rectangle Granny Blanket

 I have been busy with my hook. I was able to finish a rectangle granny baby blanket in just a few days! I was super exited! It always takes me forever to complete an afghan project. I love the texture of the blanket, and the yarn I used was super soft. :)  I have already started another one. With the weather being much cooler I will be busy inside where it is nice and warm with my blanket projects!

My Progress so far!

I have been hard at work on my afghan. I am pretty darn determined to actually finish this one in a timely manner. I do also have a few holiday side projects going on as well. My mom just wrote her first pattern. I was so excited for her. I'm going to be helping her to get the pattern listed for sale. Once I have it set up I will include a link for everyone. I am going to be working on this 'ghan for the next few weeks, but I also want to work on a few side projects for the holidays. I just got in a nice big box of holiday yarn, and I am very excited to get it all worked up into holiday pretties for around the house!

Purple Hearts

Remember that bigger and better project? Well, here she is, kids. Man, this thing is so cool! I love that it looks like a normal ripple on one side and it has a million pretty purple hearts on the other. This isn't an easy pattern for me but it is so worth the effort. I had originally planned to give this away, but I might just have to keep it once it is done. I love it that much! Happy Crocheting!

Getting my Afghan on!

I've never been a 'ghan maker, but I have always wanted to be one. In the last 2 weeks I have been working on a couple. Nothing difficult just simple single crochet 'ghans that I can make while watching a movie. After make these I now realize that is like therapy! I love the way the yarn glides between my fingers. I can think about everything or nothing at all. AH! So refreshing! I was so excited that I had completed them I just had to post a picture! The large purple and white one is 40x54 and the smaller baby one is 25x26.5. The purple one is a half started one from when I first learned to crochet so it is kind of like a before and after afghan. Its kind of fun to look back on my little mistakes made in the beginning and see how far I have come.  After completing these 2 I have decided to take on a bigger and better project. I am going to make a Sweetheart Ripple. The Sweetheart Ripple can be found here. I love the look of it! After buying the pattern and figuring out the multiples it is written in I am going to make a toddler sized one! This weather is perfect for crochet. Its very rainy and dark out. Hope everyone else is having an amazing weekend too! 

3 day weekend! :)

I've been working a lot, and I have been too tired to crochet or craft. Crazy, right! I have a brilliant idea that I started working on last week. I wish I could sew better than I currently do. I used to take everything that needed to be sewn to my mom, but she now lives too far away! :( Its getting close to fall, not that the weather would have suggested this. Its been very hot and humid here. So hot that I'd rather sit inside with the shades drawn then have to step out into the suffocating heat! I'm not going to let it kill my holiday spirit. I have been browsing around for holiday crochet already. Its getting so close, and I need enough time to whip out a few things before time runs out. I still have and impossible number of hats to make before Christmas. I'm trying to make enough so that my donation to the charity I chose really counts. I know any thing helps but more is always better! I'm going to enjoy my 3 day weekend and make a few things! Happy hookn!

So you cant read, huh?

I don't ever mind making things for my family and friends, but I sometimes get bogged down with projects. No one ever wants a simple hat they always have to have some complex design that is going to take me weeks or even months to complete. Lets face is I don't have the time or the patients to make a blanket on a dead line no matter how simple the pattern is! I woke the other day to see that my Mom had sent me an email of a cool scarf she had seen. She even provided a link to the pattern. Hint much, Mom? lol I agreed to make it for her. I bought all the supplies yesterday and spent most of the day ciphering the most poorly written pattern I have ever paid for. I cannot get over how awful it is! The charts and written instructions are completely different from one another. I now have to figure out how to piece this whole thing together because I promised I would make her this scarf. I've been starting at the pattern all morning trying to figure out why it says to slip stitch when the picture of the product is clearly done in double crochet!!! I'll figure it out I always do.  SO, here I am angry at this pattern, and I get a text from my mom. Now my sister would like one too. Both my mother and sister know how to crochet, so I ask why she cant make one for her self. Simple answer, we cannot read a pattern. WHAT! Who cant read!?! I am going to break it down and explain how to read a pattern over this post. This is going to be a simple explanation of the basics.
 This is for you, Mom. :)

Pattern reading 101:

• Skill Level √

• Yarn type/weight √

• Basic Stitches√

• Chaining and how to count a Chain√

Skill Level:

Most patterns will tell you what level of skill you need to complete a project. Now skill level is tricky! There is no industry standard for level of skill. I always read through the list of stitches required to complete a project and decide if it is something I know already. If the main stitch is single crochet and it only has a few increases or decreases I would consider it to be Easy. It never hurts to challenge the mind, though. I do sometimes take on patterns I know will have me upset before I can complete them.

Yarn Type/Weight:

All patterns have a list of the yarn and yardage they used. Included is also the weight. You can substitute a yarn of similar likeness.

 Example: If the pattern says:

 Use 2 skein of Simply Soft in blue (315 yds) Medium/Worsted weight. 

 I know I can use any Worsted weight as long as I account for the yards needed. Always check your yardage! Another good idea is to always buy all the yarn needed to complete a project in advance. You don't want to run out of blue only to find out you cant find it anywhere!

Stitches:

Ch  Chain
ST stitch
SC single crochet
HDC half double crochet
DC double crochet
ST slip stitch
sc2tog single crochet 2 together (one decrease) May change for stitches ie dc or hdc
sc2 in one stitch (one increase) may change for stitches ie dc or hdc
(THIS IS ASSUMING YOU KNOW HOW TO COMPLETE EACH STITCH)

Chains:

Ok, now we are ready to crochet!  
Lets say the pattern reads:
1 skein Red Hart Super  Coral  (364 yrd) Medium/Worsted
Size I hook
Gauge is not important. ( on a side not I never worry about the Gauge unless I am making a sweater, gauge is just how many stitches are in x amount of inches. You can alter the gauge by changing hook size or tension on the yarn.)

Row1: CH22
We are going to Chain 22
Row2: HDC in the 2nd st from the hook, HDC in each st across (21 sts)
We are going to half double crochet in the second chain from our hook and then half double crochet all the way to the last stitch. 
Row3: CH1,turn,HDC across (21sts)
Row4-36: repeat Row3
Finish off and weave in all ends.

 

That is it... pretty simple. :)

Crochet from time's past and new projects

hats and afghan start

I've started on a few new things today. I am working on a new blanket, and I am also making hats for the homeless. I tried to rope my mom into helping me make hats with no luck. She said I live to far away for her to raid my yarn stash. :( I guess I am on my own. Its ok, I don't mind taking this project on my own. I am pretty excited that I can do something to help out. I will have to ship out my finished work to other states since it never gets cold here!
I had a co-worker as me to make her daughter a blanket. For those of you who know me, you know very well that I cannot seem to stick with a blanket. I have several blankets in the closet that are all 3/4 of the way done. I seem to be working this one up quickly so wish me luck. Maybe I will just work on it between things. I so desperately want to be an afghan maker!

My baby blanket

I was browsing though some forums today and someone mentioned a Mile a Minute blanket. The Mile a Minute is one of the reasons I crochet today. My Great Grandmother made me a blanket when I was a baby in this style. I grew up with a few of her afghans around the house. My mother always treasured them. They were the blankets that got kept away safe. You always saw them in the top of the closet but no one ever got to use them for fear that someone would hurt them. I'm sure my mom was wise in her actions, I after all was not a perfect child. Because my great grandmother loved to crochet, my mother took an interest in the craft. My mom can now whip up a baby blanket in an afternoon. I always envied my moms many crafting talents, and so I too now crochet. :)

3dc cluster for center