This is my favourite Equinox, the 22 March, that passed by a few days ago. For you, fellow Yarnies, who live in the Northern Climes, the Equinox marks the return of longer, warmer and hopefully sunnier days. For us, here in the Southern Hemisphere, I think I can safely say, we welcome the longer nights and cooler weather. Here, in the southern parts of South Africa, we enjoy a moderate climate and our Winters are mild, wet and moody. I just LOVE it! Every day that is hot and balmy beyond this Equinox point, finds me stamping about, cursing the humidity and heat! Why it's humid is beyond me seeing as we're in a drought! However, as soon as we'd passed the Equinox mark this March, almost immediately it cooled down and last night we had our first " i mean business" storm of the season. Oooo, yummy!
I'm not going to say more because I'm dying to chat about my new design! It's the first time I'm using the delicious Scheepjes Stone Washed yarns. I did use a tiny bit for the Flowers when I added them to the Let It Rain Blanket Wrap... not enough to get a real feel though. So using Stone Washed throughout was my first real taste of this lovely yarn. I am SO going to nag, and nag, AND NAG the lovely people at Scheepjes to consider ( can I force them? Possibly storm their headquarters? ) making the Stone Washed in HUGE amounts...AT LEAST 100g balls. You're all with me on this right?
I'm not yet finished yarnfaning Stone Washed, but don't run away before I share the reason WHY I like to work with it. It is soft, and it smells lovely and its so easy to work. This, I think, has something to do with the 22% acrylic. I hardly, if ever, use pure Cotton because I do find it a bit stiff. Probably because I'm used to the stretch of 100% acrylics. But this 78% cotton and 22% acrylic blend is, in fact, the perfect proportions to render this yarn very user-friendly. Also, the colours...36 colours! And the stone-washed effect is very, very tantalizing and addictive. Yes, it has a compelling hold on me and I'm finding it difficult now to settle down with another yarn!
On to the design, yay! I think large floral blocks are definitely my thing ( sorry to all of you who are wanting blankets out of me! ). When I designed Amanzi it actually spoke to me. It wanted to go big. It wasn't happy being a cushion cover. I listened, and thus the Amanzi Throw was born. I think as I design these large Blocks I will keep my ear open to whether it's happy to remain a Block or insists on multiplying. I trust the process. Believe me, I could not do an entire blanket if I had to force the process. I'd hate every stitch of it...and you would feel it too. No, we can't have that now, can we? It's just not crochet!
In this case, I specifically wanted a cushion cover for an old antique chair ( one of a set of four plus a table ) that I am renovating. I'm just a little mad about antiques and vintage goodies ( who am I kidding...I'm totally potty! ). I think my love for "old things" stems directly from my typically 70's childhood home, all burnt orange curtains, faux wood and mustard coloured shaggy carpets! Ugh! 😝
The Block measures approximately 17" x 17" ( about 41cmsq ) but I have managed to cram almost 50 rounds into this space! If you've worked any of my patterns you'll know * little details * are my thing. The pattern is image rich, has all the information you'll need for the yarn amounts and stitches used... and of course, it comes with video guides all the way. You cannot go wrong! I hope you enjoy this design and find it useful. Let me know how it goes? You can preview all the pattern details HERE!
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Wishing you all a wonderful, happy and blessed Easter.
