I'm thrilled to be announcing something that's been in the works for quite some time now...
So what's a Scheepjes Make-A-Long (MAL), you may ask? It's a bit like having your own personal crochet club, one that meets at your convenience from the comfort of your own home and joins together with friends to crochet a project, share progress, ask questions and rejoice in your love for crochet and yarn! I'm tickled that for this MAL we will be making one of my designs--a colorful blanket with lots of texture, color and interest called the Prism Blanket.
I'm really excited about this announcement today! It's been a while in the making, I tell ya, but today is the day for the release of my newest pattern and announcement of a CAL (crochet-a-long) for it!
Introducing my...
5th Dimension Blanket
One of the best parts about this crochet designing gig is the people. Yes, people. I have met literally thousands of folks around the globe with whom I share a common love of yarn, hooks, creating, and color! So, with the new year approaching, I thought of a way to connect better with you and decided to conduct a temperature blanket CAL throughout next year!
Here are a few details that hopefully answer questions you might have about how to participate...
1. What is a CAL?
CAL stands for Crochet-A-Long and is a fun and interactive way to be working on a common project at the same time with other like-minded folk. I have set up a Facebook group where we can chat about yarn, colors and pattern choices, share projects/progress, and talk about the weather. Why weather, you ask? See #2.
2. What is a temperature blanket?
Typically a temperature blanket is worked in varying colors of yarn depending on the daily temperature (high, low, average, both...) of where you live. You can choose the color range and temperature ranges for each color depending on your climate. If you are in the US there is a good site to see temperature ranges by state/city here. If you want lots of color make your ranges small--if you want just a few, make your ranges bigger. (I'm thinking that because of the temperature range in my neck of the woods and because I love lots of colors, I'll probably have 5 degree increments which give me about 18 colors.) You do what works for you. Bust that stash and have fun! By the end of the year--or whenever you want to finish--a unique and "story-telling" blanket.
3. How do I join?
You can use any Felted Button blanket pattern (free or premium, your choice). Since I'm a bit obsessed with blankets, you have a LOT to choose from. You can browse in my Ravelry shop here. You should also join the Facebook Felted Button Temperature Blanket CAL group here. Just click "Join" and when approved read the group rules posted in the Files section at the top of the page. You might also want to read through the feed for any info that might help you.
Above is just a tiny sampling of Felted Button blanket designs. Some of these would not be ideal for the CAL, but some would be fab! (We'll talk more about this later.)
