 For the Thirteenth Series pattern I chose the square with the rib and shell pattern. They say this has "far better effect when worked in a coarse cotton" so I chose to use a DK weight cotton from Jaeger called Pure Cotton and a size E hook. This pattern starts out with the center rib section that's done in rows and then switches to rounds. The pattern uses a similar instruction style that I've started seeing in the squares and is one of the primary reasons I give up on them. They give you the basic stitch order as in how many stitches in each corner and along the sides and you have to figure it out based on where the round ended. When I got to the 5th row where the "shells" start I gave up on figuring it out and just cut the yarn and restarted where the pattern assumed I was starting. The shells are really more like a bobble stitch than a shell and once you get one row down it's easy to figure out how to increase in the corners. Once I got to the shells/bobbles this went pretty quickly. It would have gone even faster but the yarn was stiff and kept splitting so there were multiple times I'd have to start a shell/bobble over. Overall this went pretty well; the biggest issue was the yarn choice and that's on me. I blocked it to a 9 inch by 9 inch square. This would make a pretty lightweight summer blanket.  Now for the scoring:
Is the pattern easy to understand? Yes, except for that issue with the instructions for the rounds. 0.75 Does it look like the illustration? Mostly. Their shells are little more bobbly than mine 0.75 Would someone use this? Yes, you could make a light blanket with more of these. 1.00 Did I enjoy making it? Sort of. The yarn gave me some problems but I don't think it was the patterns fault. 1.00 Total is 3.50 Next week we're on to the 14th Series. Only 6 more left in this book!
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 This series is all about motifs/squares, borders and edgings. There are 20 patterns and 20 photos in this series. Eleven of them are squares, hexagons or octagons and the rest are edgings or tassels. Let's start with the quilt squares. This first one could be the center of blanket if done in worsted weight and extra borders added around.  Some of these are more open than I would think a blanket should be but they are very pretty.
There are also hexagons if you want something a little different.
How about some edgings to go with the blankets? These are very intricate edgings. I think the Vandyke border is the simplest.
I considered this Stripe in Picot pattern below for my project but ultimately settled on the Square in Rib and Shell pattern. The Stripe in Picot pattern will be my back up plan if the square doesn't go well.  After trying and attempting two other patterns from this series I decided to try the Crochet Shawl in Half Crazy Stitch. The Crazy Stitch has been in a lot of patterns during the series and I wanted to see how it worked. It looks a little like a corner to corner stitch but done in rows.  The pattern says, "This shawl is extremely pretty worked with Shetland wool and a No 10 bone crochet needle after the manner of the shawl from which our engraving is taken; or Pompadour wool can be employed if a handsome wrap is desired regardless of expense; while Andalusian wool is very suitable and will afford greater warmth." Andalusian and Pompadour were probably sports weight yarns and a No 10 hook would have been about 3.5mm or a size E. I chose to use worsted weight acrylic yarn and a 5.0mm hook. I knew I didn't have enough for a shawl so I thought I'd try for a scarf. The directions say to start with whatever length is required. The stitch is done in multiples of four though so if you just start with a random number you may end up pulling a few out at the end. This is the basic stitch pattern: Row 1: 1 single crochet in the second chain from the hook, chain 3, 2 double crochet in the same stitch of the foundation as the single crochet is worked into, *miss three chains, 1 single crochet in the next chain, chain 3, 2 double crochet in the same place and repeat from the * Row 2: 1 chain to turn, 1 single crochet on the first single crochet of the previous row, chain 3, 2 double crochet in the same place, * 1 single crochet on the next single crochet of preceding row, chain 3, 2 dc in the same place and repeat from *, ending with 1 single crochet on the last single crochet of the last row. Repeat Row 2 until you get the size you want (or until you run out of yarn). I thought I had two skeins of the color I grabbed but it turned out one was "Wine Heather" and one was "Red Heather." I got through about four rows before I ran out of yarn but I do like this stitch pattern. The stitch is more like partial shell stitches than corner to corner. It creates little pockets that would keep warmth in very well so I can see why it's used in a lot of patterns. I decided that the border wouldn't look that great in the heavy yarn anyway but I think this would be better with some kind of border. Here's what the half crazy stitch looked like before I rewound it.  Now for scoring:
Is the pattern easy to understand? I didn't go on to the border but the directions for the half crazy stitch were pretty easy to follow. 1.0 Does it look like the photo? I think it does, aside from the missing border 1.0 Would someone wear this? Not what I finished but if I'd followed the directions, yes 1.0 Did I enjoy making this? Yes. This stitch has a lot of potential uses. It would make a super cozy blanket. 1.0 This gets a 4.0!  This series has 22 illustrations for 16 patterns. Twelve of those are garments, two are quilt squares, one is a couvrepied (literally a foot blanket) and one is a doily. Let's start with the useful garments for babies and children. Tricot stitch (Tunisian) is becoming a pretty common stitch for many of the patterns including the bonnet, the boots and the slippers below. The Infant's cape pattern says that would be easily enlarged to a suit a lady. The series includes an enlarged engraving of a section of the cape. 
Lady's useful garments from this series are a regular petticoat, a "warm, fleecy, petticoat", a Shetland Hood, a shooting cap, a shawl, a cuff and some edgings for shawls and a chemise. There is also shooting cap (maybe it would go well with the bag for knitting needles in an earlier series?).
Here are the blanket patterns. While these are all made in thread or fingering weight yarn, I think they could be made in a heavier weight and take much less time.
 I was going to try the shooting cap but by the second round I was lost. Second choice was the Ablemarle square pattern. That was also confusing so I moved on to crochet shawl above in the half crazy stitch. Seemed fitting after trying two patterns that drove me half crazy.
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