sc]

Rnd 5 * [1sc in next st, ch3, sk1] 2 times, 1sc, sk3, (3dccl, ch2, 3dccl) in next st, sk3, rep from * 5 times, ss in first sc. [12 3dccl, 18 sc, 18 sp]

Rnd 6 Ss in 1 ch, 1sc in same ch-sp, * [ch3, 1sc in next ch-sp] 2 times, ch3, 1sc in same ch-sp, ch3, 1sc in next ch-sp, rep from * 5 times omt final sc, ss in first sc. [24 sc, 24 sp]

Rnd 7 [3sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next sc, 3sc in next 3 ch-sps, 1sc in next sc] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc]

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • beg beginning
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • beg dtr (1dc, ch2) – counts as 1 dtr
  • beg 3trcl (beg tr, 2trcl) in same st/sp – counts as 1 3trcl
  • beg 4dtrcl beg dtr, * yoh 2 times, insert hook in same st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 2 times, yoh and pull through all 4 lps
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dtr double treble crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • 3trcl 3tr cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 3 times, yoh, draw yarn through 4 lps
  • 4dtrcl 4dtr cluster: * yoh 2 times, insert hook in st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 3 times, yoh and pull through all 5 lps
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (UK Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, [1dc, ch2] 3 times, ss in first dc. [3 dc, 3 sp]

Rnd 2 Beg 4dtrcl in next ch-sp, [(ch3, 4dtrcl in same ch-sp) 2 times, ch3, 4dtrcl in next ch-sp] 3 times omt final 4dtrcl, ss in beg 4dtrcl. [9 4dtrcl, 9 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg 3trcl in first ch-sp, [ch2, 3trcl in same ch-sp, ch2, 3trcl in next ch-sp] 9 times omt final 3trcl, ss in beg 3trcl. [18 3trcl, 18 sp]

Rnd 4 4dc in 18 sps, ss in first dc. [72 dc]

Rnd 5 * [1dc in next st, ch3, sk1] 2 times, 1dc, sk3, (3trcl, ch2, 3trcl) in next st, sk3, rep from * 5 times, ss in first dc. [12 3trcl, 18 dc, 18 sp]

Rnd 6 Ss in 1 ch, 1dc in same ch-sp, * [ch3, 1dc in next ch-sp] 2 times, ch3, 1dc in same ch-sp, ch3, 1dc in next ch-sp, rep from * 5 times omt final dc, ss in first dc. [24 dc, 24 sp]

Rnd 7 [3dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next dc, 3dc in next 3 ch-sps, 1dc in next dc] 6 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 dc]

Chart

Note: Chart is meant as a visual guide to the written instruction and might not be able to stand alone due to special stitches.

Video

Note: Video is spoken in US Terms. Watch on mute to avoid confusion for UK Terms,

Subscribe on YouTube for more videos like this one!

Links to Weekly Instruction Posts

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

Links to Published Hexagon Patterns

Pin the Night Sky Motif!

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Week 17 Instructions

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 17 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! This is the last week of hexies, and I have to admit I’m a little sad about that. But I’m so glad you’re here, and I can’t wait to start joining!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

What to Expect Today

  • 3 blog posts: The Weekly Post with instructions for each blanket version (this post), plus 2 Cosmos Themed hexie designs
  • Patterns include written instructions in US and UK Terms, chart, step-by-step photos, and YouTube video (US Terms).

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Find your version below and get started!

Catona 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 6 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

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1 Pack SW/RW 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 2 full hexies + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

2 Packs SW/RW 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 6 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

Metropolis 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 8 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same ball for the 2 half hexies and save the ball as it may be used for more half hexies in future weeks.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

Colour Crafter stash version

Colors are not given for this version because it is made with stash yarn in any desired palette.

Make 2 full hexies + 2 half hexies:

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge. Note: Since this version does not use 10g balls, it doesn’t matter as much that your hexagons meet the spec below. As long as they are all the same size as your Plain Hexie A, you will be golden.

Chunky Monkey stash version

Colors are not given for this version because it is made with stash yarn in any desired palette.

Make 2 full hexies + 2 half hexies:

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge. Note: Since this version does not use 10g balls, it doesn’t matter as much that your hexagons meet the spec below. As long as they are all the same size as your Plain Hexie A, you will be golden.

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Gravity Motif

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 16 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! The PDF is released! Enjoy!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 16 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Gravity Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Gravity Motif

Find the Ravelry Page for this motif here and add your project!

The Cosmos: Gravity

Gravity is the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass. Here are some interesting facts about gravity!

  • Sir Isaac Newton was an English mathematician and mathematician and physicist who lived from 1642-1727. The legend is that Newton discovered Gravity when he saw a falling apple while thinking about the forces of nature. Whatever really happened, Newton realized that some force must be acting on falling objects like apples because otherwise they would not start moving from rest. Newton also realized that the moon would fly off away from Earth in a straight line tangent to its orbit if some force was not causing it to fall toward the Earth. The moon is only a projectile circling around the Earth under the attraction of Gravity. Newton called this force “gravity” and determined that gravitational forces exist between all objects. Using the idea of Gravity, Newton was able to explain the astronomical observations of Kepler. The work of Galileo, Brahe, Kepler, and Newton proved once and for all that the Earth wasn’t the center of the solar system. The Earth, along with all other planets, orbits around the sun. Two astronomers, J.C. Adams and U.J.J. LeVerrier, later used the concept of Gravity to predict that the planet Neptune would be discovered. They realized that there must be another planet exerting a gravitational force on Uranus because Uranus had odd perturbations in its orbit. (Perturbations are deviations in orbits.) [More]
  • The modern theory of gravity—Einstein’s general theory of relativity—is one of the most successful theories we have. General relativity is Einstein’s understanding of how gravity affects the fabric of space-time. The theory, which Einstein published in 1915, expanded the theory of special relativity that he had published 10 years earlier. Special relativity argued that space and time are inextricably connected, but that theory didn’t acknowledge the existence of gravity. Einstein spent the decade between the two publications determining that particularly massive objects warp the fabric of space-time, a distortion that manifests as gravity. At the same time, we still don’t know everything about gravity, including the exact way it fits in with the other fundamental forces. [More]
  • The gravitational force tugging between two bodies depends on how massive each one is and how far apart the two lie. Even as the center of the Earth is pulling you toward it (keeping you firmly lodged on the ground), your center of mass is pulling back at the Earth. But the more massive body barely feels the tug from you, while with your much smaller mass you find yourself firmly rooted thanks to that same force. Yet Newton’s laws assume that gravity is an innate force of an object that can act over a distance. Albert Einstein, in his theory of special relativity, determined that the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers, and he showed that the speed of light within a vacuum is the same no matter the speed at which an observer travels. As a result, he found that space and time were interwoven into a single continuum known as space-time. And events that occur at the same time for one observer could occur at different times for another. (And now I need to have a lie down.) [More]
  • Gravity only attracts—there’s no negative version of the force to push things apart. And while gravity is powerful enough to hold galaxies together, it is so weak that you overcome it every day. If you pick up a book, you’re counteracting the force of gravity from all of Earth. For comparison, the electric force between an electron and a proton inside an atom is roughly one quintillion (that’s a one with 30 zeroes after it) times stronger than the gravitational attraction between them. In fact, gravity is so weak, we don’t know exactly how weak it is. [More]

Gravity Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 4trcl 4tr cluster: * yoh 2 times, insert hook in st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 3 times, yoh and pull through all 5 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg 4trcl beg tr, * yoh 2 times, insert hook in same st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 2 times, yoh and pull through all 4 lps
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • beg tr (1sc, ch2) – counts as 1 tr
  • bobble [yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, pull yarn through 2 lps] 4 times, yoh, pull yarn through 5 lps
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (US Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg dc, [1dc, ch1, 1dc] 5 times, 1dc, ch1, ss in beg dc. [12 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 1sc in 18 st/sps, ss in first sc, turn. [18 sc]

Rnd 3 1sc in same st, [bobble in next st, 1sc, ch3, 1sc in next st] 6 times omt final sc, ss in first sc, turn. [6 bobble, 12 sc, 6 sp]

Rnd 4 [3sc in ch-sp, 3sc] 6 times, ss in first sc. [36 sc]

Rnd 5 Ss in next 2 sts, beg 4trcl in next st, [(ch2, 4trcl) 2 times, ch4, sk3, 4trcl] 6 times omt final 4trcl, ss in first 4trcl. [18 4trcl, 18 sp]

Rnd 6 [3sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next 4trcl, 3sc in next ch-sp, 5sc in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first sc. [72 sc]

Rnd 7 [8sc, 3sc in next st, 3sc] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc]

