Berry & Aqua Shells

 This blanket is a great one for beginners. The pattern is easy to pick up and the rows go quickly. I had planned to use only 4 colors including a different green but it just didn't seem right. I managed to find a giant ball of mint colored yarn on sale the other day and I wanted to include it somehow. After digging through the bags of yarn under my bed, switching a few things around and pestering the Dr. for his opinion I finally decided on white, mint, berry, lilac and deep sea. All the colors are from the Red Heart Soft line with the exception of the mint which is a Lion Brand Pound of Love (it's a pound of yarn and will last forever!).

I found this picture and pattern on Pinterest but it wasn't very good although I did end up using their instructions for the edging. I have found that there are a lot of confusing patterns out in the world and if you don't understand one then you just look for another. So, I headed to my trusty YouTube and my favorite channel- New Stitch a Day. Sure enough they had a much better pattern and their video tutorial for the solid shell stitch was great.

I chained 98 to start the blanket (multiples of 6+1+1) and it ended up being about 33" wide. I changed colors at the end of each row and carried the yarn up the sides. This made it so that I didn't have so many ends to weave in at the end. I find that carrying the yarn up the sides also helps the ends of the rows stay a little tighter and look nicer.

This is what you edges will look like if you carry the yarn up the sides

Once you do a single crochet border all those strings will be hidden!

It can be a little tricky to keep 5 balls of yarn attached to your blanket but I just put all the balls of yarn in a paper bag so I can tote them around with me. You can find instructions on how to carry the yarn here.

My bag of yarn

I think I say this with every blanket that I start but this one really is one of my favorites. I love the color combination, I think it looks very modern and girly without being too pink. I can't wait to send this one off to the precious little girl being born to one of my dearest friends in May.

The Stats

Yarn type: Red Heart Soft (One 5-oz ball of each color), Lion Brand Pound of Love.
Yarn Colors: Lilac, White, Berry, Deep Sea and Mint (Lion Brand)
Hook size: 6mm
Starting Chain: 98
Finished Size: 33" x 35"