the end of the ugly ripple

Woohoo! It's done. I'm out of yarn and not a minute too soon. I'm SO ready for a pretty ripple. (Well I have to admit - it's not nearly as ugly as I thought it would be...)


Now I'm ready to make some yarn choices. What yarn are you all using?
I'd love something soft but not too pricey.

I call it a ripple :-)

Okay, my blanket got too big to be moved around (it's 90" x 30" now -ooo, that means I'm 1/3 done!), so it is staying in my office, and I needed a kitchen project. I had seen a project done from the book One Skein (the round bag, done by Knitterly Things) so I got the book. On paging through this just jumped out and grabbed me, and I had just bought a skein of Patons SWS 'cause I just love the colors, and now I have Ripple-y Serendipity

It's all your fault!

Hello, my name is Carina and I blame each and everyone of you for making me absolutely obsessed with this here ripple thing. Just so you know! But I must also thank you, because I think seeing all these wonderful ripples is what finally made me learn to crochet. I have been trying for a-g-e-s! But then about 2 months ago, on one of many attempts, something finally clicked and I could do it!

Last Friday I finally got my hands on some proper yarn (until then I'd been using tapestry wool) and got started on my ripple blanket. It's the Soft Wave pattern, I'm using seven colours of Artic wool (from Danish brand Grønhøj Garn) on an Aero hook 4. I work the same sequence of colours, but to break it up a bit, I started with to rows in one colour, the next two rows are two different colours. So a full repeat of this makes 28 rows.

I don't know if anyone else experiences this, but I go from not liking a certain colour so much to thinking it's what makes the whole thing come together. At other times I don't like any of the colours at all, and at others again, I love it all to bits! Isn't that funny?

This is a scarf I'm also working on (plus it was my practice ripple!), for this I'm using different bits of tapestry wool. I was really happy that I practised the ripple first, being a newbie crocheter and all, because then it felt familiar when it came to starting the blanket. So I really recommend that for any other newbies! :-)

My first ripple

This is every shade of purple I could find in Caron SS. Even though the top one looks like blue, it is "Iris" (almost blue to me). I was going to go with wide stripes of 6 rows and only 2 colors, as you can see from the beginning but changed plans midstream and got carried away. I couldn't bear to rip it out (again). So I will put a matching 6 rows at the end.

Pattern: #169 Malibu (200 Ripple Stitch Patterns)

Caron SS and H hook.

To the exclusion of nearly everything else...

I have been rippling for about 3 weeks now. Nearly everything else including housework on my needles/hooks has taken a back seat to this.No matter. The weather will soon become too hot to work on this unless I find a friend with a walk-in cooler...

Hello Ripple-Along Friends,
I took some time off from my ripple skirt. Work and home have been kind of busy. I started working on it on the subway again for past couple of days and I think I'm finally done! I am weaving in the ends tonight and have came up with a way to wear it with a little flare. Will post picture soon. Have a great weekend!

Soft Waves Question

I began a small SW ripple last night and it looks like it's working out well but something is puzzling me and I don't want to go any further till I make sure I'm doing this correctly. Naturally, I knew just where to pop in for help. :)

I cast on 63 chains (multiple of 12 plus 3). However, when I come to the end of the row (each row is the same at the end), it says: 'ending last rep with 2 dc into 3rd of ch 3, turn. I've been doing the row from the * to * but I end up doing 'dc into each of next 3 dc, [dc2tog] twice, 1 dc into each of next 3 dc , but at this point at the end I only have room for the last 2 dc into 3rd ch of ch 3.

So, what happens to the [2 dc into next dc twice] because I have no room for that so I go from 1 dc into the next 3 dc right into 'ending with' and have to skip the above bracketed instructions. I hope this is clear and not too muddied up to understand.

The blanket looks good but I can't help thinking that I shouldn't be skipping the last part of the directions in row 3.....can you help?

Thanks, Laura

happy to ripple with you

My book arrived yesterday; the one with the soft waves pattern. And I have crochet hooks, finally. Just need to find yarn so I can begin this ripple along that I've been jazzed about for weeks and weeks. Oh, and I need to learn to crochet, too. That's key, dontcha think? Have loved watching all your projects grow and lengthen and ripple along!

Done!

My baby blanket is done, only a few days after my niece arrived. It wasn't my bad timing, she was 3 weeks early, but I did hope to have it ready. As it was, I sat in the waiting-room at the hospital working on it.

I'd love to start another one straight away; I'm sure I'll be back soon with more ripples!

