GREG Mystery CAL

I’ve been thinking for a while now about joining a CAL*. I never have, mostly because the level of commitment required to finish is much higher than I feel I can ever achieve. For instance, my Mood Blanket from 2014 is still stalled in February!

However.  I decided it was time to find the commitment and join in.  And serendipitously, Shelley from Spincushions announced a brand new one, called GREG.

Why GREG, you ask? Well, it was a bit of a joke that turned into a cool acrostic title: Grand and Resplendent Endeavour in Gaiety. Cool, hey?

So then there was the task of choosing the yarn.  I have a lot of yarn in my stash, but not enough of one colour to make an entire blanket, and I really wanted to follow Shelley’s lead and make a solid colour blanket.  I hit the ordering machine and after about 45 minutes going back and forth between yarns and their costs, I chose Drops Belle.

The yarn is a Cotton, Viscose and Linen blend and uses a 4mm hook.  It’s soft and has a slight sheen, but isn’t shiny like mercerised yarn.  It can also be machine washed which is a real bonus when making a blanket.

I immediately had to make a test square to see how it felt, and thankfully it was a good choice.  The square looked great!

Then all I had to do was wait for the CAL to start.  I’m not alone in thinking that the waiting is the hardest part, am I?

Finally (well, a week and a half later), the first square was released.  TOM (Talismatic and Officially Marvellous) is beautiful and wonderfully mindful.  I have a feeling that all the squares will be great exercises in mindfulness actually.

Now I have to wait for the second instalment, in a few days…

Do you participate in CALs?  Which is/was your favourite?

*If you haven’t hear the term CAL before, it means Crochet Along, and is essentially a joint project between a designer (or designers) and anybody who would like to join.  It’s essentially like a giant group crochet session, with everyone sharing pictures and experiences, and it really builds a community.