This is the third year running I have joined in the Attic24 CAL (CrochetALong). As soon as I saw the Springfrost Blanket introduction on Attic24’s website late last year, I just knew I had to try it. The colours in the Springfrost palette are wintry on the whole, with the delicate colours that start appearing in February/ March as the country wakes up again in Spring with blossoms, buds and leaves. Both previous blankets (the Meadow in 2021 and the Harbour in 2022) were beautiful as well, but the subtle colours were so soothing and gentle in this pretty blanket.

I was so excited for the new blanket and the pattern which dropped on the first Friday of January. It was something to look forward to once going back to the usual routine and being busy in the New Year. The CAL was due to start in January and be released in six parts over the same number of weeks. Followed by a catch up week (my February half term here in North Yorkshire) and then the final week where the border colour sequence and pattern is released.

I was itching to get home and start on the blanket once I had finished work. But I had some baking to do on the afternoon. Once that was out of the way and dinner finished, I could start on the blanket.

As with all blankets, Lucy from Attic24 always suggests using a tension sample to help establish what hook size you need. I felt as if my last CAL was a bit “holey” so I wondered about whether I should use smaller hook size. I tried the tension sample with my usual hook size- a 5mm for the foundation chain and then going to a 4mm for the rest of the blanket. This seemed to work fine so I frogged the sample and started straightaway on the real thing. The Springfrost pattern is a shell and spike type stitch and it was really easy to get the hang of it once I got going in the rhythm of it.

On Week 1 I was pretty on the ball and got all fifteen of the first week’s stripes (one stripe of each colour) finished by the Tuesday night of that week. That left me two nights to focus on my other WIP- a pink baby blanket. More of that one later.

I got to Week 2 on Friday 13th January and made a start that very evening with the next sequences of stripes. This time there were 18 stripes to complete this week and this only got finished in time for the next week to start. I was so tired during this week so my average of 4 stripes a night on my blanket just wasn’t going to happen. I saw several people in the Attic24 Facebook groups I’m in who managed to do all 18 stripes over the weekend. Maybe they didn’t have any other commitments.

Week 3 of the CAL began on January 20th and there were another 18 rows to do. It had been such a busy week that when we got to Friday night, all I wanted to do was to sit and chill in front of the fire with my crochet.

I am always very careful not to keep my dog near my crochet. He is a very loving, gorgeous black Labrador but I don’t want his black hairs all over my crochet. As I also sell my work, I make sure he is nowhere near my crochet. I wash the blankets anyway before they are shipped or gifted. But on one day during Week 3, I had sneaked in a couple of stripes while the dinner was cooking. I forgot to put the crochet away and came back to find my dog lying on some of the blanket and he had drooled on the Week 3 colour sequence chart which Lucy from Attic24 provides as a download for each week!

I managed to finish Week 3 by the Wednesday night of that week so that gave me another night to work on my other projects.

Sadly, by the time I got onto Week 4 my progress had slowed down a little. I wasn’t losing my crojo. I just felt so tired with everything else going on in my life. It was also Mr S’ birthday that weekend so I was really busy with family things to devote to crochet. But I was determined to have Week 4 finished by Friday so I would be able to start Week 5.

This didn’t happen! I put the blanket aside to work on a large temperature blanket square for January. Another post to watch this space for. I had got sidetracked seeing lots of beautiful temperature blankets on Instagram and wanted to make one myself. I needed to have it finished for the end of January.

I had only one night to complete nine stripes so I gave it up and thought well it isn’t a race. The blanket is there to be enjoyed at my own pace and so what if I’m “behind”. I was so surprised to see how long the blanket was even though we had two more weeks to go on it!

By the start of Week 5 I had four more stripes left. I did get some more done when I went along to my craft group which meets every Thursday evening but it was still not enough to be finished.

Week 4 was finished on Friday night so Week 5 was actually only one day late in starting.

By the following week I was even more behind and a post on Twitter dated 8th February, two days before Week 6’s stripe sequence was released, I had got another 7 stripes to complete. I was absolutely exhausted that week and had a couple of baking orders to fulfill, work in school was busy and I just had no time for anything. I’d sit down with my crochet and manage one stripe or nothing at all. At least the blanket kept me warm while I was working on it.

Week 6 is the final week of the blanket’s stripes itself. Only ten stripes for the final week which coincided with the start of my half term and more time for crochet. So much needed! I knew it wouldn’t take me long to get those final stripes done. And finish I did- at midnight on Monday 13th February with the final stripe. Using Stylecraft Special DK Spearmint yarn, the final row was actually a row of trebles to neaten up the blanket. I was so happy with the blanket and draped it over our armchair in the lounge to take a photo there and then.

During our half term week, this usually coincides with a “catch-up” week for the CAL. Although I love my job, I was so glad to have a week to catch up on everything, not just crochet! I finished my other WIP- the pink Baby Ripple Blanket, stitched some beads to finish a cross stitch sampler and started on another blanket with some variegated yarn from King Cole. But did I use this week to sew in the ends on the Springfrost Blanket? Did I heck!

On the last Friday of February, Lucy released the border pattern to the Springfrost and it was so worth the wait. The border has seven rounds, finished with a beautiful white picot edging to mirror frost. I couldn’t wait to get started but I was so busy on the Friday and Saturday, I ended up thinking to hell with it and lazed on the sofa all Sunday afternoon to make a start.

Four rounds on the Sunday followed by the final three on Monday. But by the time I got to the final row I was not happy with the outcome and frogged it a few times. I got there in the end but it was a very late night on the Monday.

I fully intended to sew the ends in on Tuesday, being as it was the end of the month but I forgot I needed to finish off my February temperature square.

And now here we are on Friday March 3rd and we finally have a finish! I blocked off the afternoon as Mr S is away and I needed some time to chill after a very busy few days. Apart from giving the dog his usual village walk in the cold wind, I spent about 3 hours sewing the ends in. I know I should be virtuous and sew them in as I go but I’m impatient to get onto the next colour. Maybe I should do it every 10 rows or so on.

So what do you think of the Springfrost Blanket? I say this every time there is a new Attic24 kit but this definitely is my favourite. I just love the pastel colours as I am a Spring person. I know it will be hard to part with this one.

If you are a crocheter, have you been doing the CAL as well or is it something you would like to try? I can wholeheartedly recommend it as crochet relaxes me. Not only that but I have a beautiful blanket to show for it at the end.

Love Sam xx