Mixed Stitch Crochet Along

This is my latest crochet project.  I've joined in the Mixed Stitch Crochet Along over at Little Woollie blog.  You can read about it at this link on Little Woollie blog.

This is my progress so far.  The green shell stitches with the purple down the middle look a bit puffy to me even though you don't notice it in this photo.  So I have started the whole blanket over again.  I think I did something wrong on the first set of shell stitches.




This one plus the one I've started over are almost wide enough to cover the top of a king sized bed.



I'll show a photo of both blankets together when I get a bit farther on this second one.

Hope you are doing some crocheting today!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit! 

Starting A Babette Blanket

I bought a skein of variegated yarn and a few skeins of some of the solid colors that are in the variegated.  I love all of the Babette Afghans I have seen on the internet.  I've found a few free patterns, but my blocks didn't seem to lie flat.  So I'm trying out my own pattern and will share it with you when I am satisfied with it.  

Let me know what you think.  Do these squares look like the Babette blankets you've seen before?

I think I had better stop and do some planning before I make too any more squares.

I hope you are taking a few stitches today!

Thanks for stopping by.   

Granny Stripe Afghan Progress

I love hearing from my blog readers, and a couple of days ago I was asked a question about my granny stripe afghan tutorial.  The reader wanted to know how many chains to make to start a king-sized granny stripe afghan.  I counted mine and there are 225.  I purposely didn't make this one wide enough to hang down on the sides but to just cover the top of the bed.


 I have had this one in the works for quite a long time, and my last skein of yarn is the green one you see in the photo.  I was about to sew in the ends and stop, but after seeing how close I am to having an afghan large enough to cover the top of our king sized bed, I think I'm going to get some more of the yarn and keep going.  Right now it is wider than it is long, and I was just going to use it with the stripes running vertically.

The tutorial for my Granny Stripe Afghan is listed on my sidebar, or it can be found here.

 

  Hope you can relax and crochet today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Granny Square Blanket Finish

I've finished the granny square blanket using my version of Cath Kidston colors.  I'm not normally a "blue person", but I really like this soft blue  color.



I wasn't quite sure just how to finish the afghan.  It had been awhile since I had done individual granny squares.  I usually just do one giant granny square.  But I did a round of the soft blue around the outside of each block.  Then I stitched the blocks together with a yarn needle.  Next time I plan to try doing a slip stitch with my crochet hook.  I think that would have the same look and be faster.

I crocheted 5 borders of half double crochet stitches around the outside. 

My border is kind of wavy, but I really don't have a place to block an afghan this big unless it would be outside on the deck. 

We use our blankets in the winter, and I think this one will keep somebody nice and warm. 

Now on to another yarn project........

Thanks for visiting! 

Mitered Square Blanket Tutorial Rewrite

I've been working on my mitered square sock yarn blanket and have added lots of photos and explained the directions hopefully a bit better.  My original tutorial is still the same, but I have added more directions to the end.  The tutorial can be found here.   You can also find it by clicking the Mitered Square Blanket Tutorial link on my sidebar under Tutorials and Patterns. 

This is what I have done so far.




In order to take more photos for the tutorial, I've started these two scarves.  The Zig-Zag Scarf on the left with the two offset squares is my daughter's idea.  I'm thinking of reworking the other one on the right to look like the Zig-Zag Scarf. 

 

A lot of the yarn in this basket came from trading with friends. 

 I hope you will check out my tutorial.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

Thanks for visiting!

Cath Kidston Granny Square Afghan Finish

I finished this granny square afghan in Cath Kidston like colors this past week.  A week ago it was a stack of 108 blocks.  We have been without internet and phone for almost 24 hours this past week.  Before I had a chance to get back on my computer, a storm blew through with lots of wind and very little rain, and we lost electricity for a few hours.  But, it was the middle of the afternoon so I was able to sit by a window and join the squares together.

I'm almost finished with the last two rounds of the border.



Here is the join between the squares.  There are several different ways to join granny squares, but I really like the finished look of this method.

First hold two squares wrong sides together.  You will be able to tell the right side of the granny square because the top row of stitches curves toward you as seen in the photo below. 

I really like using this Bryson Tapestry Needle, but any yarn needle will work.  I just attach the yarn with a knot and sew through the inside part of the top row of stitches.

I have a lot of yarn threaded in my needle.  I was sewing a long row to the rest of the afghan. 

This photo shows the up and down stitch going through the two inside loops of each block.  When I come to an intersection, I sew through both loops so there are no gaps or holes there.

When I make granny squares I always work first on one side and then the other, turning my work after each round.  If you continue to always join a new color on the same side of the square, eventually the square gets a kind of twisted, wonky look.  This photo shows how the joining looks from the back side.

 

Happy July 4th.  Be safe and have a wonderful holiday.

Thanks for visiting! 

Granny Squares for Cath Afghan

I've made 108 granny squares with 5 rounds in each square.  That will make a 9 X 12 square afghan. 

I finally decided on how to join my granny squares together.  After deciding on the soft blue color to edge them, I promptly ran out of yarn.  So after a trip back to JoAnns, I have more and am working on the project again. 




I know some of you probably shudder to think that I buy yarn at JoAnns, but when these afghans are used by the family which includes cats, and now a grandbaby, this yarn will hold up and will also go through the laundry just fine. 

Here are a few of the squares with the final blue round. 

 

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!