Blessing Blanket

I told myself I would only do 30 minutes computer time specifically for blogging, encouraging me to actually work on blogging and not get distracted by other things (*ahem* Pinterest). I actually did SO good that I used all of my 30 minutes just updating my normal blog. I now give myself an hour from the starting point, meaning I have 20 minutes to write these two posts.

But oh, what good posts they are!!

Baby Girl Blessing Blanket

(Yes, I crochet at work a lot!)

This is when I decided to finish off and make it a square. Border/edging is added but ends haven't been woven in yet.

Close up of a corner.

Hailey needed to test it out to see if it was big enough. I think it passed the test!

Finished!

Finished with scissors showing scale (say that 5 times fast!).

Corner detail.

Showing border and corner.

As you know, I have been working diligently on a blessing blanket for my good friend Whitney, who is due with Baby Girl in June. I was so excited to start in back in April that I went straight to the store, found the first beautiful white Weight 3 yarn I could find, and got to work! I also used one of the lace patterns found all over Pinterest (it's the 262 lace crochet patterns or something like that). Here's a pretty good link. I did Pattern #160. It was very simple and very easy to calculate. I used a size G hook and I think I chained about 120 for my starting point. The work up was very fast and every easy. My only qualm was that the particular yarn I chose, although very pretty, had a small shiny piece that was woven throughout the yarn and many many times I got my hook caught on that. Other than that, though, it was a very nice blanket to do! I then finished off with my own border of holes for the ribbon, and then used Pattern #225 for the edging! I actually had to make the blanket a square because I had started the foundation chain so long, but it still turned out very, very nice. I used a light pink ribbon, 1/4" width. The cost was very minimum and the beauty was great. It reminds me of a soft fluffy sheep! And Whitney loved it, so I am happy!

One very important thing to remember is when you are using ribbons in your borders, to always, ALWAYS stitch the bow to the blanket. This will secure the bow itself (there's is going to be a lot of handling and you don't want that bow to come undone!) and attaches the bow to the blanket so it doesn't slide around all over the place. I am very glad I learned this at the last minute or I just know the blanket would have been a disaster later down the road!

Again, I am very pleased with the way this blanket turned out and I would make another one in a heartbeat. Oh! Plus! This blanket did not use nearly as much yarn as I thought it would, so I am actually left with almost a whole skein! Yes!

I would be excited to see this blanket done with a light blue ribbon, or maybe even green or purple. Other things I would change would be to make it rectangular like I originally planned and make a thicker boarder. All the fun possibilities!

It's been a while.... da da da...I don't remember the lyrics...

But yes! Hello and here I am! I'm really just writing out of courtesy right now. I have pictures, but I don't want to share them yet because I can't be having the recipient seeing what they're going to be getting before they get it!

I have 3 current projects and am already itching to start a million more!! Burpcloths, granny squares, throw pillow covers, you name it! Colors, cotton, yarn, yarn store in Provo, what??!

First Project...chevron. Mustard yellow and off white. It's going to be big and it's going to be awesome. I won't even begin to go into my frustrations with it, though. The less you know, the better...

Second...granny square!!! I've tried to avoid the granny square because I honestly just think they're ugly, but when done right?? Oh man oh man! So many colors to choose from! This one is a sunburst granny. I am SO excited for it.

Third...a beautifully lacy pattern that I found on Pinterest and just kind of made up as I went. I made the blanket the size that I wanted, then improvised a border that could hold a ribbon. The final edging actually comes from the same website as the whole blanket. White, so soft and fluffy it reminds me of a sheep, and pink ribbon. For blessing a baby, or whatever you want to do. I've dedicated most of my time to this one lately because this one is due to the recipient first!

And lastly...I just love crocheting. Have I ever told you that?

Red Heart, How Our Love is Bittersweet.

Those of you who work with yarn must know what Red Heart is. If you don't, I don't know where you've been.

Red Heart is the cheap yarn of all cheap yarns. It's acrylic, normal 4-ply, and I-T-C-H-Y. Scratchy. Rough 'n tumblin. It's exactly like that afghan from your grandma that you hate using because it's too itchy. But it is cheap, in more ways than one, and highly affordable. Plus, it comes in all sorts of fun colors!

Then there's I Love This Yarn by Hobby Lobby. I love that yarn. Much softer, but a dollar or two more expensive. When you have to buy 4 skeins at a time, those extra dollars add up.

And then there's Caron. Beautifully soft and shiny, but every crocheters nightmare to work with! Splits like you wouldn't believe! Also a dollar or two more expensive.

