A little while ago I wrote a blog post on a blanket CAL (which means Crochet-A-Long) that I was going to participate in. This sentence almost sounds as if I didn’t start after all, but that’s not true. I did start and join in with Sandra’s beautiful Nature’s Walk CAL. In that particular blog post (which you can find here) I explained my inspiration for the colours and yarns that I picked and I made gauge swatches.
![](https://merinoandtomatoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/MT_Half-Term-for-the-CAL-1.jpg)
You might have seen my progress on the CAL if you are following me on Instagram. Now, let’s show some progress here too!
![](https://merinoandtomatoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/MT_Half-Term-for-the-CAL-2.jpg)
The idea behind the CAL is that Sandra is launching two crochet square patterns per week, then the squares will be joined into one piece and finally, a beautiful border is added and the blanket is ready. Now, I mention two square patterns. One of them is for free (find them here on Ravelry) and the other is a bonus pattern if you have bought a yarn pack. As I picked my own colours and yarns, I obviously did not buy a yarn pack and therefore don’t receive the bonus squares. And that’s a pity because they are beautiful. But, I have a different strategy!
Sandra mentioned that the bonus squares will become available as a paid pattern after a certain time. So… I’m making half a blanket now while the CAL is running. That means that I make the free patterns now and then put it all aside and wait for the bonus squares to become available. Hopefully, I can be as disciplined then as I am now and finish my blanket before it becomes an eternal work in progress. Fingers crossed!
Let’s start with the first squares…
![](https://merinoandtomatoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/MT_Half-Term-for-the-CAL-3.jpg)
The first square pattern is called ‘Gates’ and it is the lighter one in the photo above. The second one is called ‘Berries’ and I am making it in a dark brown.
![](https://merinoandtomatoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/MT_Half-Term-for-the-CAL-4.jpg)
Next up is ‘Buds’ and with this one, I started to have second thoughts about the colour order that I picked… Initially, I planned to make this square in the light grey (the top one in the photo above) and the other colour shown here would be my border. I decided to switch the two of them because I think I will like the border much better in the light grey.
![](https://merinoandtomatoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/MT_Half-Term-for-the-CAL-5.jpg)
Square number four is called ‘Leaves’ and it is obvious why… 🙂
![](https://merinoandtomatoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/MT_Half-Term-for-the-CAL-6.jpg)
Pattern number five is called ‘North Star’ and I am happy that I had to use this natural colour for it (according to my colour scheme). The little tin in the photo is a souvenir from France and it contained sweets (that actually had a bit of a soapy taste). I bought it because of its cuteness and I use it for stitch markers now.
![](https://merinoandtomatoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/MT_Half-Term-for-the-CAL-7.jpg)
The sixth and last pattern, for now, is called ‘Flower’ and it is a particularly beautiful one!
That’s it for now… I have my first 24 squares finished and my blanket now is on half-term leave! I couldn’t resist laying them out on the floor to get an idea of what the finished blanket will look like… I like it! I am really happy with my colours and I think that I need to use this photo as my motivation in case I have a lack of it when finishing the remaining squares!
![](https://merinoandtomatoes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/MT_Half-Term-for-the-CAL-9.jpg)
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