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 4dtrcl 4dtr cluster: * yoh 2 times, insert hook in st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 3 times, yoh and pull through all 5 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg 4dtrcl beg dtr, * yoh 2 times, insert hook in same st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 2 times, yoh and pull through all 4 lps
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • beg dtr (1dc, ch2) – counts as 1 dtr
  • bobble [yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, pull yarn through 2 lps] 4 times, yoh, pull yarn through 5 lps
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dtr double treble crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (UK Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg tr, [1tr, ch1, 1tr] 5 times, 1tr, ch1, ss in beg tr. [12 tr, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 1dc in 18 st/sps, ss in first dc, turn. [18 dc]

Rnd 3 1dc in same st, [bobble in next st, 1dc, ch3, 1dc in next st] 6 times omt final dc, ss in first dc, turn. [6 bobble, 12 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 4 [3dc in ch-sp, 3dc] 6 times, ss in first dc. [36 dc]

Rnd 5 Ss in next 2 sts, beg 4dtrcl in next st, [(ch2, 4dtrcl) 2 times, ch4, sk3, 4dtrcl] 6 times omt final 4dtrcl, ss in first 4dtrcl. [18 4dtrcl, 18 sp]

Rnd 6 [3dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next 4dtrcl, 3dc in next ch-sp, 5dc in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first dc. [72 dc]

Rnd 7 [8dc, 3dc in next st, 3dc] 6 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 dc]

Chart

Note: Chart is meant as a visual guide to the written instruction and might not be able to stand alone due to special stitches.

Video

Note: Video is spoken in US Terms. Watch on mute to avoid confusion for UK Terms,

Subscribe on YouTube for more videos like this one!

Links to Weekly Instruction Posts

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

Links to Published Hexagon Patterns

Pin the Gravity Motif!

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Galaxia Motif

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 16 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! The PDF is released! Enjoy!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 16 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Galaxia Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Galaxia Motif

Find the Ravelry Page for this motif here and add your project!

The Cosmos: Galaxia

A galaxy is a huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar systems, all held together by gravity. Here are some interesting facts about galaxies!

  • There are about 170 billion galaxies in the observable universe. How do galaxies form? The Big Bang Theory theory states that the universe started as a hot single point that expanded and cooled down, and even now it is still expanding! The universe is so big that light from distant galaxies takes millions or even billions of years to reach us. By the time it reaches us, what we actually see is what it looked like in the past. The galaxies have long been here before us so thinking about how they came to be is quite a challenge. According to one theory, the universe started mainly with the light elements hydrogen and helium. Some areas became denser until more particles accumulated into swirling clouds. As these clouds grew bigger, they started to collapse because of gravity, then merge with other clouds and become even bigger. As they swirled and merged, the clouds continued to collapse and formed the stars. Another theory holds that the stars were formed first before the galaxies. It could be that the collection of dust and gas gave birth to stars and then those stars started to form groups or star clusters. These globular clusters continued to merge with other clusters, becoming the bigger galaxies we know today. Until now, the galaxies are still interacting and evolving. We have seen some that are in the process of merging, and usually, the bigger ones gobble up the smaller galaxies. In fact, our Milky Way galaxy has swallowed about 12 galaxies already. Also, it is projected to collide with its largest spiral neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, roughly 4.5 billion years from now. [More]
  • Eighteenth-century philosopher Immanuel Kant was one of the first people to theorize that the Milky Way was not the only galaxy in the universe. Kant coined the term island universe to describe a galaxy. Astronomers now estimate that there are 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe. One of the earliest uses of the English term Milky Way was in Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century poem “The House of Fame.” He likened the galaxy to a celestial roadway. In 1924, Astronomer Edwin Hubble announced that the spiral nebula Andromeda is actually a galaxy and that the Milky Way is just one of many galaxies in the universe. Before Copernicus and Galileo, humans thought our world was the center of creation. [More]
  • Galaxies can range in size from a dwarf with as few as ten million stars to massive giant galaxies with a hundred trillion stars. Each star orbits its galaxy’s own center of mass. In almost every galaxy (including our own), the source of gravity is a supermassive black hole at its center. You can’t see the enormous black hole lurking in the center of the Milky Way, though if you’ve ever looked at the constellation Sagittarius, the archer, you’ve looked in the right direction.[More]
  • Two of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way — the Small Magellanic Cloud and the Large Magellanic Cloud — may not have black holes. Or, because both are low-mass galaxies, their central black holes may be too small to detect. Every galaxy does have dust, though. Produced by stars, the dust causes light to look redder than it really is when observed visually, which can make it difficult for astronomers studying properties of stars. That dust can really travel, too. Some galaxies drive galactic winds, expelling dust and gas at hundreds of kilometers per second into the intergalactic medium, the space between galaxies. These winds are caused by starlight exerting pressure on the dust and gas; the fastest galactic winds are in distant galaxies that are forming stars more rapidly than the Milky Way. [More]
In a breathtaking image of hundreds of galaxies, the Hubble Space Telescope provides an incredible display of a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing.

Galaxia Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • beg beginning
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (US Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg dc, [ch1, 2dc] 5 times, ch1, 1dc, ss in beg dc. [12 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 [(1sc, ch3, 1sc) in next ch-sp, ch3] 6 times, ss in first sc. [12 sc, 12 sp] 

Rnd 3 Ss in 1 ch, beg dc in same ch-sp, [(1dc, ch1, 2dc) in same ch-sp, 2dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final dc, ss in beg dc. [36 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 4 [1sc in next st, 3sc in next ch-sp, 5sc] 6 times, ss in first sc. [54 sc]

Rnd 5 Ss in next st, * (1sc, ch3, 1sc) in next st, [ch3, sk2, 1sc] 2 times, ch3, sk2, rep from * 5 times, ss in first sc. [24 sc, 24 sp] 

Rnd 6 Ss in 1 ch, beg dc in same ch-sp, [ch1, 2dc in same ch-sp, 2dc in next ch-sp, 3dc in next ch-sp, 2dc in next 2 ch-sps] 6 times omt final dc, ss in beg dc. [66 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 7 [3sc in ch-sp, 11sc] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc]

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • beg beginning
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (UK Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg tr, [ch1, 2tr] 5 times, ch1, 1tr, ss in beg tr. [12 tr, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 [(1dc, ch3, 1dc) in next ch-sp, ch3] 6 times, ss in first dc. [12 dc, 12 sp] 

Rnd 3 Ss in 1 ch, beg tr in same ch-sp, [(1tr, ch1, 2tr) in same ch-sp, 2tr in next ch-sp, 1tr in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final tr, ss in beg tr. [36 tr, 6 sp]

Rnd 4 [1dc in next st, 3dc in next ch-sp, 5dc] 6 times, ss in first dc. [54 dc]

Rnd 5 Ss in next st, * (1dc, ch3, 1dc) in next st, [ch3, sk2, 1dc] 2 times, ch3, sk2, rep from * 5 times, ss in first dc. [24 dc, 24 sp] 

Rnd 6 Ss in 1 ch, beg tr in same ch-sp, [ch1, 2tr in same ch-sp, 2tr in next ch-sp, 3tr in next ch-sp, 2tr in next 2 ch-sps] 6 times omt final tr, ss in beg tr. [66 tr, 6 sp]

Rnd 7 [3dc in ch-sp, 11dc] 6 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 dc]

Chart

Note: Chart is meant as a visual guide to the written instruction and might not be able to stand alone due to special stitches.

Video

Note: Video is spoken in US Terms. Watch on mute to avoid confusion for UK Terms,

Subscribe on YouTube for more videos like this one!

Links to Weekly Instruction Posts

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

Links to Published Hexagon Patterns

Pin the Galaxia Motif!

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Week 16 Instructions

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 16 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! I can’t believe there are only 4 weeks left after this!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

What to Expect Today

  • 3 blog posts: The Weekly Post with instructions for each blanket version (this post), plus 2 Cosmos Themed hexie designs
  • Patterns include written instructions in US and UK Terms, chart, step-by-step photos, and YouTube video (US Terms).

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Find your version below and get started!

Catona 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 6 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

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1 Pack SW/RW 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 2 full hexies + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

2 Packs SW/RW 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 6 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

Metropolis 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 8 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same ball for the 2 half hexies and save the ball as it may be used for more half hexies in future weeks.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

Colour Crafter stash version

Colors are not given for this version because it is made with stash yarn in any desired palette.

Make 2 full hexies + 2 half hexies:

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge. Note: Since this version does not use 10g balls, it doesn’t matter as much that your hexagons meet the spec below. As long as they are all the same size as your Plain Hexie A, you will be golden.

Chunky Monkey stash version

Colors are not given for this version because it is made with stash yarn in any desired palette.

