NEW clickable buttons!!!

Hip-hip-hooray for Megan!!!

Our resident html/java expert has us up and running with new, improved clickable button capability! Want clickable ripple buttons on your blog? Follow this:

1) Check out the sidebar. Under each button you'll find a box of text. Copy it.

2) If you've a blog on blogger, go to your template tab. Choose to "add an element" to your sidebar section. A window will pop up. Choose the "html/java" option. Paste the text you copied into the big box. Save it in both the pop up window and on the template page.

3) Viola, it should work! Now run to Megan's blog and leave her hugs and cookies!

If you don't have a blogger blog, I'm assuming there is somewhere similar on your blog's template that you can use the code, I just don't know where. If you can't figure it out, ask Megan, I bet she can tell you!

Thar she grows!

Hi Everyone -

Here's my progress report this week. I ordered some more Rowan Pure Wool DK from Elann after Erica and Amandasan clued me in that Elann had gotten their order in stock (and at 40% off!). I did check there before ordering the first time but they must not have got it up on the site yet. It's a good deal for this wool, and allowed me to expand my color palette a bit.

Now we're up to 21 total balls, but I hope not to use them all! Each ripple (2 rows) takes up 20 grams of yarn. So I can get two full ripples out of each 50gram ball. Now I just need to figure out how tall I want to make it.

I've done nothing but ripple for the past week, knitting needles have been put in standby as I enjoy stacking up the little spots of color. When I hit a spot I don't like, I crochet furiously to add a few more color ripples to balance it out.

It's all a little game of balance- too much color, too little color. I hope looking at it from an overview once it's all done it will be fine and look properly intertwined.

More pics and info on my blog, thanks ~Keri

please help the button challenged!

OK, I freely admit I'm not a blogger expert. Far from it in fact.

But we need one.

Can anyone please, please, please explain to us how to not only get the button in the sidebar but have it actually link at the same time? I can do one but not the other. In the text of a post, no troubles, but the sidebar? Can't find a way...most likely involves going into the template code adn that scares me silly.

Help us out will you?

Dawn HRM

Showing off the ripples!

Hello everyone! This is my first time posting on the ripple-along. I really enjoy crocheting and knitting. This first photo is a ribbed ripple that I worked on off and on for a very long time, probably over 4 years, I finally finished it last year. I know it is pretty blurry, my camera is pretty old and falling apart. There is some pattern to it, A blue, A solid, A multi. There is one part that doesn't follow it, but oh well. The ribbing (which I know you can't see) comes from doing a front post double crochet in a ripple pattern. Each big section of color is one entire skein of yarn. It is really thick and heavy.
The next one pictured is my current leftovers/didn't have a project for blanket. This is a regular ripple afghan There is a color list on my new blog. This has turned more into a leftovers afghan, as you can see on the right. The purple in the middle and the gray on the end were pulled out of a different project and were all cut up into pieces. This one has also been in the works for a while, I recently finished a rainbow knitted baby blanket, which gave me leftovers to add to this afghan. I have a couple new colors to add to this one from a new ripple I recently started.


<--- This is my newest ripple, another ribbed ripple. at least in this one you can see the ribbing in the first picture. I am working this one from my stash, which is rather large and getting bigger. My step-mom gave me a HUGE bag of yarn that she no was no longer going to use. The second pic shows an estimate of how long it is which is about 60".






This last one is a knit ripple that is called a Feather and Fan pattern that I found on DIY Network, I have modified it some from the original, but the original is still a really great pattern on its own. I chose to do it in a rainbow of the colors, which makes it perfect for a baby blanket, the next color is red, then the colors repeat. This is about the third time I have done this pattern. I like it so much, and so have the parents of the kids they were for.

At the moment I can't find pictures of the round ripple I finished a while ago, I may have to go take pictures of it again at the new owners.
Thanks for giving me a place to share the ripply goodness!
Tina

damn you, kim!

hello everyone... here is my first post, brought to you by KIM from crochetme. i saw that beautiful ripple and had to test out my skills. sure i live in hawaii and we almost never need blankets, but loooooooooooooook at that ripple! too too tempting. so after one week and scrounging through my stash, i found the perfect color scheme for my apt.



halfway through my firsst week crocheting, my fingers grew tired and prompted me to venture my way to a LYS and splurged for a clover needle.



ahhhhhhhhhhh... how i went for so long using that plain aluminum needle for so long without completely crippling myself, i have no idea. ^_^ i'm so excited! this seriously is the biggest project i've ever made. i can't wait until i have a complete blanket. thank you for inspiring me, kimmy!

