Friday, October 30, 2015

Spice of Life CAL - Finished!

Well hello there! Remember me? Sorry I disappeared yet again. I'm full of excuses. First there was the torrential rain last weekend that totally prevented decent photo shoots for several posts I had planned. Then, on Monday, just when the sunshine returned, my gall bladder decided it was time to come out! Whoa. That laid me up for a few days (while the sun continued to shine.) Yesterday I finally began to feel human again! And, you guessed it, I woke up to gray skies and buckets of rain! Sigh..... So, indoor, gloomy photos it is! Sorry they will have to do!

Several days on the couch was just the excuse I needed to finish up my Spice of Life crochet along afghan. The only way to show you how enormous mine ended up is to spread it on my queen sized bed.....
58 X 88 way bigger than it's supposed to be!
Why did it end up so big, you ask? Great question. Did I add extra stitches to the rows? No. Did I add extra rows? No. Did I use US stitches instead of the required UK stitches? Indeed I did not. It's a mystery! But the fact of the matter is, the tension is even, it's gigantic and I love it.

It has found a happy landing spot on the back of one of our pretty chairs in the front room. I suspect it will wander into the family room on chilly evenings this winter. Seriously, it's big enough to keep hubby and I both warm!
I love the pretty soft green border (I had to buy another skein of light green yarn to complete it!) In fact, I love everything about this beautiful blanket. I'm so thankful to Sandra of Cherry Heart Crochet who created the lovely pattern, for her easy to follow directions, and the fabulous community of women she created on Facebook, Instagram and Ravelry to share our fun with. If you want to see more of these, check out #spiceoflifecal. It's wonderful how each afghan has a personality of it's own! I would love to make another someday soon.

And then there are the balls of leftover yarn from my blanket. What to do? I decided a simple double crochet (US) striped blanket would be the perfect way to use it up. And so I have begun....

5 comments:

Debbie said...

so glad you're feeling better! and beautiful stitching!

Chantal said...

Oh Ellyn, I'm so sorry you had to have surgery! I am sure working on your CAL helped you heal more quickly. So glad you are feeling better. I love your finished CAL. So bright and cheerful. I am plodding along with mine. Just done the tulips on the second section. It's getting there. So many beautiful blankets have been made. I love the variety. Feel better friend and take care of yourself.

Maria said...

Delighted you are feeling better. Nearly missed this post with your beautiful finished afghan .... Just fabulous its sew big that it can keep both your hubby and you can snuggle under it....

Maria said...

oh! Love the way your bright coloured wool scraps are growing into another nice warm blanket.

Ondrea said...

OMG! It is absolutely awesome!!! I think mine is going to be that big when I finish it. I only have the last treble rows to do and the border. It is such fun crocheting this blanket. I already have an idea for the left over yarns. I want to try making hexis . You should be so proud of your blanket. Well done girl!