Make 2 full hexies + 2 half hexies:

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge. Note: Since this version does not use 10g balls, it doesn’t matter as much that your hexagons meet the spec below. As long as they are all the same size as your Plain Hexie A, you will be golden.

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Leonis Motif

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 15 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! The PDF is released! Enjoy!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 15 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Leonis Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Leonis Motif

Find the Ravelry Page for this motif here and add your project!

The Cosmos: Leonis

CW Leonis is a well-studied carbon star (its atmosphere contains more carbon than oxygen) that is embedded in a thick dust envelope. Here are some interesting CW Leonis facts!

  • CW Leonis is located in the constellation Leo. Leo the Lion is one of the earliest recognized constellations. The Mesopotamians are known to have documented the “lion” constellation. The Persians called it Ser or Shir; the Turks, Artan; the Syrians, Aryo; the Jewish, Arye; the Indians, Simha. These are all translated as “lion.” In Greek mythology, Leo is the Nemean Lion, which terrorized the citizens and had a hide that could not punctured by iron, bronze or stone. Killing the lion was one of Hercules’ 12 labors, which he had to perform as penance for killing his family. Having broken all of his weapons fighting the man-eating lion, Hercules finally strangled it to death and placed it in the heavens as one of his conquests. [More]
  • CW Leonis is known as a cosmic Eye of Sauron, because it is a luminous type of red giant star with a carbon-rich atmosphere. The dense clouds of sooty gas and dust engulfing this dying star were created as the outer layers of CW Leonis itself were thrown out into the void. When small to intermediate-mass stars run out of hydrogen fuel in their cores, the outwards pressure that balances the crush of gravity within their cores falls out of equilibrium, causing the star to start collapsing. As the core collapses, the shell of plasma surrounding the core becomes hot enough to begin fusing hydrogen, generating enough heat to dramatically expand the outer layers of the star and turn it into a bloated red giant. Stars in that phase of life eject huge amounts of gas and dust outwards into space, eventually jettisoning their outer layers. In the case of the carbon star CW Leonis, this process has surrounded the star with a dense pall of sooty dust. [More]
  • At a distance of 400 light-years from Earth, CW Leonis is the closest carbon star. This gives astronomers the chance to understand the interplay between the star and its surrounding, turbulent envelope. The complex inner structure of shells and arcs may be shaped by the star’s magnetic field. Detailed Hubble observations of CW Leonis taken over the last two decades also show the expansion of threads of ejected material around the star. The bright beams of light radiating outwards from CW Leonis are one of the star’s most intriguing features. They’ve changed in brightness within a 15-year period — an incredibly short timespan in astronomical terms. Astronomers speculate that gaps in the dust shrouding CW Leonis may allow beams of starlight to pierce through and illuminate dust, like searchlight beacons through a cloudy sky. However, the exact cause of the dramatic changes in their brightness is as yet unexplained. [More]
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope celebrates Halloween this year with a striking observation of the carbon star CW Leonis, which resembles a baleful orange eye glaring from behind a shroud of smoke. CW Leonis glowers from deep within a thick shroud of dust in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Lying roughly 400 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo, CW Leonis is a carbon star — a luminous type of red giant star with a carbon-rich atmosphere. The dense clouds of sooty gas and dust engulfing this dying star were created as the outer layers of CW Leonis itself were thrown out into the void.

Leonis Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 2dccl 2dc cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 2trcl 2tr cluster: * yoh twice, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, (yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) twice, rep from * once, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 3dcpc 3dc in st/sp, release lp from hook, insert hook front to back through first dc, grab lp, pull through to front of work to close popcorn
  • beg beginning
  • beg 2dccl (beg dc, dc) in st/sp indicated – when joining rnd, ss into full dc st
  • beg 2trcl (beg tr, 1tr) in st/sp – Counts as 1 2trcl
  • beg dc OR beg hdc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc or 1 hdc
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • hdc half double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (US Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, 6sc, ss in first sc. [6 sc]

Rnd 2 Beg pc, [ch3, pc] 5 times, ch3, ss in beg pc. [6 pc, 6 sp]

Rnd 3 Ss in 1ch, [1sc in ch-sp, ch7] 6 times, ss in first sc. [6 sc, 6 sp]

Rnd 4 Beg 3dccl in same st, [ch3, 1sc in next ch-sp, ch3, 3dccl in next sc] 6 times omt final 3dccl, ss in beg 3dccl. [6 3dccl, 6 sc, 12 sp]

Rnd 5 [4sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next sc, 4sc in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first sc, turn. [54 sc]

Rnd 6 1sc in same st, [ch3, 1sc in next, ch3, sk2, 1sc, bobble in next st, 1sc, ch3, sk2, 1sc] 6 times omt final sc, ss in first sc, turn. [6 bobble, 24 sc, 18 sp]

Rnd 7 Ss in 1ch, 1sc in same ch-sp, [ch3, 1sc in next ch-sp, 2dccl in next ch-sp, (ch2, 2dccl in same ch-sp) 2 times, 1sc in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final sc, ss in first sc. [18 2dccl, 12 sc, 18 sp]

Rnd 8 [3sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next sc, 1sc in next 2dccl, 2sc in next ch-sp, 3sc in 2dccl, 2sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next 2dccl, 1sc in next sc] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc] 

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 2trcl 2tr cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 2dtrcl 2dtr cluster: * yoh twice, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, (yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) twice, rep from * once, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 3trpc 3tr in st/sp, release lp from hook, insert hook front to back through first tr, grab lp, pull through to front of work to close popcorn
  • beg beginning
  • beg 2trcl (beg tr, 1tr) in st/sp indicated – when joining rnd, ss into full tr st
  • beg 2dtrcl (beg dtr, 1dtr) in st/sp – Counts as 1 2dtrcl
  • beg tr OR beg htr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr or 1 htr
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dtr double treble crochet
  • htr half treble crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (UK Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, 6dc, ss in first dc. [6 dc]

Rnd 2 MR, beg pc, [ch3, pc] 5 times, ch3, ss in beg pc. [6 pc, 6 sp]

Rnd 3 Ss in 1ch, [1dc in ch-sp, ch7] 6 times, ss in first dc. [6 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 4 Beg 3trcl in same st, [ch3, 1dc in next ch-sp, ch3, 3trcl in next dc] 6 times omt final 3trcl, ss in beg 3trcl. [6 3trcl, 6 dc, 12 sp]

Rnd 5 [4dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next dc, 4dc in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first dc, turn. [54 dc]

Rnd 6 1dc in same st, [ch3, 1dc in next, ch3, sk2, 1dc, bobble in next st, 1dc, ch3, sk2, 1dc] 6 times omt final dc, ss in first dc, turn. [6 bobble, 24 dc, 18 sp]

Rnd 7 Ss in 1ch, 1dc in same ch-sp, [ch3, 1dc in next ch-sp, 2trcl in next ch-sp, (ch2, 2trcl in same ch-sp) 2 times, 1dc in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final dc, ss in first dc. [18 2trcl, 12 dc, 18 sp]

Rnd 8 [3dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next dc, 1dc in next 2trcl, 2dc in next ch-sp, 3dc in 2trcl, 2dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next 2trcl, 1dc in next dc] 6 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 dc] 

Chart

Note: Chart is meant as a visual guide to the written instruction and might not be able to stand alone due to special stitches.

Video

Note: Video is spoken in US Terms. Watch on mute to avoid confusion for UK Terms,

Subscribe on YouTube for more videos like this one!

Links to Weekly Instruction Posts

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

Links to Published Hexagon Patterns

Pin the Leonis Motif!

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Orionis Motif

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 15 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! The PDF is released! Enjoy!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 15 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Orionis Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Orionis Motif

Find the Ravelry Page for this motif here and add your project!

The Cosmos: Orionis

The constellation Orion is one of the most active stellar nurseries in the Milky Way Galaxy. Here are some interesting facts about the stars of Orion!

