I recently completed a beautiful crochet along (CAL) that I wanted to highlight on my blog. What is a CAL, you ask? It’s where a group of people, usually over the internet, work on the same project at the same time.
I came across this particular CAL and group on Facebook. There was a post letting people know that this Autumn Rhapsody CAL would be starting soon. This fall-themed stitch sampler was designed by Tonya of Nana’s Crafty Home and is a free pattern.
Fall is my favorite time of year, and the colors Tonya picked for this project were just stunning. I was immediately drawn to this CAL!
I kept to the base size the pattern was written to be (although there were instructions provided to upsize). At this lap blanket size, it would be a nice decor for my guest bedroom; it sits at the footer of the bed.
The yarn used for this project was Painbox Yarns, and while I’ve been wanting to try out this beautiful line of colors, I used this opportunity to use up yarn I already had. Most of these (or similar) colors were in my stash anyway.
Part 1
This CAL was broken up into 4 parts. There was roughly a week and a half for each part before the next one was released.
The most notable part about this pattern is the 2 sections of flowers, one at each end of the blanket. Part 1 has the sunflowers. The flowers were definitely the most complex part of this project, but they turned out soooooo pretty!
However, my favorite stitch from part 1 is the lemon peel stitch. It has such a lovely texture that could be used for all sorts of projects!
Part 2
For the middle part of the blanket, my favorite stitch is probably the drop leaf stitch. I love the way it works over several rows, and the contrast that was set up between the leaf rows and the ones around them is beautiful.
Another fun section of this part was the “wavier” section. This was done similarly to the drop leaf stitch and worked over many rows.
Part 3 and 4
Part 3 of the blanket was the last section of the main body. It had the second set of flower stitches, mums. While they were cumbersome to make, they again were well worth it!
My favorite textured stitch from part 3 ended up being the more “boxy” scallop. I thought it lended itself nicely and had fun contrast.
Part 4 was the border, and I thought the border fit this blanket very nicely! It gave everything the perfect finish.
Extra length
Because of where I wanted to put this blanket, I ended up needing to make it longer so that it didn’t look out of place.
To do this, I picked out my favorite stitches (outside of the flowers) and added them in different colors until I had the length I wanted.
I plan on leaving this gorgeous blanket out all year long. It will remain at the footer of my guest bed as a happy reminder of my favorite time of year 
.