It's all in DK machine-washable wool, done on a 4 mm hook, and I'm afraid I don't know what the pattern is officially called, as I found it in quite an old book, simply titled 'Ripple'.

It really seems there is no end in sight!

A friend of mine has moved to Germany for the next 7 months, just for the fun of it! i wanted to make her a prayer shawl for her to have while she was there. i started this ministry at my church about 1 year ago. usually we knit but this time i decided i would ripple...just to mix things up a bit! i really like how it is coming out but it is just so SLOWWW!!! i have dreams of other projects (including another ripple or two!), but i really don't want to start another project until i get this one done! arg! here is what i have so far! i started with a big secction of red then 7 rows of navy, 5 rows of red, 6 rows of navy, 5 rows of red, 5 rows of navy, 5 rows of red, 4 rows of navy, 5 rows of red, 3 rows of navy, 5 rows of red, 2 rows or navy, 5 rows of red, 1 row of navy then 5 rows of red then back up....i realy like it...just want it to be finished!
Oh well! i will keep you all posted! Ripple -on!

Rippley McRipplerson

I am so excited that I finally get to post. My camera has had some serious issues but I have been enjoying all the rad ripples while waiting to post. I have been rippling for about three weeks while watching Freaks and Geeks and Arrested Development (Seasons 1 & 2) over and over. My ripple is 300 stitches long and let’s be honest, I don’t know when the madness will be over. I believe the ripple lets you know when it is done; it is not in my hands.

Maudie Jane

New to the Ripple along

I was so excited to find this blog with all the beautiful ripple afghans. I made this baby round ripple last week. I am now working on a full size one now. Ripples are very addicting. In the 70's I made two of the single crochet ripple afghans. One in shades of yellow, orange & brown & one in greens & blue.

Rip, Rip, Ripple

And, so, I frogged it. It's interesting--I've put together quite a few afghans, and had no trouble with the color. But, I think the main difference was that I started from scratch, in the yarn store, saying "I need 3 colors." Starting from stash, and wanting as many colors as I could find? Well, I went a bit wacko, and it showed.

Here is my newly-frogged ripple. The yarn balls on the left are the two colors that really killed it. They are going totally away. They were too muted/frosty, for what should really be a mix of spring/warm/clear tones. I didn't like the Caron Light Country Blue from the moment I got it home, but my Random Color Picker insisted, so I went for it. The peach I will discuss below. On the right are (some of) the colors that will go back, in a slightly different order, plus the skein of lt. coral that will replace the peach:

Here is what I am still mulling. I went earlier today and found this light coral yarn. It is very similar in shade to the other yarn (which is a higher grade acrylic--Unger Utopia--that I borrowed from another project). However, when I lay the coral on top of the afghan-in-progress, it sparkles. The peach yarn just sits there, looking boring.

The light is a bit different in these photos, but you can still see how the Utopia looks in the granny square--nice contrast, and it appears as a dark orangy peach. I guess if I've learned anything from this process it's that the more color you work with, the trickier it becomes to keep the project, as a whole, in focus. You can very easily end up with a glaring mistake that doesn't show up until it becomes part of that whole. So, then, you rip, rip, rip-it. :)

My Ripple...Finally!! :)

Hello!! :) Here is my ripple so far. I'ts only about 2 foot accross so far but I'm getting there. It's a mother's day present so I know I have to finish it soon. lol It's made with RH Buff and a matching fun fur! Hope you like it. :)

Another new rippler here!

Hi everyone! I'm so happy to be rippling along with all of you talented people. I've enjoyed watching everyone's beautiful projects grow and evolve. My ripple has proven a challenge to photograph - the colors don't show quite right, and on top of that, one of the smaller, furrier members of my family has claimed it for hers and hers alone.

I'm using a pattern copied from one of my husband's grandmother's afghans - she didn't remember how she had made it, but after a few false starts, we managed to figure it out. It is made of some no-name cotton-blend yarn I found in Chinatown for next to nothing. I wanted a blanket that will add weight but not a lot of warmth to the twin bed in our guest room, so I've been working quite loosely. I'm pretty pleased with how it's turning out so far.

The colors reminded me of maple flowers, and now that they're coming together, the ripples are giving off a great seventies vibe. I'm thinking of finishing it with a fringe of little macramé owls - how fun would that be?

Again, I'd just like to say how happy I am to be part of this project! Go ripples go!

Swatch and Math Done

Whoo Hooo! Half my yarn arrived just hours after my initial post this morning. I've now crocheted my swatch (check off one of my May to-do items), and I wanted you guys to check my math.

