My crochet Sky Blanket - getting started #skyblanket2016

Update - You can see my Sky Blanket here - My completed crochet Sky Blanket

Back in November I mentioned that I was going to start the New Year with a new craft project - a Sky Blanket. Embracing my new love of crochet and the fact that I've realised that I can actually crochet a blanket, I'm going to be looking at the sky every day this year and crocheting a row of a blanket in a corresponding colour.

I'm very lucky that as a Make it Coats Ambassador they will be providing me with the yarn for the project. I'm going to be using Red Heart yarn, which comes in a gorgeous range of colours. I've made a start and it's been lovely to work with, it will make a nice thick blanket.

Some of the other ladies taking part in the project have some fantastic ideas about different ways to incorporate the colours of the sky into their designs. For the time being I'm just going to stick with basic sky colours of blue and grey, but I may add extra colours as I go along. In particular I'm thinking about a different colour to represent our family on their birthdays.

These are the main colours that I'll be using from the Red Heart Detroit collection. The light blue is Baby Blue, the mid blue is Azure and the darker blue is Airforce. The light grey is Mid Grey Melange and the dark grey is Anthracite Melange. I also have White, and if I need a less bright white I have some of the Patons Natural left over from my crochet Afghan.

For my blanket I started with a 200 stitch chain, using the half treble (UK) stitch, the same stitch that I used for my crochet wreath. I prefer the look of treble stitches, but if I use those the blanket with its 366 rows will be enormous, so I think that a half treble is the way to go. I've not really crocheted in rows before so I'm going to need to be careful when it comes to the ends of rows, I do have a habit of either missing a stitch or adding a new one and I don't want to end up with wonky sides.

For the last few weeks I've been making an effort to look up at the sky and think about what colour yarn I would use for that day. If there is some of the sky visible then I'll use the colour that best represents it, so for the sky below I would use my mid blue yarn.

If the sky is entirely covered with clouds then I'll use the colour of the clouds, whether it's white, light grey or dark grey. The picture below would probably be dark grey.

If there is a mix of colours then I'll have to decide the dominant colour. In the picture below I'd probably go for light grey. But if I've done something that has required spending a fair amount of time outdoors, for example if I've been for a run, then I might choose a sky colour that reflects what the sky looked like while I was outdoors appreciating it. I might even think about popping in colours for a sunrise or sunset if the sky was particularly beautiful.

The trouble is that the weather in the UK is very changeable. The three photographs above were all taken within half an hour of each other! So I'm going to try and stick to the appearance of the sky around midday, about the time that I eat my lunch. If the sky is partially covered with clouds then I'll work out whether the clouds or the sky colour dominate.

I must try not to get too hung up on it, as I don't want to be worrying about getting the exact colour of the sky correct each day. I'm also not intending to actually crochet a row each day as that's not always going to be possible. I will aim to be caught up at a minimum by the end of each month, and by the end of the year it would be brilliant if I was right on track to finish on New Year's Eve! And I'll definitely be sewing the ends in as I go along, I hate sewing in ends.

I have another crochet blanket on the go as well, my granny square crochet blanket, which I am hoping to finish in the first half of the year. It's also in blues and cream, but I've tried to add in a bit more purple since I started thinking about the Sky Blanket so that it won't be too similar! I'm getting close to finishing the granny squares but sewing it all together is going to be a bit of a mission, so at least that won't be a problem for the Sky Blanket!

There are lots of us taking part through the year and you can follow our progress using the hashtag #skyblanket2016. With thanks to the hosts for organising - Bug, Bird & Bee, The Boy and Me and You Little Sew and Sew.