...and our random blog highlight o' the day

My stuffed up head is already making me dizzy, so no bottle spinning was necessary to randomly pick a site today.

Take a second to check out Queens Knitting Mama on her blog, Knit Something Mommy!

The gal's got skills with the crochet...check out the rogue pirate rabbit, he's my favorite. And then there's the sketching. Clean and slightly retro. Reminds me slightly of the artwork in my old children's picture books. Fabulous. And the other artsy bits. Love them. And her Etsy store, fingerknits!

Off to steam my sinuses. Will catch up more tomorrow...if you're waiting for an invite, please be patient with my poor allergy prone stuffed-up self! (btw, we're closing on 70 members! amazing the ripples we're causing!)

Dawn, HRM

More ripples than I can handle...

OK ripplers, this is getting a bit out of hand. At one point I had 3 ripples going at once. My other projects are muttering and I'm afraid a coup is imminent. Must make some time to give them some TLC now that the small one for the baby is done:

I'm quite pleased with it. (except for the bit at the bottom...the join is not as smooth as I would like, but hey, maybe I'm just picky.) It's just a small lovey blanket that he can tote about with him. As of press time, he's made a great game of flinging it about whatever room he happens to be rampaging in, counting on his bigger counterparts to happily retrieve it. It's also worked up in all cottons or cotton blends so I can toss it in the wash.

Here's a close-up (of course with the ungainly join front and center. I need to plan better.):

With that out of the way I had imagined making myself tackle my blanket again. I simply must face down my color choice demons and get on with things. BUT thanks to Michelle, I was granted a reprieve:

She tackled my round wave quandary and I happily spent the day yesterday with a horribly stuffed up head rippling away. I did make one alteration to her pattern to close up a small gap in round 6. See my comments after her last pattern link post. And I'm working blo on increase rounds and flo on even rounds to give that ridge that highlights the wave. This is worked in Plymouth Fantasy Naturale mercerized cotton and it is fabulous, fabulous, fabulous to work with, though one skein so far has been a bit "knotty". The blues are slightly variegated and have a great sheen from the mercerization. It's also a woven type yarn and I don't know how they managed it, but it actually has some loft to it. For cotton it's remarkably light and airy and works like a dream. And NO splitting!

Starting round 14 and I'm quite pleased with it. Thanks Michelle!

I'm still a bit piqued that I can't figure out how to make it work with a closed "core", but if I goof with it long enough perhaps that will come. Next I want to play around with making one irregular...ameoba-like.

...and I need to start something that's not blue.

Ripples arn't just for afghans

This is a small commission project that I am making for a friends daughter. It's made in a soft wave pattern. I made it using Lion Brand Jiffy yarn in deep purple and baby blue. And I used an "I" hook... not sure of the mm because it's my afghan hook and it doesn't say the mm. It's not quite done of course.. it still needs straps and a drawstring. The top of the bag is actually on the left side. I took it kinda quick and didn't realize which way I had it. Right now, I think the straps will be purple in a ripple pattern. Probably just 2 rows of dc ripples should do fine for straps. Then the drawstring will be a sc, sl st chain of both colors. The bag is supposed to resemble those gym bags that alot of teens use for school.

Oops! Pattern update

Please accept my apologies to those of you who downloaded my round ripple pattern. I had to add a note regarding the increases. It was such a DUH! moment. When working on a round afghan, if you were to increase steadily at the rate I originally had you increasing, your afghan would not lie flat. Since I'm currently working on another round ripple, I should have remembered that. I have the updated/corrected version now available on my blog.