I started with 49 stitches (multiple of 12 + 1) and crocheted 6 rows, not counting the initial chain. My swatch is 13.5 in wide and 3.12 inches deep. So I'm getting 0.28 in per stitch in width and 0.52 inches per row. I took the dimensions of the swatch and multiplied to get sq in= 42.12. Then I frogged all the work, less the chain, and measured~~came up with 35 yds. So, it took 35 yds to get 42.12 sq inches.

Then I did two sets of numbers (I'll just show the figuring I did for the larger set of numbers). For a blanket 60 x 72 I get 4320 sq in. Divide that by 42.12= approx 103. I took that and multiplied by 35 (the number of yds to make the 42.12 sq in) and get 3605 yds. (I ordered 17 skeins of 220 yds each which gives me 3740 yds of yarn.) Then I figured how many yards it would take to get 4 two row stripes from each color.

60 inches wide x 4.16 inches deep= 249.6 sq in
249.6/42.12= approx 5.92
5.92 x 35 yds = need 207 yds per skein.

Each skein is supposed to have 220 yds, so there should be enough to get four 60 inch wide two stripe repeats from each skein.

You guys mind checking my math to see if I'm in the ballpark with this one? I'm cutting it close if I go with the 60 inch wide blanket. I may just work up one whole skein of the yarn to see exactly how many rows I can get out of it.

I don't want to start the actual blanket because all of the yarn isn't here yet, and I want to be able to randomly pull from all of the yarn for each stripe. I don't know how long I'll hold myself to that decision though.

I'm excited to get started, can you tell? ;o)

Edited to add: I did another two row swatch and weighed at the end of the 1st row and had 86 gm of yarn left--this included the foundation chain. At the end of the 2nd 192 stitch row--76 gm left. So right at 10 gm per row. I am so golden!!!! Now I'm considering doing 3 row stripes instead of 2 to make use of more of each skein of yarn.

Ripple Progress

The progress of AJ's "little-boy-first-big-bed" is coming along nicely. I had inherited a bag of yarn, plus bought a few, so for a mixed bag of colors I think it shaping up nicely. It's almost four feet long now, just need to add two feet more and I'm done. I have a baby blanket to start as soon as I'm finished with this--for my first great grand child...

I'm thinking about trying to knit a soft wave in the baby green and baby yellow colors, maybe some white.

This is so much fun--I just love doing it.

Late to the Party # 2!

So, here I am a bit confused with how to figure out how much yardage will be needed for the size afghan or lap-ghan I might need. I read Maryse's answer to Jen but I still have some questions for all of you math wizzes and talented crocheters. :)

I will be using a worsted weight yarn, so if each 2 row repeat took Maryse 40 yards of DK weight yarn, how would I figure out how much worsted the same two rows would take? Maybe I'm missing something here but how do you figure out how many yards you'll need to crochet a ripple, say, for a baby, about 32" wide by 40" long, just for an example?

Since Jan Eaton doesn't give any suggestions for hook size, gauge, etc. there is no 'jumping off point' from which to start a project other than past experience and trial and error. Maryse , you suggested crocheting a swatch, measure it and then frog it, and measure the amount of yarn you used for the square.....please forgive my mind drawing a blank here, but how?

I look forward to all the wonderful advice from the great people on this forum. You crochet such gorgeous ripples in the most magnificient colors, what an inspiration ( as well as 'crochet enablers', LOL) you are.

Cheers, Laura

Rippling the Night Away

Still loving my ripple!!! it's the perfect project for watching hockey!

~*~ Happy Rippling ~*~

Late to the Party

Once again, I am late to a party. After finding the Ripple Along the last week or so and being entranced by all the gorgeous ripples, I knew I had to go ahead with the promise to make my son a blanket/'ghan to take to college with him in the fall. So here I am ready to ripple, but stuck as the yarn is still making its way to me. I'll be using Cascade 220 Superwash. I've ordered 17 colors--one 220 yard skein of each. (Thank goodness for the anniversary sale at Webs--more than half is coming from there.)

I have a few questions before I get started and was wondering if you experienced ripplers could help me out?

1. I've been practicing the Soft Wave pattern and think I *may* have it down with a little fudging at the end of the row. Has anyone else had trouble with the pattern? I've been away from crocheting for ever so long, so maybe I'm missing something in the pattern~~misreading or the like.
2. How did you go about planning your ripple? I'm a knitter, so I know about swatching for things like sweaters, socks (yeah, right), etc., but am unsure about the process for a blanket. See, I'd like the ripple to be a minimum of 5 feet wide--wide enough that it will hang off the sides a bit on his twin bed, but he's tall--6'2", so I need a l...o....n...g blanket and am already worrying that 3740 yards isn't enough to give me what I need. How can I figure out approximately how many yards I would need to get the size blanket I want?
3. Random stripe generator or set pattern?

