Part 5
And now we are up to the final section. The joining and the beautiful border, which symbolizes true friendship; “Friends Holding Hands.”
Working on this beautiful pattern, with the other Admins of the group, I found that the meaning of friendship has definitely applied. We are linked by our love of crochet and are there for each other to offer support, give the heads up on color choices, and best of all encourage each other in expressing our own creativity. There is no competition. We work at our own pace in whatever spare time we have available, even if it means lack of sleep, and we know that what ever time it is, someone else, in a different part of the world is working on hers as well. We share, have conversations and marvel at the thought that distance is not an issue. We all agree that this was a great idea to do together, helping us forge a greater bond.
Every part of this beautiful afghan is rich in symbolism. Even at the very end with the border. I have just completed all of my squares, and cannot wait to do this final part which encompasses the whole meaning of the blanket. Enjoy, and think of all your friends that have held your hand at one point or another, when you really needed it, and think of all the new friends around the world that you share something in common with.
Here is one already completed by one of our admins, Micki. Isn’t it gorgeous! If you notice the join is a little bit different, it is because Micki chose her own alternative. Feel free to join as you wish, but make sure number of stitches are same.
Check out all those friends holding hands!
I will be sure to post pictures of my completed afghan. Please make sure you do too.
Thank you, Helen Shrimpton for the creation of this beautiful pattern!
So fellow Admins, what shall we tackle next??
Your friend,
Silvana
Continuing with part 4 of Helen Shrimpton’s stunning pattern…..
I am sure you are all having as much fun as we admin are, making this beautiful work of art.
Part 4 is possibly my favourite square as the heart shows our love for crochet and also our crochet family –and of course Helen!
I look forward to seeing all the love that is created with this part so don’t be shy and post your photos!
And as always we are here to help if you need.
have fun
Micki
http://www.crystalsandcrochet.com/crochet/part-4-heart-life/
Continuing with the next part of Helen Shrimpton’s beautiful pattern. We sure hope you are having as much fun as we are. Us admin really love doing this together with you all.
So… this 3rd part is the 2nd square called ‘Friends are our cushion to help us feel safe’. We are here as friends to crochet together. Crocheting helps a lot of people to maintain their sanity and in more ways than one crochet makes us feel safe…sums it up nicely, doesn’t it?
I found it to be quite challenging because of all the puff stitches. I really needed to watch my tension with those! Please don’t hesistate to ask for help! We are together on this Heart of Friendship journey. We are more than happy to help you out!
Please, everyone post pictures! Don’t hesitate and think ‘I am just a beginner’ or ‘They won’t like my choice of colours’. We would really love to see all your work and help out as much as we can ❤
Have fun!!!
Marjolein
Part 3 http://www.crystalsandcrochet.com/crochet/part-3-cushion-safety/
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Part 2 is here!! Some of you may be nervous about this week. Four blocks with four interlocked rings on each. Yikes!! That’s ok!! Some on the Admin team were nervous too. But the beauty of this group is that we are there to help. We asked questions to our “team mates” and the job was easier as we worked and helped each other through. And we are willing to help if you need it. So don’t be afraid to ask!!
I love to crochet. I like the the textures, the colours, the patterns, and the quiet. But sometimes it is lonely! However, with a group like CAL- Crochet Along there is always someone crocheting!! When I first joined the group my teenage boys “snickered” at me. Then one day I was brave enough to post a picture of my work. Suddenly I was getting “likes” and comments all across the world. My kids then admitted they thought it was “pretty cool”. And it is!! In a world that seems at times to have so much uncertainty and difficulties, we are “linked” together through our common craft of crochet. And that is reassuring and comforting. We are not alone.
So as you work through these blocks this week, take time to think about friends close to home and across the world. And cherish those memories and bonds.
And please post your pictures!! While we can’t all be together physically, the pictures are our links to each other.
Have fun!!
Tania
part 2 http://www.crystalsandcrochet.com/crochet/part-2-links-friendship/
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It’s time already for you to start the first part of this fantastic design by Helen Shrimpton. This design holds the elements of friendship from hearts to linking rings and more.
