casualgrannyCAL ... square number 2

Cluster Flower .... square 2

Have you been waiting impatiently for Mandy to release the design for the second square in the casualgrannyCAL ? I have been and it turns out I'm not the only one.
Being a pattern tester for Mandy on her casualgrannyCAL doesn't mean I'm any more patient for the next square design 😃

If you missed Mandy's introduction to the casual (there are no deadlines) Crochet ALong, you can read it here on her blog REDAGAPE,  along with the pattern for square number 1 ... the cutest heart granny square ever!

And now Mandy has released her new pattern for square number 2 Cluster Flower. I thought square number 1 was pretty ... but this one is even prettier! 

Cluster Flower introduces some different stitches and techniques as well. If you're unfamiliar with the different stitches or just want to refresh your memory, Mandy has provided excellent tiny tutorials on her blog REDAGAPE.

I'm enjoying making up the new square design in my chosen colour palette of soft pinks and peach.

The centre motifs look like newly blossomed flowers :)

See that bloom at the top there? It had been bothering me for a while but I couldn't pinpoint why. Then I realised. 

Can you spot the difference in the two flowers below?

Right back in the first row my attention must have slipped and I only made 7 x tr3tog, instead of 8. So by the time I reached the end of row 3 the flower ended up with only 7 petals.

Grrr ... it will make a nice applique on a bag ... or something.

I may have slipped up with that one but the rest of the centre flowers have turned out perfectly, or my version of perfect anyway.

Inspired by the flower centres of  the square, I've upped the floral theme by creating two pairs of "leaves" in row 4, which squares up the centre motif. This is a bit of extra fiddling as the working yarn had to be changed several times in the one row, but I think it was worth it. 

There's a feast of crochet-y eye candy on the #casualgrannycal page on Instagram, where lots of Crochet ALong participants are adding photos of their squares for everyone to admire. There are so many beautiful colour combinations it's hard work staying true to my own colour scheme!

Next week Mandy is going show us her method for joining the blocks. In the meantime I'd better get on with my Cluster Flowers,

xo