  • Orion’s constellation consists of 81 stars – 7 main stars and a huge red one, named Betelguese. The brightest star in Orion is Rigel; however, Betelgeuse occasionally outshines it. Rigel (Beta Orionis) is the night sky’s 7th brightest star and represents the hunter’s left knee. It is actually a triple star system that is 17 times more massive than our sun, 70 times its width, and shines 85,000 times brighter. Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) is the sky’s 10th brightest star and depicts the top right shoulder of Orion. It is a red supergiant, about 10 million years old, and is expected to end its life in a supernova explosion. [More]
  • The 3 bright stars in the constellation’s middle represent Orion’s sword belt, namely Alnilam (Epsilon Orionis), Mintaka (Delta Orionis), and Alnitak (Zeta Orionis). The equator of the sky passes close to the upper star of his belt, so that half of Orion is in the Northern hemisphere, and the other half is in the Southern hemisphere. Once you find the Belt stars, you can also locate the Orion Nebula, otherwise known as M42. When you look at it, you’re gazing toward a stellar nursery, a place where new stars are born. It contains hundreds of newborn stars and brown dwarfs. Casually glancing below the three stars of Orion’s belt, you should be able to make out the Orion Nebula as a smudge in a dark, light pollution-free sky with your naked eye. The Orion Nebula — a formation of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases rather than a star — is the middle “star” in Orion’s sword, which hangs off of Orion’s Belt. [More]
  • With one exception, all of the main stars in Orion are bright young blue giants or supergiants, ranging in distance from Bellatrix (Gamma Orionis) to Alnilam (Epsilon Orionis). The exception is the star Betelgeuse, which is a red giant and one of the largest stars known. Observers with a keen eye should be able to see the difference in color between Betelgeuse and all the other stars in Orion. [More]
  • The stars in Orion are gradually moving apart, but they are located at such great distances from us that the constellation will remain recognizable a long time after most of the other constellations, whose stars are closer to earth, have morphed into new shapes. One event which could cause a dramatic image change, however, would be Betelgeuse going supernova, which is predicted to happen sometime in the next million years. This will initially cause a light to shine as bright as the full moon in Orion, but a few weeks later that will fade, leaving a dark place where Orion’s shoulder once lay. As internationally recognized star expert James B. Kaler explains, “it will make a God-awful mess of the constellation Orion.” [More]

Orionis Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 2dccl 2dc cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 2trcl 2tr cluster: * yoh twice, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, (yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) twice, rep from * once, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 3dcpc 3dc in st/sp, release lp from hook, insert hook front to back through first dc, grab lp, pull through to front of work to close popcorn
  • beg beginning
  • beg 2dccl (beg dc, dc) in st/sp indicated – when joining rnd, ss into full dc st
  • beg 2trcl (beg tr, 1tr) in st/sp – Counts as 1 2trcl
  • beg dc OR beg hdc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc or 1 hdc
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • hdc half double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (US Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, 6sc, ss in first sc. [6 sc]

Rnd 2 Beg 2trcl in next st, [(ch2, 2trcl in same st) 3 times, ch2, sk1, 2trcl in next st] 3 times omt final 2trcl, ss in beg 2trcl. [12 2trcl, 12 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg 2dccl in first ch-sp, [(ch2, 2dccl in same ch-sp) 3 times, 1sc in next ch-sp, 2dccl in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final 2dccl, ss in beg 2dccl. [24 2dccl, 6 sc, 18 sp]

Rnd 4 Ss in 1ch, 1sc in same ch-sp, [ch2, (3dcpc, ch2, 3dcpc) in next ch-sp, ch2, 1sc in next ch-sp, ch4, 1sc in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final sc, ss in first sc. [12 3dcpc, 12 sc, 24 sp]

Rnd 5 Beg hdc in first ch-sp, [1hdc in same ch-sp, (1hdc, ch2, 1hdc) in next ch-sp, 2hdc in next ch-sp, 5hdc in next ch-sp, 1hdc in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final hdc, ss in beg hdc. [66 hdc, 6 sp]

Rnd 6 [2sc, 3sc in next ch-sp, 9sc] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc]

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 2trcl 2tr cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 2dtrcl 2dtr cluster: * yoh twice, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, (yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) twice, rep from * once, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 3trpc 3tr in st/sp, release lp from hook, insert hook front to back through first tr, grab lp, pull through to front of work to close popcorn
  • beg beginning
  • beg 2trcl (beg tr, 1tr) in st/sp indicated – when joining rnd, ss into full tr st
  • beg 2dtrcl (beg dtr, 1dtr) in st/sp – Counts as 1 2dtrcl
  • beg tr OR beg htr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr or 1 htr
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dtr double treble crochet
  • htr half treble crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (UK Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, 6dc, ss in first dc. [6 dc]

Rnd 2 Beg 2dtrcl in next st, [(ch2, 2dtrcl in same st) 3 times, ch2, sk1, 2dtrcl in next st] 3 times omt final 2dtrcl, ss in beg 2dtrcl. [12 2dtrcl, 12 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg 2trcl in first ch-sp, [(ch2, 2trcl in same ch-sp) 3 times, 1dc in next ch-sp, 2trcl in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final 2trcl, ss in beg 2trcl. [24 2trcl, 6 dc, 18 sp]

Rnd 4 Ss in 1ch, 1dc in same ch-sp, [ch2, (3trpc, ch2, 3trpc) in next ch-sp, ch2, 1dc in next ch-sp, ch4, 1dc in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final dc, ss in first dc. [12 3trpc, 12 dc, 24 sp]

Rnd 5 Beg htr in first ch-sp, [1htr in same ch-sp, (1htr, ch2, 1htr) in next ch-sp, 2htr in next ch-sp, 5htr in next ch-sp, 1htr in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final htr, ss in beg htr. [66 htr, 6 sp]

Rnd 6 [2dc, 3dc in next ch-sp, 9dc] 6 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 dc]

Chart

Note: Chart is meant as a visual guide to the written instruction and might not be able to stand alone due to special stitches.

Video

Note: Video is spoken in US Terms. Watch on mute to avoid confusion for UK Terms,

Subscribe on YouTube for more videos like this one!

Links to Weekly Instruction Posts

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

Links to Published Hexagon Patterns

Pin the Orionis Motif!

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Week 15 Instructions

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 15 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! I’m so glad you’re here!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

What to Expect Today

  • 3 blog posts: The Weekly Post with instructions for each blanket version (this post), plus 2 Cosmos Themed hexie designs
  • Patterns include written instructions in US and UK Terms, chart, step-by-step photos, and YouTube video (US Terms).

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Find your version below and get started!

Catona 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 6 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-2.png

1 Pack SW/RW 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 2 full hexies + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

2 Packs SW/RW 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 6 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

Metropolis 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 8 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same ball for the 2 half hexies and save the ball as it may be used for more half hexies in future weeks.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

Colour Crafter stash version

Colors are not given for this version because it is made with stash yarn in any desired palette.

Make 2 full hexies + 2 half hexies:

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge. Note: Since this version does not use 10g balls, it doesn’t matter as much that your hexagons meet the spec below. As long as they are all the same size as your Plain Hexie A, you will be golden.

Chunky Monkey stash version

Colors are not given for this version because it is made with stash yarn in any desired palette.

Make 2 full hexies + 2 half hexies:

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge. Note: Since this version does not use 10g balls, it doesn’t matter as much that your hexagons meet the spec below. As long as they are all the same size as your Plain Hexie A, you will be golden.

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Meteor Motif

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 14 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! The PDF is released! Enjoy!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 14 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Meteor Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Meteor Motif

Find the Ravelry Page for this motif here and add your project!

The Cosmos: Meteor

A meteor is a small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth’s atmosphere, becoming incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a streak of light. Here are some interesting facts about meteors!

  • Meteors are solids that enter the Earth’s atmosphere but have not reached its surface. What’s the difference between a meteor, meteoroid, and meteorite? They’re all related to the flashes of light called “shooting stars” sometimes seen streaking across the sky. But we call the same object by different names, depending on where it is. Meteoroids are objects in space that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids. Think of them as “space rocks.” When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars) at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors. When a meteoroid survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it’s called a meteorite.
  • Scientists estimate that about 48.5 tons (44 tonnes or 44,000 kilograms) of meteoritic material falls on the Earth each day. Almost all the material is vaporized in Earth’s atmosphere, leaving a bright trail fondly called “shooting stars.” Several meteors per hour can usually be seen on any given night. Sometimes the number increases dramatically—these events are termed meteor showers. Meteor showers occur annually or at regular intervals as the Earth passes through the trail of dusty debris left by a comet. Meteor showers are usually named after a star or constellation that is close to where the meteors appear in the sky. Perhaps the most famous are the Perseids, which peak in August every year. Every Perseid meteor is a tiny piece of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which swings by the Sun every 135 years. [More]
  • Meteorites range in age. The oldest particles in a meteorite, calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions from carbonaceous chondrites, have been dated at 4.56 billion years old. Meteorites that originate from asteroids are all ~4.5 billion years old. Meteorites that originate from the Moon range in age from 4.5 to 2.9 billion years old. Meteorites that originate on Mars range in age from 4.5 billion years old to 200 million years old. Meteorites can and do hit the Earth anywhere and anytime. Detailed microscopic, chemical and mineralogical analyses are required to uniquely identify and classify a meteorite.  Such analyses can distinguish between two meteorites that fell in a single area at different times, or can link two specimens of a single meteorite event that were found in separate locations or at separate times. [More]
  • The National Weather Service bounces radio signals off the ionized trails left by meteors. This is also known as Meteor Burst Communication or Meteor Scatter Communications. This is used to collect data from automated weather stations as well as occasional data from respective US government agencies. Most meteors scatter communications are conducted between radio stations which are engaged in a particular schedule of transmission and reception periods. Many other countries and locations in the United States use similar methods of data collecting in remote areas. [More]
The tau Herculids from comet 73P/Schwassman-Wachmann may make an appearance May 30-31. (Image credit: Olga Beliaeva via Getty Images)

