My Interpretation of the Gypsy Rose Blanket

Remember this garden-inspired basket of yarn stash? The transformation into a very different kind of flower bed has begun — one that will keep me warm and cozy while snuggling on the sofa with a good book this winter.

The Gypsy Rose Blanket made by British crafter Adaliza is constructed with crocheted squares, but I have been drawn to the flower petals in the African Flower hexagon. Here’s a link to a well-illustrated blog post with American crochet terms — thank goodness! My attempt to wade through google-translated Afrikaans was fruitless.

Each hexagon uses four colors; the predominant yarn is ” Julia” (50% wool, 25% mohair, 25% alpaca) by Nashua Handknits — recently reissued as “Colors by Kristin” by Classic Elite Yarns. As of this post, every ‘flower’ will have a final border in a natural-hue white. I may change my mind further down the line, and use  red instead.

Three things to love about this project:
• each hexagon works up quickly, providing tremendous satisfaction as the stacks of luscious color grow
• frequent new color decisions! — perfect for those of us whose productivity grinds to a halt when faced with predictable repetition
• the piece-work aspect makes this a wonderful travel companion — rather than tote an entire box of full skeins, as I did for Saturday’s day trip, you could make a rainbow of small yarn balls and fit everything into a handbag

For me, summer is for working on my Secret Garden project (how private can I make my inner-city-postage-stamp-backyard?!), being outdoors for as many hours as possible each day, early morning and late afternoon reading in the garden, visiting long-distance friends, and maybe a bit of sewing. It feels great to have my hands in yarn again! To say I am enthused about my Gypsy Rose would be an understatement. Anyone else have the desire to give this project a go?