The Dutch Rose blanket by Cypress Textiles

First things first. Here is the most important thing: the link to the wonderful Dutch Rose blanket by Rachele Carmona the mastermind behind Cypress Textiles

This has originally been a CAL but I missed it and stumbled over a picture on Instagram which immediately caught my eye. I fell in love at first sight with this blanket. This was so creative and so different to a lot of blankets I have seen before. So i decided to crochet it even though I was in the middle of the “nomad by fate” creation process. And what can I say. Whenever I was bored by the “sc in BLO” of the “nomad by Fate” series, I just changed to the Dutch Rose blanket and was happy again.

I decided to crochet it in seven colours of Scheepjes Secret Garden

From left to right: Bird Bath 736, Lily Pond 709, Shady Courtyard 737, Summer House 707, Wisteria Arch 733, Herb Garden 702, Whimsical Topiary 738.

I used a 4.00 mm hook and my blanket is in size 115cm x 85cm. (There are bigger sizes available using more haxagons.)

The diversity of the pattern which has 4 different motifs plus a striped corner and a beautiful border was exactly what I needed.

Even the joining process which usually is not my favourite was a lot of fun. TH whip stitch which is used is easy and fast and if you follow the pattern properly (which I did not do) you will not end up with a lot of loose ends.

Another advice: If you are not a hundred percent sure if the pattern says 163 or 169 scs to start the border on each longer side, here is what you should do: TAKE A LOOK AT THE WRITTEN PATTERN AGAIN!

What you should not do: Crochet  169 scs, forget about that you even was insecure about the stitch amount, realize three rows later that the amount of stitches has to be wrong because it doesn`t fit the rest of the pattern, rip up three rows, starting with 169 scs again, because by know you are a hundred percent convinced that the pattern said 169, doing it all wrong once again, having (of course) the same problem again after three rows, starting to figure out a mathematical equation to calculate the right amount of starting stitches, finding out that it has to be 163 stitches in the beginning because you are not as bad at maths as you are at remembering the number 163, writing an e-mail to the designer in which you kind and humble describe that there is a minor mistake in the written pattern and just before pushing the “send” button check the pattern again which of course has the right amount of stitches ONE – SIX – THREE! starting the border a third time, this time whith the right amount of stitches but sitting in the corner of shame….

It is a learning curve, they say.

All in all this is one of my all time favourites!

More adventures ahead, more to come soon from up north…