The colours can be varied to reflect your own feelings for this project which would make a perfect present for a loved one.
The first part has hearts in a circle at the centre showing the bond between friends or family which cannot be broken and has many stitch variations to hold that bond together.
We are looking forward to seeing your gorgeous colour schemes and would love you to post your progress pictures for all to see. As admin, we are also making this together and will share our work with you too bringing us all together in our love of crochet.
We hope you all enjoy this project and look forward to the next part. Below you will find the link for Part 1. Please also be sure to join our group then our event to take part in this journey of friendship.
-Claire
Heart of Friendship Introduction
Please read below the asterisks to find out more about how this Admin Along came about.
Each admin will have a spot dedicated here in this blog to post each finished part. Please come back often to see our progress. We will also post on he event wall and the main group wall as well.
APRILLE:
CLAIRE:
JANE:
LAURENE:
MARJOLEIN:
SILVANA: 
TANIA: up to round 35
-Laurene
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When I first saw Helen Shrimpton’s pattern Heart of Friendship I knew immediately that I HAD to make it! As some of you may know, Helen is my favorite designer and ALL of her patterns are on my “to do list”. LOL! But this one was different from the others. This one was not only beautifully designed and has wonderful color placement but it made me think of all the friends I have made because of our group, CAL – Crochet A Long. And more specifically all of our admin from our group. We work together on a weekly, daily and sometime hourly basis (depending what we have in the works). Because we work so closely, we really get to know one another. We celebrate our triumphs, give encouraging words and well wishes when things aren’t going so well and are there for each other when we need to “vent” to get things off our chests. Even though we’ve never met face to face I consider all of these ladies my friends. We are from different countries, speak different languages and are from different backgrounds. We come together to because of our love of crochet, we accomplish our goals because we enjoy working together to bring our group new and exciting patterns and most importantly, we don’t quit when times get tough (and trust me sometimes it gets tough). In true friend fashion, we all step up and help out where needed. When Heart of Frienship was released I thought it would be a great project for us admins to do together. Then, when finished, we’d all have our versions of Helens pattern, a beautiful Afghan to cherish forever. Plus we’d have something to represent all we’ve accomplished together and the friendships we’ve made because of our time together. (Funny story, Tania had the exact same idea. Lol.)
As with most ideas, they tend to develop into bigger and better ideas! What started out as an “Admin Along” has now become a CAL! We knew we weren’t the only ones who have formed friendships through our group and from our love of crochet. So we discussed the idea and I approached Helen. She thought this was a great idea! And as Helen has been a friend to me and our group from the beginning and in another show of friendship, she’s authorized a GIVEAWAY!!! She’s giving away 1 pattern to 10 people!!! Here’s how’re enter the giveaway:
1. Be a member of our group and her’s
CAL – Crochet A Long https://m.facebook.com/groups/668646249929007
Helen’s Hookaholics
https://m.facebook.com/groups/1655541111412309
2. Join the Event
https://www.facebook.com/events/115054335924609/?ti=icl
3. Post 1 picture a day, with a maximum of 5 in total, of any finished “Helen Shrimpton pattern” on the event wall. the picture MUST be your own work in order to win and please, do not include any children in the pictures you may only win once.
4. Vote for your favorite picture by “liking” a picture.
The giveaway starts today and voting ends November 4th. We will announce who is in the lead regularly. Check on our blog, event wall and main group wall.
Heres your assignment:
Take some great pictures of your finished Helen patterns, post them on the event wall and vote for your favorites. Then, head over to Helen’s blog and read the introduction and finally begin thinking about colors for your afghan. You may purchase Heart of Friendship here:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/heart-of-friendship
Introduction can be found here:
http://www.crystalsandcrochet.com/crochet/introducing-heart-friendship-cal
I’m Good luck to all who enter! I can’t wait to begins this beautiful pattern with everyone!!!
-Laurene
Crochet Along With Us!!! 