Meteor Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 2dccl 2dc cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 4trcl 4tr cluster: * yoh 2 times, insert hook in st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 3 times, yoh and pull through all 5 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg 2dccl (beg dc, dc) in st/sp indicated – when joining rnd, ss into full dc st
  • beg 4trcl beg tr, * yoh 2 times, insert hook in same st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 2 times, yoh and pull through all 4 lps
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • beg tr (1sc, ch2) – counts as 1 tr
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (US Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg 2dccl, [ch2, 2dccl] 7 times, ch2, ss in beg 2dccl. [8 2dccl, 8 sp]

Rnd 2 Beg 4trcl in first ch-sp, [ch4, 4trcl in next ch-sp] 7 times, ch4, ss in beg 4trcl. [8 4trcl, 8 sp]

Rnd 3 6sc in 8 ch-sps, ss in first sc. [48 sc]

Rnd 4 [1sc in next st, ch2, sk1] 24 times, ss in first sc. [24 sc, 24 sp]

Rnd 5 Ss in 1 ch, 1sc in same ch-sp, [ch2, 1sc in next ch-sp] 23 times, ch2, ss in first sc. [24 sc, 24 sp]

Rnd 6 [3sc in next ch-sp, (1dc, ch2, 1dc) in next ch-sp, 3sc in next 2 ch-sps] 6 times, ss in first sc. [12 dc, 54 sc, 6 sp] 

Rnd 7 [3sc, 3sc in next ch-sp, 8sc] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc]

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 2trcl 2tr cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 4dtrcl 4dtr cluster: * yoh 2 times, insert hook in st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 3 times, yoh and pull through all 5 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg 2trcl (beg tr, tr) in st/sp indicated – when joining rnd, ss into full tr st
  • beg 4dtrcl beg dtr, * yoh 2 times, insert hook in same st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 2 times, yoh and pull through all 4 lps
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • beg dtr (1dc, ch2) – counts as 1 dtr
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dtr double treble crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (UK Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg 2trcl, [ch2, 2trcl] 7 times, ch2, ss in beg 2trcl. [8 2trcl, 8 sp]

Rnd 2 Beg 4dtrcl in first ch-sp, [ch4, 4dtrcl in next ch-sp] 7 times, ch4, ss in beg 4dtrcl. [8 4dtrcl, 8 sp]

Rnd 3 6dc in 8 ch-sps, ss in first dc. [48 dc]

Rnd 4 [1dc in next st, ch2, sk1] 24 times, ss in first dc. [24 dc, 24 sp]

Rnd 5 Ss in 1 ch, 1dc in same ch-sp, [ch2, 1dc in next ch-sp] 23 times, ch2, ss in first dc. [24 dc, 24 sp]

Rnd 6 [3dc in next ch-sp, (1tr, ch2, 1tr) in next ch-sp, 3dc in next 2 ch-sps] 6 times, ss in first dc. [12 tr, 54 dc, 6 sp] 

Rnd 7 [3dc, 3dc in next ch-sp, 8dc] 6 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 dc]

Chart

Note: Chart is meant as a visual guide to the written instruction and might not be able to stand alone due to special stitches.

Video

Note: Video is spoken in US Terms. Watch on mute to avoid confusion for UK Terms,

Subscribe on YouTube for more videos like this one!

Links to Weekly Instruction Posts

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

Links to Published Hexagon Patterns

Pin the Meteor Motif!

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Halley’s Comet Motif

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 14 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! The PDF is released! Enjoy!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 14 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Halley’s Comet Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Halley’s Comet Motif

Find the Ravelry Page for this motif here and add your project!

The Cosmos: Halley’s Comet

Halley’s Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–76 years. Here are some interesting Halley’s Comet facts!

  • Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the only naked-eye comet that can appear twice in a human lifetime. Halley last appeared in the inner parts of the Solar System in 1986 and will next appear in mid-2061. [More]
  • Up until the Renaissance, it was commonly believed that comets were mere disturbances in Earth’s atmosphere. However, while Tycho Brahe used parallax measurements to demonstrate that comets were located beyond the Moon, it was Edmond Halley who showed in his treatise called ‘Synopsis of the Astronomy of Comets’ that the comets that appeared and were recorded in 1531, 1607, 1680 and 1682 were in fact the same comet, but seen at different points in its orbit. In 1910, the comet’s pass was particularly impressive as it flew within 13.9 million miles (22.4 million kms) of the Earth, or around 1/15 of the distance separating the Earth and Sun.
  • Chinese observers recorded the appearance of a comet in the ‘Records of the Grand Historian’, which recording is now believed to be the first authenticated sighting of Comet Halley. This recording describes the apparition as having “appeared in the east, and moved north”. One prior sighting, that of 164 BC, is recorded on two Babylonian clay tablets, although it is yet to be confirmed whether this record is of Halley or not.
  • Since Halley passes close by Earth twice in a single orbit, we pass through two debris trails, the first of which is the debris that we see as the Orionids in late October each year. While Comet Halley is recognized as the origin of the Orionids meteor shower, it is not yet certain whether the comet is also the origin of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, or whether the comet’s close passage merely perturbs the debris that we see as the Eta Aquariids shower in May. When the comet approaches the Sun, sublimating ices that include water, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide ice create an “atmosphere” that can be as much as 100,000 km across- which is pretty impressive, given that the comet’ nucleus is only about 15 km long, about 8 km wide, and about 8 km thick. Much of this atmosphere is blown away by the solar wind to create a tail that can be as long as 10 million km. [More]
  • When Halley’s Comet came by Earth in 1986, it was the first time we could send spacecraft to look at it up close. That was a fortunate occurrence, as the comet ended up being underwhelming in observations from Earth. When the comet made its closest approach to the sun, it was on the opposite side of that star from the Earth — making it a faint and distant object, some 39 million miles (63 million km) away from Earth. Several spacecraft successfully made the journey to the comet. This fleet of spaceships is sometimes dubbed the “Halley Armada.” Two joint Soviet/French probes (Vega 1 and 2) flew nearby, with one of them capturing pictures of the nucleus, or “heart,” of the comet for the first time. The European Space Agency’s Giotto craft got even closer to the nucleus, beaming back spectacular images to Earth. Japan sent two probes of its own (Sakigake and Suisei) that also obtained information on Halley. [More]
In 1986, the European spacecraft Giotto became one of the first spacecraft ever to encounter and photograph the nucleus of a comet, passing and imaging Halley’s nucleus as it receded from the Sun. Image Credit: Halley Multicolor Camera Team, Giotto Project, ESA

Halley’s Comet Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 2dccl 2dc cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 4trcl 4tr cluster: * yoh 2 times, insert hook in st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 3 times, yoh and pull through all 5 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg 2dccl (beg dc, dc) in st/sp indicated – when joining rnd, ss into full dc st
  • beg 4trcl beg tr, * yoh 2 times, insert hook in same st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 2 times, yoh and pull through all 4 lps
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • beg tr (1sc, ch2) – counts as 1 tr
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (US Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg dc, 17dc, ss in beg dc. [18 dc] 

Rnd 2 Beg 2dccl in next st, [ch2, 2dccl in next st] 17 times, ch2, ss in beg 2dccl. [18 2dccl, 18 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg 4trcl in first ch-sp, [ch3, 4trcl in next ch-sp] 17 times, ch3, ss in beg 4trcl. [18 4trcl, 18 sp]

Rnd 4 [3sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in 4trcl, 3sc in next ch-sp, (2dc, ch1, 2dc) in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first sc. [24 dc, 42 sc, 6 sp]

Rnd 5 [8sc, 3sc in ch-sp, 3sc] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc] 

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 2trcl 2tr cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps
  • 4dtrcl 4dtr cluster: * yoh 2 times, insert hook in st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 3 times, yoh and pull through all 5 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg 2trcl (beg tr, tr) in st/sp indicated – when joining rnd, ss into full tr st
  • beg 4dtrcl beg dtr, * yoh 2 times, insert hook in same st, yoh pull through, (yoh, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, rep from * 2 times, yoh and pull through all 4 lps
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • beg dtr (1dc, ch2) – counts as 1 dtr
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dtr double treble crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (UK Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg tr, 17tr, ss in beg tr. [18 tr] 

Rnd 2 Beg 2trcl in next st, [ch2, 2trcl in next st] 17 times, ch2, ss in beg 2trcl. [18 2trcl, 18 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg 4dtrcl in first ch-sp, [ch3, 4dtrcl in next ch-sp] 17 times, ch3, ss in beg 4dtrcl. [18 4dtrcl, 18 sp]

Rnd 4 [3dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in 4dtrcl, 3dc in next ch-sp, (2tr, ch1, 2tr) in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first dc. [24 tr, 42 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 5 [8dc, 3dc in ch-sp, 3dc] 6 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 dc] 

Chart

Note: Chart is meant as a visual guide to the written instruction and might not be able to stand alone due to special stitches.