Michelle

Weekend progress

I spent the weekend basically reading and crocheting. Not a bad way to spend a snowy weekend! I forgot to tell you all the particulars of my project. The blanket will be about 56 " wide so that it fits over my son's twin bed. He wanted a bed blanket and not a throw. He had a heart to heart with me over my insistence that I make his blanket with wool or cotton (because I prefer those) and he was adamant that those fibers are not soft enough so Caron Simply Soft and Red Heart Soft are his choices here. I am basically following the pattern as stated in Jan Eaton's book (200 Ripple Stitch Patterns, Pattern:Ribby #106) and randomly using the colors my son chose. I randomly picked skeins out of a bag and then wrote down what I picked out for each repeat. I am really enjoying making this blanket. It is just like the ones my paternal grandma used to make, with the really deep ripples. My next ripple will be the softer waves like so many of you are making.

crocheting like crazy

Hi, everyone!

My name is Ann, and I am so excited to be joining this group. Up until now, I've focused on weaving, spinning, knitting, felting -- almost everything except crochet. But then I happened upon this ripple-along, bought a how-to-crochet book, and after a few frustrating starts, I was on my way.

I'm using a mix of Rowan Pure Wool DK and Filatura di Crosa 501, augmented with stripes of various novelty yarns that have found their way into my stash. Some of these, like the orange fuzzy stripe, have waited literally years to find a home in a project.

As others have said, or at least I think someone said this, it is amazing how each new color changes the look of the entire piece. I'm trying to be spontaneous with my color choices and resist the temptation to rip out stripes (like the pink at the top!) that don't initially seem to fit in. Seeing everybody else's afghans, so different and all so beautiful, is a real inspiration.

So now my loom sits idle, the laundry is piling up, and my kids are going through our other stash (of microwave pizzas) as I singlemindedly ripple along.

Almost Halfway

A few strips shy of being half done on my funky granny knock your eyes out what was she thinking afghan/bed thing.

Here she is in all her nouveau vintage splendor:





Just after I took the photos I added a few more stripes. Then I started to get claw hand, so I decided to start weaving in the ends. I have all the ends (sans the beginning and the last stripe) woven in. The edge looks good on that side. Humble opinion and all that.

I know that some of the colors are in the "only a mother could love them" color way, but I am the momma on this one, and I love my freakishly weird blanket child.

Peace,

Almost halfway done, I think

My ripple now extends just about halfway up my queen-size bed. And when I put it over me to crochet a new row it reaches just about to my ankles. I'll get full coverage about the time it becomes unbearably hot here in DC. What great timing! I'm starting to get a little concerned about color variety, but I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.

not much

to show you, since i've been sick this last week, which cut on my craft time. and, i've been pretty obsessed with my granny bag, so the ripples were left aside for a while. I did get back to it, since our rift is now past us, and here are some photos to show you:






This last one was at the moment of our rift. Now, I've added two rows of brown and two of green.



Two more of caramel to come. That's it folks. It's a big blanket, since hubby is both over 6' tall and a cover hogger! It takes me about an hour for each row, so it's slow going. Bye now

PS: This is a response to the comments, and seen as how it really fits as a post, I thought i'd put it here.

i had to do the border to cover all the mistakes from doing a few rounds of sl st without counting stitches... i cannot follow recipes, so i don't even bother anymore, but sometimes i get in these scrapes. fortunately, i'm creative enough to get out of them most of the times. and when i'm not, hubby comes to the rescue... which is why he deserves a blanket that actually covers all of him... poor thing, always has his feet bare in the middle of the night, in cold weather.
I don't know about the yarn though. it's two-toned, with some you could call lint all over it... i'll try to get a picture of the next skein to show you... as i'm basing the colour scheme from a portrait by van gogh (more info on my blog) and the blue is the main colour in the portrait, it should play a big role in the blanket. but there are at least three tones of blue in there, and i couldn't find anything that really worked with the portrait and with the other yarn, until the shop girl showed me that one. it was a perfect fit.
as for the granny blanket, i have it on hold, seen as how yarn is rather expensive in great amounts, and money is a bit tight around here, after my splurge on yarn this month... but i'm almost done with my granny bag!

Pattern available

Okay everyone, I wrote out the pattern for what I am calling Gentle Waves Round Ripple Afghan. It is available free on my blog in a PDF file. I just hope that there are no problems understanding my instructions.

Michelle
www.mikknits.blogspot.com

as i inch along...