And there is also I Love This Cotton which I would LOVE to make a blanket in cotton but honestly? $3+/skein for less than what you get for acrylic...it's just hard to justify the purchase. At least if you're someone on a budget.

And so that was my thought process when it came to making a blanket for my sweet sis. What did I choose? The Red Heart.

Halfway done with the blanket and with every row I add on, I think, "Why oh why did I buy the Red Heart???" Maybe the vintage itch goes with the vintage colors. Maybe she won't care because she's not a baby and doesn't need it baby's-bum soft. But now I'm regretting using this yarn and I haven't even told her!

So anyway, back to the point of this post. I found how to soften yarn!! This lovely article on Craft Sauce shared how to do it, and apparently it works wonders! My only problem is, dare I try it on a 4' x 6' blanket?

What do you think??

Blue "Drops" Blanket

I finished my "Drops" blanket for Traci, who is due March 24! I love this girl - we had the same due date, the same husband's name, the same baby's name...it's so fun!

I found this beautiful pattern on Pinterest (ok...I love Pinterest, what can I say). It comes from a website that I mentioned in an earlier post, and for some reason, it is in their group of patterns called "Drops" patterns. Anyway, the name stuck with me and I will now always refer to this particular type of blanket as my "drops" blanket.

I should have realized this was going to be such a huge undertaking. You have to make 20 individual squares, much like a granny square blanket, and sew them all together. I have never made anything like that before, so to stay on the safe side, I slipped stitched the squares together with my hook. It turned out with a beautiful ridge, but it really pulled the squares together more than I wanted it to. Unfortunately, the blanket does not lay as flat as I would like because of it (you have to really smooth it out on the floor to get a good look at it), but I think it still turned out alright.

I will also say that in sewing together squares, don't do it the way I did it! I would combine two squares together and cut the yarn! Then I would add another square and cut the yarn! DON'T DO THIS!!! If you want to save yourself any sanity, sew all the way through the row and then cut the yarn. It might seem weird, but trust me, it will save you a lot of time in the end when you're weaving everything in.

But all in all, I think the blanket turned out really well. Small, but well.

I used size G hook and Caron Simply Soft yarn, Country Blue. Beautiful yarn, but rather annoying that it came unraveled so easily.

Here it is! I hope she enjoys it!

Show & Tell

Since none of my current projects are finished, I'll take a time to have a little Show & Tell!

Today's little gem comes from a blog called "Alli Crafts" (link to free pattern here). I had just started picking crochet back up (around April/May last year?) and decided I really needed something to store all my hooks in. My mother-in-law actually has this really nice case with a zipper, but I didn't want to spend any extra money on this. So I did some Googling, picked up some old yarn that I had, and started to work!

These are just phone pictures, so sorry they're not the best!

Alli Crafts, like a lot of other people, came up with her design by using the star stitch (found on The Crochet Spot Blog). It's basically just a rectangular block full of star stitches!

I added the border just to give it a little more of a finished work. I LOVE this case because the holes are perfectly lined up and just snug enough to hold even my smallest hook (size 6). It even holds my tapestry needle!

I also love that now all of my hooks are in one place. I love the bold/dark color, making it easy to find and stands out against most of the yarn I usually have.

Like I said, I love my crochet holder and am so glad I made it. Check Alli Crafts out for her free pattern - you'll be happy you did!

Beautiful

I've never done this kind of crocheting before. I've always stuck with the simple, bulky-type looks. I've never ventured into the lace side of crochet before. Not that this is really lace, but it is closer than anything else I've ever done. I found this pattern on Pinterest and it can be found on this website www.garnstudio.com. The direct link is here. Anyway, it took me a couple practices to get this right. Before I had the yarn for the blanket I am going to make, I only had crochet thread. Which still worked out very nicely! Here is a sample of one of my practices. I did finally get the yarn and I'll hopefully be done with the blanket around Wednesday next week.

Isn't it beautiful??

And now I just can't help myself whenever I see a beautiful lace alter cover! I'll admit that I was a little focused on that during last night's session. But come on, haven't you ever wondered how those covers are made, too??

Also learning this makes me want to learn tatting. I wonder if I know anybody that can teach me...

Having Fun!

What do you do when the house is messy and your daughter is happy? You crochet! And take pictures of it, of course!

If you're wondering what I'm making - it's the backing of a throw pillow! I am so excited about these pillows!

I just love her face here!

Such a happy girl - we had such a fun time that morning!