Video

Note: Video is spoken in US Terms. Watch on mute to avoid confusion for UK Terms,

Subscribe on YouTube for more videos like this one!

Links to Weekly Instruction Posts

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

Links to Published Hexagon Patterns

Pin the Halley’s Comet Motif!

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Week 14 Instructions

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 14 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! I’m so glad you’re here!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

What to Expect Today

  • 3 blog posts: The Weekly Post with instructions for each blanket version (this post), plus 2 Cosmos Themed hexie designs
  • Patterns include written instructions in US and UK Terms, chart, step-by-step photos, and YouTube video (US Terms).

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Find your version below and get started!

Catona 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 6 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-2.png

1 Pack SW/RW 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 2 full hexies + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

2 Packs SW/RW 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 6 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the joining color (821) for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

Metropolis 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 8 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same ball for the 2 half hexies and save the ball as it may be used for more half hexies in future weeks.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

Colour Crafter stash version

Colors are not given for this version because it is made with stash yarn in any desired palette.

Make 2 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge. Note: Since this version does not use 10g balls, it doesn’t matter as much that your hexagons meet the spec below. As long as they are all the same size as your Plain Hexie A, you will be golden.

Chunky Monkey stash version

Colors are not given for this version because it is made with stash yarn in any desired palette.

Make 2 hexies total:

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge. Note: Since this version does not use 10g balls, it doesn’t matter as much that your hexagons meet the spec below. As long as they are all the same size as your Plain Hexie A, you will be golden.

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Nebula Motif

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 13 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! The PDF is released! Enjoy!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 13 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Nebula Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Nebula Motif

Find the Ravelry Page for this motif here and add your project!

The Cosmos: Nebula

Nebulae are majestic objects that look like clouds. They are made of hydrogen, helium, interstellar ice, and other gasses. Here are some interesting Nebula facts!

  • The first discovered galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, was first thought to be a nebula. Let’s see precisely what a nebula is, how they came to be, and why they are so important. Nebulae are created in the interstellar medium, and they are the result of gasses breakdown. When gas, hydrogen, helium, ions, particles, and electrons particles clump together due to gravity, they form nebulae. The almighty Sun was created in a nebula, the solar nebula, and it is believed that in 5 billion years from now, the Sun itself will become a nebula. [More]
  • Some nebulae come from the gas and dust thrown out by the explosion of a dying star, such as a supernova. Other nebulae are regions where new stars are beginning to form. For this reason, some nebulae are called “star nurseries.” As the gaseous clumps get bigger and bigger, their gravity gets stronger and stronger. Eventually, the clump of dust and gas gets so big that it collapses from its own gravity. The collapse causes the material at the center of the cloud to heat up-and this hot core is the beginning of a star. [More]
  • The biggest Nebula ever discovered is the Tarantula Nebula. At first, it was thought to be a star, but later on, in 1751, it got its proper recognition. The Tarantula Nebula has an apparent magnitude of +8, and it is 160,000 light-years away. It is known for its luminosity and colorfulness. NGC 7027 is one of the tiniest, shiniest, and weird-looking planetary nebulas. It is approximately 600 years old, which makes it very young. It is located in the constellation of Cygnus, around 3.000 light-years from Earth. Our planet is not part of any Nebulae. If we lived inside a nebula, it would be visible every day in the night sky. Also, brighter Auroras would make their presence felt. The closest nebula to Earth is “Helix Nebula,” which is a leftover of a dying star (one similar to the Sun). [More]
  • The Orion Nebula is part of a huge interstellar cloud called the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. It lies about 1,500 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Orion. The Orion Nebula is listed as M42 and NGC 1976, and is a 24-light-year-wide section containing hundreds of newborn stars and brown dwarfs. It lies just below Orion’s three belt stars, and has a young star cluster called the Trapezium at its heart. These stars are roughly two million years old, relatively young for stars.
  • The Eagle Nebula, also known as M16, us more familiarly as the “Pillars of Creation”. It is the site of starbirth regions hidden inside giant pillars of gas and dust. The newborn stars are eating away at the clouds, forming the pillar shapes. Eventually this nebula will also disappear as radiation from its child stars destroys the gas and dust. This gorgeous region lies some 7,000 light-years away from us in the constellation Serpens. It stretches across more than a hundred light-years of space and contains thousands of stars in and among its pillars.
  • The Crab Nebula (M1) is a supernova remnant. It was created when a star around 10 or 11 times the mass of the Sun exploded in what’s called a “core-collapse” supernova. It blasted much of its mass out to space. What was left of the star collapsed to become a neutron star that is spinning 30 times a second. It’s called the “Crab Nebula Pulsar”. The Crab Nebula lies 6,500 light-years away from Earth in the direction of the constellation Taurus, the Bull. [More]
This composite image contains X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the ROSAT telescope (purple), infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (orange), and optical data from the SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey (blue) made by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope. (Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/L.Townsley et al; Optical: UKIRT; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Nebula Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • beg beginning
  • beg dc2tog beg dc, 1dc in next st – join in full dc to finish round
  • beg dc4tog beg dc, (yoh insert hook into next st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 3 times, yoh, draw yarn through 4 lps on hook – join in full decrease to finish round
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dc2tog (yoh insert hook into next st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps on hook
  • dc4tog (yoh insert hook into next st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 4 times, yoh, draw yarn through 5 lps on hook
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (US Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg dc, 11dc, ss in beg dc. [12 dc]

Rnd 2 Beg dc in next st, [1dc in same st, 2dc in next st, ch1, 1dc in next st] 6 times omt first dc, ss in beg dc. [24 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg dc in same st, [1dc in same st, 2dc, 2dc in next st, ch1, 1dc in next st] 6 times omt first dc, ss in beg dc. [36 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 4 Beg dc2tog over first 2 sts, [2dc, dc2tog, ch3, 1sc in ch-sp, ch3, dc2tog] 6 times omt final dc2tog, ss in beg dc2tog. [12 dc2tog, 12 dc, 6 sc, 12 sp]

Rnd 5 Beg dc4tog over first 4 sts, [ch3, 1sc in next ch-sp] 2 times, ch3, dc4tog] 6 times omt final dc4tog, ss in beg dc4tog. [6 dc4tog, 12 sc, 18 sp]

Rnd 6 Ss in 1 ch, 1sc in same ch-sp, [ch3, 1sc in next ch-sp] 17 times, ch3, ss in first sc. [18 sc, 18 sp]

Rnd 7 * [3sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next st] 2 times, 5sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next st, rep from * 5 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc] 

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • beg beginning
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • beg tr2tog beg tr, 1tr in next st – join in full tr to finish round
  • beg tr4tog beg tr, (yoh insert hook into next st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 3 times, yoh, draw yarn through 4 lps on hook – join in full decrease to finish round
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • tr2tog (yoh insert hook into next st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 2 times, yoh, draw yarn through 3 lps on hook
  • tr4tog (yoh insert hook into next st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 4 times, yoh, draw yarn through 5 lps on hook
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (UK Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg tr, tr, ss in beg tr. [12 tr]

Rnd 2 Beg tr in next st, [1tr in same st, 2tr in next st, ch1, 1tr in next st] 6 times omt first tr, ss in beg tr. [24 tr, 6 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg tr in same st, [1tr in same st, 2tr, 2tr in next st, ch1, 1tr in next st] 6 times omt first tr, ss in beg tr. [36 tr, 6 sp]

Rnd 4 Beg tr2tog over first 2 sts, [2tr, tr2tog, ch3, 1dc in ch-sp, ch3, tr2tog] 6 times omt final tr2tog, ss in beg tr2tog. [12 tr2tog, 12 tr, 6 dc, 12 sp]

Rnd 5 Beg tr4tog over first 4 sts, [ch3, 1dc in next ch-sp] 2 times, ch3, tr4tog] 6 times omt final tr4tog, ss in beg tr4tog. [6 tr4tog, 12 dc, 18 sp]

Rnd 6 Ss in 1 ch, 1dc in same ch-sp, [ch3, 1dc in next ch-sp] 17 times, ch3, ss in first dc. [18 dc, 18 sp]

Rnd 7 * [3dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next st] 2 times, 5dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next st, rep from * 5 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 dc] 

Chart

Note: Chart is meant as a visual guide to the written instruction and might not be able to stand alone due to special stitches.