I'm looking forward to being able to start soon, meanwhile I must be happy to knit. You can check out my blog here.

And Now With More Pictures

finally, finished. and with pictures.


started: march 1, 2007
finished: april 30, 2007

the blanket is approximately 60 inches square. a good 1/3 too short. according to my calculations, i was going for a 60 x 80 inches. but i ran out of yarn. see, the yarn skein labels lied. of those i weighed, i came up 15-20% short. i'm not going to name the yarn company because i didn't weigh every skein i had and i'm not 100% positive that my calculations were accurate ... but i was always a good student in math. just sayin'.

i know some of you are still lovin' the rippling, but i'm glad it's finished.

The Resistance Afghan mark two.

Here's the new ripple afghan. This one is in cotton double knitting yarn. It's for my daughter so I'm going for a much more feminine colour range.

This ol' rug of mine

Hi, I've been reading this blog for a while, thanks for the invitation to join. I've been enjoying looking at all your wonderfiul projects, it's so refreshing to find a like-minded community, the only other person I know who enjoys making blankets is my mother. She knits, I crochet.

I have been making mohair blankets over the last 2 Winters and have dusted off the hook as Autumn sets in and re-commenced my latest project.

I wanted this to be in varying shades of Navy with bright accents zooming in from the sides. I'm not altogether sure that this is what I have achieved, but it is still pretty. It is crocheted in many different mohair yarns, some have a lurex thread for sparkle, on a 7mm hook. When finished it will be bed length.

I like randomness in my work. Other blankets I have made have been in random shades of (usually ) one basic colour. I'll post photos at some stage. Meanwhile I have a blanket on flickr if anyone is interested in looking at it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36259386868@N01/471715760/

I made this as a gift for my mother-in-law for her 75th birthday last year. She likes things to be more ordered than I do so I ensured that her stripes go all the way across from one side to the other!

Lekki

Broken...

Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in ages.

I fell off a horse and broke my leg last week, spent 5 days in hospital, and have since been banished to the downstairs bedroom, away from my ghan. I'm going through withdrawals. Technically, I could just ask someone to run upstairs and grab all my yarn and my ghan and my hook, but I kind of feel like i'm asking so much of them already that... It may be a little much. I dunno.

The ripplage will continue though. I only have about a foot left to do on my big one.

In the week before I broke my leg, I did a baby ripple ghan for my boyfriend's friend Paula. She should be ready to pop any time soon here. Now if only we could get it to her. Maybe i'll convince him to pack me into the car so we can bring it to her. :)

Anyway, I'll post more pictures soon, as soon as i'm able to get the ghan going again...

--Riss

Ripple Helpers

Crossposted to my own blog since I haven't posted there in a week. :)

This morning I tried to take a picture of the progress I've made on my ripple. Unfortunately, my two "helpers" wanted in on the action. My 4yo is my Official Random Yarn Picker. He is extremely adamant when he chooses, and he's made a fuss a few times when he thought that I wasn't going to use the "right" yarn next ("Mom, WHERE is the magenta?!?! Why isn't it here?!?!")


The other "helper" is my cat, who eats yarn for dinner. She is very intriqued by the huge pile here that I am needing for this project, and by the sorting and digging that has gone on in my stash as I gather what I need.

As for the ripple itself, I had slowed down partly due to the above-mentioned 4yo's birthday, and partly because I was very dismayed by the section with the dk blue, lt blue, and peach. It was looking very lively up until then, but my "Flower Power" ripple wilted on me. The bright green and magenta have revived it, though, and I've decided that, despite the demands of my Official Random Yarn Picker, I need to ensure that there are no more than two pale colors in any 5-segment section (in between the recurring 2 rows of "Flower Power" variagated), and that each section includes mostly brights and darks, like the first one.

A Vintage Ripple

Hi everyone. I tracked down the ripple afghan that I posted about here.

I went to visit my mom this weekend (we took a knitting workshop together, go figure) and asked her about this ripple afghan. She had trouble remembering it, which isn't like her because she is the keeper of all things handmade, heirloom, or belonging to someone in our family. After turning the cedar chests upside down, we finally found it in her closet.


It's done in single crochet, with a fairly fine yarn, possibly sportweight. It really feels like wool, but it's hard to say since it was made in the late 70s, could be synthetic. I don't care enough to try to pull a bit for a burn test. I love how she put the 8 colors together (4 browns, 4 yellow/oranges).