Wow! there's so much progress being made by every one. i feel kinda bad for only inching along on my mini ripple. fortunately, i am getting better with not just setting it aside. so, inch by inch. i'm starting to wish i had started off with the brown because i like the way it's pulling the color scheme together. i may do the border in brown so i can pull together that bottom edge. the different textures of the ww yarns i'm using are working together nice, too.




I'm so tempted to start on the round ripple i started way back when. it feels like a year ago. what i like about working the baby one ^^ is that i can work it mindlessly. this needs more attention and so, it's in the bin.

Introduction

Hi all! My name is Lisa and I live in South Dakota. I work full time and have an almost 2 year old son. I've been following along on this blog for a couple of weeks and it finally gave me motivation to learn to crochet. I've been knitting for a couple of years, but it's so hard to knit with an interested toddler that I don't get much done. I had the idea that crochet would be easier to protect from wandering hands, and it turns out that I was right. Plus, I find that it's much much easier to recover from when a little someone grabs your work and runs.

I printed out the online pattern that many of you are using and taught myself. I find it to be incredibly addicting and take it with me everywhere. I am using cheap acrylic yarn that I inherited from my grandmother for three colors (red, gray, pink) and I purchased the light gray to go with it. I used the random stripe generator to make a pattern I like. I have only completed three stripes (SO much slower than the rest of you!) but am only attempting a lap-sized afghan.

Here's a picture of what I have so far, with the fourth color behind it.

Single Crochet Ripple

Hello I am new to the Ripple-Along, I asked to be invited as I am enamored with the ripple afghans and I love to see pictures of others in progress and once they are complete. I haven't done a lot of crochet in the last bit, mainly knitting but crochet is my roots. My mom taught me to crochet about 12 years ago, and I was instantly 'hooked', pardon the pun. I love to both knit and crochet, but what I love about crochet as that I am able to make my own designs and patterns a lot easier - I guess I am more accomplished with crochet.

So I am excited to be here and I thought I'd post a pic of an afghan I made a few years ago. It was my first attempt at a ripple pattern and it was done in all single crochet. Unfortunately our dog Oliver who is snuggled up to the afghan also chewed a big hole in it. I guess I now have an excuse to make a new one for myself too.

My mom has been doing some ripples with the granny stitch - they turn out very nice, but they sure do use up the wool. I've thought about doing a new ripple afghan for awhile now and I came across this site a few days ago - that was it the inspiration I've needed to finally get myself going. I plan to do one with different colours for each row(this will challenge my patience with colour changing..lol), and I want to give it to my daughter for Christmas. She's very fond of afghans made of more than one colour.

Any suggestions on yarn that works great and can pass the test of time? I was thinking of doing it in a TLC or maybe the soft phentex. I'll post some pics early in April once I get the project underway.

day 17

i've gotten several emails asking for some specs, so here goes. i'm using knitpicks merino style and andean treasure and a size USH/5.00 mm hook. i like my crochet fabric to be nice and drapey. and the stitch i'm using is softwaves from 200 ripple stitches by jan eaton.

i'm this close to being halfway down (give or take).



this may be my favorite color sequence



napoleon's claimed it as his

Gee thanks, Dawn!

I saw your earlier post about trying to adapt the soft waves ripple into a round pattern. It was like you put a bug in my brain. I don't know how to use schematics so I just picked up my hook and some yarn and fiddled until I was satisfied. Here is what I came up with and the colors I'm planning to use to make it after I finish my current round ripple.




I don't know how to write the pattern out, but I was hoping you could just look at my picture and tell what I did. What I can tell you is that you can follow a round ripple pattern like this one for the first five rounds to set up the ripple pattern, then to set up the soft waves, you would work 6 dc in the ch 2 space for the peak and 2dctog, 2dctog for the valley in round 6. For round 7 you would work 3dc in each of the top two dc sts (peak), then dc in next st, 2dctog, 2dctog (valley), dc in next st.
The secret, I think is working 3dc in each of the top two dc sts in the peak. You will see that the increases will happen naturally because on each subsequent round you will have an extra dc st between the peaks and valleys. I'm currently on round 12 and have 5 dc sts between the peaks and valleys. This is probably all clear as mud. Sorry about that. Just wanted to show you that it can be done! Thanks for getting me excited to start another ripple. I'm just a round ripple kind of girl.

Michelle
www.mikknits.blogspot.com