Video

Note: Video is spoken in US Terms. Watch on mute to avoid confusion for UK Terms,

Subscribe on YouTube for more videos like this one!

Links to Weekly Instruction Posts

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

Links to Published Hexagon Patterns

Pin the Nebula Motif!

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Aurora Borealis Motif

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 13 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! The PDF is released! Enjoy!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 13 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Aurora Borealis Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Aurora Borealis Motif

Find the Ravelry Page for this motif here and add your project!

The Cosmos: Aurora Borealis

The northern lights, or the aurora borealis, are beautiful dancing waves of light that have captivated people for millennia. Here are some interesting Aurora Borealis facts!

  • It was Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei who coined the name “aurora borealis” in 1619 after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek god of the north wind, Boreas. The earliest suspected record of the northern lights is in a 30,000-year-old cave painting in France. One North American Inuit legend suggests that the northern lights are spirits playing ball with a walrus head, while the Vikings thought the phenomenon was light reflecting off the armor of the Valkyrie, the supernatural maidens who brought warriors into the afterlife. An early royal astronomer under Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar II inscribed his report of the phenomenon on a tablet dated to 567 B.C., while a Chinese report from 193 B.C. also notes the aurora, according to NASA. [More]
  • The science behind the northern lights wasn’t theorized until the turn of the 20th century. Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland proposed that electrons emitted from sunspots produced the atmospheric lights after being guided toward the poles by Earth’s magnetic field. The theory would eventually prove correct, but not until long after Birkeland’s 1917 death. At any given moment, the sun is ejecting charged particles from its corona, or upper atmosphere, creating what’s called the solar wind. When that wind slams into Earth’s ionosphere, or upper atmosphere, the aurora is born. In the Northern Hemisphere, the phenomenon is called the northern lights (aurora borealis), while in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s called the southern lights (aurora australis). “These particles are deflected towards the poles of Earth by our planet’s magnetic field and interact with our atmosphere, depositing energy and causing the atmosphere to fluoresce,” said astronomer Billy Teets, the director of Dyer Observatory at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. [More]
  • Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding. The most common auroral color, a pale yellowish-green, is produced by oxygen molecules located about 60 miles above the earth. Rare, all-red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen, at heights of up to 200 miles. Nitrogen produces blue or purplish-red aurora. While solar wind is constant, the sun’s emissions go through a roughly 11-year cycle of activity. Sometimes there’s a lull, but other times, there are vast storms that bombard Earth with extreme amounts of energy. This is when the northern lights are at their brightest and most frequent. The last solar maximum, or period of peak activity, occurred in 2014, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(opens in new tab) (NOAA), placing the next one in approximately 2025. [More]
  • Auroras occur on other planets, too — all that’s required to make an aurora is an atmosphere and a magnetic field. “Auroras have been seen in the atmospheres of all the gas giant planets, which is not surprising, since these planets all have robust magnetic fields,” said Jeff Regester, an instructor of physics and astronomy at High Point University in North Carolina. “More surprisingly, auroras have also been discovered on both Venus and Mars, both of which have very weak magnetic fields.” Indeed, scientists have catalogued three different types of Martian auroras. One occurs only on the planet’s dayside, another is a widespread nighttime feature fueled by strong solar storms and another is a much patchier nightside phenomenon. The Hope Mars orbiter, the United Arab Emirates’ first-ever interplanetary mission, managed to capture the discrete nocturnal aurora shortly after arriving at the Red Planet in early 2021. The probe’s observations could help scientists better understand this mysterious phenomenon. [More]

Aurora Borealis Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 3trpc 3 treble popcorn: 3tr in st/sp indicated, remove lp from hook, insert hook front to back through first tr, grab lp, pull to front of work to close 3trpc
  • beg beginning
  • beg 3trpc beginning 3 treble popcorn: (beg tr, 2tr) in st/sp, remove lp from hook, insert hook front to back through beg tr, grab lp, pull lp to front of work to close beg 3trpc
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • BPsc back post sc
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (US Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg 3trpc, [ch3, 3trpc] 5 times, ch3, ss in beg 3trpc. [6 3trpc, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 [1sc in 3trpc, (4dc, ch3, 4dc) in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first sc. [48 dc, 6 sc, 6 sp]

Rnd 3 Pull lp to back of work, [BPsc in 3trcl, ch4] 6 times, ss in first BPsc. [6 sc, 6 sp]

Rnd 4 Beg dc in first ch-sp, [(2dc, ch1, 3dc) in same ch-sp, ch1, 1dc in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final dc, ss in beg dc. [36 dc, 12 sp]

Rnd 5 [(1sc, ch3, 1sc) in both next ch-1 sp and ch-3 sp from “petal” treating them as one sp to anchor petal, ch3, 1sc in next ch-sp, ch3] 6 times, ss in first sc. [18 sc, 18 sp]

Rnd 6 Ss in 1 ch, [1sc in ch-sp, ch3] 18 times, ss in first sc. [18 sc, 18 sp]

Rnd 7 1sc in first sc, * ch3, 1sc in same sc, [ch3, 1sc in next ch-sp] 3 times, ch3, 1sc in next sc, rep from * 5 times omt final sc, ss in first sc. [30 sc, 30 sp]

Rnd 8 * 3sc in next ch-sp, [2sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next sc] 3 times, 2sc in next ch-sp, rep from * 5 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc] 

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 3dtrpc 3 double treble popcorn: 3dtr in st/sp indicated, remove lp from hook, insert hook front to back through first dtr, grab lp, pull to front of work to close 3dtrpc
  • beg beginning
  • beg 3dtrpc beginning 3 double treble popcorn: (beg dtr, 2dtr) in st/sp, remove lp from hook, insert hook front to back through beg dtr, grab lp, pull lp to front of work to close beg 3dtrpc
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • BPdc back post dc
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • dtr double treble crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (UK Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, beg 3dtrpc, [ch3, 3dtrpc] 5 times, ch3, ss in beg 3dtrpc. [6 3dtrpc, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 [1dc in 3dtrpc, (4tr, ch3, 4tr) in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first dc. [48 tr, 6 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 3 Pull lp to back of work, [BPdc in 3dtrcl, ch4] 6 times, ss in first BPdc. [6 dc, 6 sp]

Rnd 4 Beg tr in first ch-sp, [(2tr, ch1, 3tr) in same ch-sp, ch1, 1tr in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final tr, ss in beg tr. [36 tr, 12 sp]

Rnd 5 [(1dc, ch3, 1dc) in both next ch-1 sp and ch-3 sp from “petal” treating them as one sp to anchor petal, ch3, 1dc in next ch-sp, ch3] 6 times, ss in first dc. [18 dc, 18 sp]

Rnd 6 Ss in 1 ch, [1dc in ch-sp, ch3] 18 times, ss in first dc. [18 dc, 18 sp]

Rnd 7 1dc in first dc, * ch3, 1dc in same dc, [ch3, 1dc in next ch-sp] 3 times, ch3, 1dc in next dc, rep from * 5 times omt final dc, ss in first dc. [30 dc, 30 sp]

Rnd 8 * 3dc in next ch-sp, [2dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next dc] 3 times, 2dc in next ch-sp, rep from * 5 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 dc] 

Chart

Note: Chart is meant as a visual guide to the written instruction and might not be able to stand alone due to special stitches.

Video

Note: Video is spoken in US Terms. Watch on mute to avoid confusion for UK Terms,

Subscribe on YouTube for more videos like this one!

Links to Weekly Instruction Posts

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

Links to Published Hexagon Patterns

Pin the Aurora Borealis Motif!

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Week 13 Instructions

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 13 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! I’m so glad you’re here!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

What to Expect Today

  • 3 blog posts: The Weekly Post with instructions for each blanket version (this post), plus 2 Cosmos Themed hexie designs
  • Patterns include written instructions in US and UK Terms, chart, step-by-step photos, and YouTube video (US Terms).

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Find your version below and get started!

Catona 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 6 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

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1 Pack SW/RW 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 2 hexies total:

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

2 Packs SW/RW 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 6 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same 10g ball for the 2 half hexies.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

Metropolis 10g Colour Pack version

No photos this week as the hexies are being joined up for the demos! There are so few colors left now that it shouldn’t be tough to pick them out hopefully!