Thought you guys might like to see it close up. I put it on the back of a chair across the room from where I've been crocheting mine -- it's fun to look at.

Grass Green

I added the green onto my blanket and it's looking quite lovely, I'm continually thrilled with this blanket and looking forward to the rust and the orange that are coming up next. I wouldn't mind a nice yellow section, but the Red Heart "Soft" doesn't have any yellow so I'll have to be happy without it. Nothing else to share, really, I just love taking pictures of it.

Ugh!!

Well after starting 4 differant ripples I finally found the one I like the best. I am NOT going to rip this one out! I am doing a round ripple in a khaki color and not color changes BUT I am putting in a row of fun fur once in a while (cause I think to much can just get tacky) And I actually LIKE IT! lol. I'll post a picture later. *HUGZ*

Monet

Cant...stop...rippling...

If I had known how addictive this would be, maybe I would have waited to finish the many other projects that I need to finish for friends or family. Oh well, too late now. The ripple has taken over my life. I did almost nothing but ripple yesterday, and here's my progress so far.


I love this project! Every time I look at it, I can't believe I'm actually creating it.

Of course, most of the reason it's so lovely is the yarn. I love how the cotton makes each stitch stand out, and this soft waves pattern is truly ingenious. It makes up absolutely the most lovely ripple pattern ever.
Since this is a baby blanket, I'm nearly finished, but I'm actually sad to have to put it away soon and get back to all my other boring ole projects. *sigh* I guess I'll have to make another one...

I'm also really loving all the new ripples that have cropped up in the last few days since I've fallen into my ripple coma. Great job everyone! They're all stunning!

Here's one last picture...

Hello all!

I've been lurking forever...just enjoying everyone's ripples. Meanwhile, I've managed to finish my very first ripple. I'm not sure how large it is but it would probably fit a twin bed. It was created using the Caron simply soft brites minus a couple of the colors using a G hook, and following the Jan Eaton soft waves pattern.

Of course...it is Kitty approved :)

Ready, steady, go!

Hi,

my name is Theresia. I joined this KAL a few days ago.

Now I got the yarn I want for this project:
It´s "Schoppel Miro 6fach" a very soft cotton/acrylic blend. I´m so excited!

Update

Here is my progress so far on the Ripple. Happy crafting!

the story of the ugly ripple

I was sorting out my workroom,
the yarn tote runneth over,
everyone was rippling,
although I swore "not sober"...

So, long story short, I'm making a really ugly ripple blanket with my really ugly leftover yarn. Hopefully it'll keep someone who doesn't care about aesthetics warm this coming winter.

I started with the nicest colors,

but don't have enough, so I had to add in one of the uglier colors,

but there were some that I absolutely could not bring myself to incorporate.


Stay tuned for more...

Can't choose

Hi folks,

I learned to crochet a couple of weeks ago and yes, it's addictive.

I'm working on a blanket for myself which is more stripes than ripples:


And then there's the ripple blanket which is a gift for a friend. I'm on the third (and final!) version after having made it too small, twice. The first version (aka 'the scarf') is being ripped and I'll finish the second one for myself if I've got enough yarn left after the gift one is done.

The Resistance is Futile Ripple is finished.

It's all done. I've tested it on my children's bunk beds and it fits just fine. This one is for my son and I've already started one for my daughter. So I've gone from not wanting to do any ripples at all to having one finished and another on the way. It's like a metaphor for having children really.

No End In Sight, no how

our business picks up in the spring and summer, so I won't have much crochet time (waah!) but here is what I have so far, and I will have more sometime, I'm sure . . .

Peggy....

Hey I'm sorry I didn't respond to your comment earlier... I forget to check back on here for comments. I'm used to LJ emailing them to me...

If your still having problems with the Granny Chevron, email me at cheersmurf@gmail.com and I'd be happy to help you out. I tried to find an email address for you on your profile but didn't see one... so I will just go this route! I had alot of problems with the pattern to start with.. but it just took me sitting down and reading it SEVERAL times to get it.

Granny Chevron progress

Here is the latest picture of my ripple. All the colors are in now.. and I am starting to do the second set of colors. It is all still random except for my small rule, the colors in the 2nd repeat can not touch the same colors from the first. So like on the first repeat of colors, the yellow is next to the dark purple and rubine red... so on the 2nd repeat... the yellow can't touch either of those colors. Then the 3rd repeat can't touch any of the same colors as the 2nd set. And so on. That way the colors look a bit different on each section.