Make 8 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Note: Use the same ball for the 2 half hexies and save the ball as it may be used for more half hexies in future weeks.

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge.

Colour Crafter stash version

Colors are not given for this version because it is made with stash yarn in any desired palette.

Make 2 hexies total + 2 half hexies:

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge. Note: Since this version does not use 10g balls, it doesn’t matter as much that your hexagons meet the spec below. As long as they are all the same size as your Plain Hexie A, you will be golden.

Chunky Monkey stash version

Colors are not given for this version because it is made with stash yarn in any desired palette.

Make 2 hexies total:

Gauge note: All hexies should be compared back to the Week 1 Plain Hexie A hexagon that you made throughout the CAL to maintain gauge. Note: Since this version does not use 10g balls, it doesn’t matter as much that your hexagons meet the spec below. As long as they are all the same size as your Plain Hexie A, you will be golden.

Thank you so much for stopping in for this week of the 2022 VVCAL!

Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

You may also enjoy these completed CALs

2022 VVCAL: Whirlpool Galaxy Motif

Published by

Hello, and a huge welcome to Week 12 of the 2022 Vibrant Vintage Crochet-A-Long (VVCAL)! The PDF is released! Enjoy!

PDF Version

Announcement! The 2022 VVCAL full PDF is now available to purchase from Etsy and Ravelry.

  • 42-Page PDF of the entire 2022 VVCAL
  • 36 full mix-and-match hexagons plus 2 half hexagons
  • 2 joining options plus border
  • All motifs have charted and written instructions
  • 2.5 pages of tips and tricks
  • Full layouts, motif progress tracker checklist, and yarn information for Scheepjes Catona Colour Pack, SW/RW Colour Pack (1 or 2 packs), and Metropolis Pack
  • Guidance and blank layout for Colour Crafter and Chunky Monkey stash yarn

Attention!

If you have not yet seen the Week 12 Instruction post, please head there first and see the instructions for the version that you are working. Below, you will find the Whirlpool Galaxy Motif pattern, in US, and UK Terms, Chart, Video, and Step by step photos.

Social Media Hashtags: #VVCAL and #CypressTextiles

Whirlpool Galaxy Motif

Find the Ravelry Page for this motif here and add your project!

The Cosmos: Whirlpool Galaxy

M51, or the Whirlpool Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy that happens to exist relatively close to our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Here are some interesting Whirlpool Galaxy facts!

  • Discovered by Charles Messier in 1773, M51 is located 31 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici. It has an apparent magnitude of 8.4 and can be spotted with a small telescope most easily during May. The Whirlpool galaxy’s beautiful face-on view and closeness to Earth allow astronomers to study a classic spiral galaxy’s structure and star-forming processes. In Hubble’s captivating image of M51, the red represents infrared light as well as hydrogen within giant star-forming regions. The blue color can be attributed to hot, young stars while the yellow color is from older stars.
  • The graceful, winding arms of the majestic spiral galaxy M51 appear like a grand spiral staircase sweeping through space. They are actually long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust. Such striking arms are a hallmark of so-called grand-design spiral galaxies. In M51, these arms serve an important purpose: they are star-formation factories, compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars. The whirlpool, like many other galaxies, has a supermassive black hole at its heart, surrounded by rings of dust. The core of the galaxy is quite quite active — making the Whirlpool what astronomers call a “Seyfert galaxy”. [More]
  • Some astronomers think that the Whirlpool’s arms are particularly prominent because of the effects of a close encounter with NGC 5195, the small, yellowish galaxy at the outermost tip of one of the arms. The compact galaxy appears to be tugging on the arm, the tidal forces from which trigger new star formation. Hubble’s clear view shows that NGC 5195 is passing behind M51. The small galaxy has been gliding past the Whirlpool for hundreds of millions of years. The Whirlpool’s companion, called M51b, is a dwarf galaxy. Because it is being torn apart by the ongoing interaction, it cannot be easily classified. Its current appearance makes it look like an irregular galaxy. A bridge of gas and dust ties the two galaxies together as they merge. [More]
  • New images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope are helping researchers view in unprecedented detail the spiral arms and dust clouds of a nearby galaxy, which are the birth sites of massive and luminous stars. The Whirlpool galaxy has been one of the most photogenic galaxies in amateur and professional astronomy. Easily photographed and viewed by smaller telescopes, this celestial beauty is studied extensively in a range of wavelengths by large ground- and space-based observatories. This Hubble composite image shows visible starlight as well as light from the emission of glowing hydrogen, which is associated with the most luminous young stars in the spiral arms. [More]
Credits: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Whirlpool Galaxy Motif Pattern

Scroll down past written instruction for chart and video.

Reference

Stitch Guide (US Terms)

Note: Scroll down for UK Terms.

  • 4dccl 4dc cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 4 times, yoh, draw yarn through 5 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg dc (1sc, ch1) – counts as 1 dc
  • beg 4dccl (beg dc, 3dccl) in same st/sp – counts as 1 4dccl
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • puff st (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, pull up lp) 3 times, yoh, draw yarn through all 7 lps
  • sc single crochet
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (US Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, elongate lp, [puff st, ch2] 6 times, ss in top of first puff st. [6 puff sts, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 Beg dc in first ch-sp, [(1dc, ch1, 2dc) in same ch-sp, ch1, 1dc in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final dc, ss in beg dc. [24 dc, 12 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg 4dccl in first ch-sp, [ch3, puff st in next ch-sp, ch3, 4dccl in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final 4dccl, ss in beg 4dccl. [6 4dccl, 6 puff st, 12 sp]

Rnd 4 5sc in 12 ch-sps, ss in first sc. [60 sc]

Rnd 5 Ss in next st, [1sc in next st, ch4, sk4] 12 times, ss in first sc. [12 sc, 12 sp]

Rnd 6 [5sc in next ch-sp, (puff st, ch1) 4 times in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first sc. [24 puff sts, 30 sc, 24 sp] 

Rnd 7 Starting in next st, [4sc, 1sc in sp before next puff, 2sc in next ch-sp, 3sc in next ch-sp, 2sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next ch-sp, 1sc in next st] 6 times, ss in first sc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 sc] 

Stitch Guide (UK Terms)

  • 4trcl 4tr cluster: (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp, yoh, draw yarn through 2 lps) 4 times, yoh, draw yarn through 5 lps
  • beg beginning
  • beg tr (1dc, ch1) – counts as 1 tr
  • beg 4trcl (beg tr, 3trcl) in same st/sp – counts as 1 4trcl
  • chN chain N number of times
  • dc double crochet
  • lp loop
  • MR make ring: slip knot, ch3, ss in third ch from hook
  • puff st (yoh, insert hook in st/sp, yoh, pull up lp) 3 times, yoh, draw yarn through all lps
  • sp space (ch-sp = chain space)
  • ss slip stitch
  • st stitch
  • tr treble crochet
  • yoh yarn over hook

Written Instructions & Step-by-step Photos (UK Terms)

Rnd 1 MR, elongate lp, [puff st, ch2] 6 times, ss in top of first puff st. [6 puff sts, 6 sp]

Rnd 2 Beg tr in first ch-sp, [(1tr, ch1, 2tr) in same ch-sp, ch1, 1tr in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final tr, ss in beg tr. [24 tr, 12 sp]

Rnd 3 Beg 4trcl in first ch-sp, [ch3, puff st in next ch-sp, ch3, 4trcl in next ch-sp] 6 times omt final 4trcl, ss in beg 4trcl. [6 4trcl, 6 puff st, 12 sp]

Rnd 4 5dc in 12 ch-sps, ss in first dc. [60 dc]

Rnd 5 Ss in next st, [1dc in next st, ch4, sk4] 12 times, ss in first dc. [12 dc, 12 sp]

Rnd 6 [5dc in next ch-sp, (puff st, ch1) 4 times in next ch-sp] 6 times, ss in first dc. [24 puff sts, 30 dc, 24 sp] 

Rnd 7 Starting in next st, [4dc, 1dc in sp before next puff, 2dc in next ch-sp, 3dc in next ch-sp, 2dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next ch-sp, 1dc in next st] 6 times, ss in first dc, cut yarn and weave ends. [84 dc] 

Chart

Note: Chart is meant as a visual guide to the written instruction and might not be able to stand alone due to special stitches.

Video

Note: Video is spoken in US Terms. Watch on mute to avoid confusion for UK Terms,

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Links to Weekly Instruction Posts

Quick Links to Each Week: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20

Links to Published Hexagon Patterns

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Happy Crafting,

Rachele C. – The Art of Crochet Blankets

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