ABC Afghan

Apparently, I never posted this project. It's been a long time. Years.

Twins!

It's time I start keeping better track of my projects again.

Babies were born a while ago, so now seems like the right time. =D

Baby Blanket Gift

Here's a baby blanket that I gave to a friend in...April. Yep, I'm slow.

It's worked from corner to corner (the last one that I did was an EPIC fail--this pattern worked much better!).

It was done holding two strands together. The green-ish/turquoise color is a solid strand of Red Heart and a strand of Bernat Baby with a silver strand running through it and a slight curl to the yarn. The white stripes were solid white Red Heart and a slightly flecked I Love This Yarn sport weight white.

Second-Hand Store Find

I just picked this up the other day with the purpose of taking it apart and using the yarn.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was done holding 2 strands together, so I'll have even more yarn than I originally thought!

Now to decide what to make...

Replacement Blankie

A friend recently contacted me with a desperate plea to crochet her son a replacement blanket. His had been so well-loved that it was literally tied in a knot just to hold it together so that he could continue to snuggle and smell his blanket.

We figured that if he could choose the colors, the transition from old to new would go more smoothly for him. I also hoped to find a pattern that would be similar to the first.

He chose his colors, and I chose some potential patterns. As it turned out, it was all very different from his original, but we still had high hopes that he would be pleased. We also knew that, as it had happened with an older sibling, the acceptance of a replacement would be a long process.

The final product with his choices of red, orange, and blue I Love This Yarn:

Yep, it's just as bright as it looks! What fun when kiddos choose something I never would have thought to put together!

The verdict:
"[His] blanket is awesome!!  Apparently he didn't need any time to get used to it either, he has been carrying it around and was excited to take it to bed with him.  He also wants me to watch it when he isn't able to because he doesn't want anything to happen to it or for [little brother] to drool on it.   "

Haha!!! Music to a crafter's ears.

Baby Blanket in progress

Here's a blanket I've been working on.

Help me out of this quandary. My friend lives kind of far away and is expecting sometime this month. I figured Red, White, and Blue would work well since they don't know if it is a boy or girl. However, I had hoped to have it finished and in the mail so they would get it around the 4th of July before baby was born. I'm not finished, so it's not going to be in the mail anytime soon.

My question for you: should I wait until baby is born and just send a pink or blue blanket? Or should I send this one anyway even though baby could be born weeks after Independence Day?

Ugly Blanket -Bright Colors

Ugly Blanket #2 is complete...and the ideas for #3 are already churning. =)

It's perfect for a twin bed. The 2 variegated colors are VERY fuzzy. Super soft and cozy. The edging is done in a thinner yarn with a picot edging to finish it off.

This was an interesting pattern to do. Even though it was intended to be ugly in using up scraps of yarn, I actually had to be quite picky about what I could use because it had to be enough yarn to complete at least 2 rows in the pattern. The next one won't follow such a strict design. I'm writing a new pattern for the next one that will probably be wide again and warmer colors. But who knows what yarns I'll have available partway through it? It may just evolve in colors as I go.

Blue and Brown Baby Blanket

This is a baby blanket that I finished in the spring for some friends of ours. Baby boy was born in June, so he probably hasn't needed it yet!

It's done in I Love This Yarn, sport weight, so it's quite light and flimsy.

It's hard to tell the pattern with the variegated yarn in there, but that's probably why it suggested a variegated and solid color choice. The panels alternate in 3dc shells for 5 rows and 3 V-stitch rows with solid dc rows in between.

Isn't it funny to see how the variegated yarn creates patterns when you look at the finished product in a picture?

Rummage Sale Baby Blankets

Last Saturday, a friend invited me to go along with her to a church hosting a children's items rummage sale. My boys had been out late for a baseball game the night before and were still resting, so it was a good time to pop out for a bit.

Just before we were done, we wandered over to a table that held a lot of bedding items. I noticed some handmade blankets, and it initially made me very sad that someone had taken the time to create these blankets only to have them end up in a rummage sale. I wanted to buy them just to appreciate the workmanship! Then I realized that if they weren't kept for one reason or another, I could at least frog them and reuse the yarn in my Ugly Blanket or something.

So I bought them.

I still feel a little guilty about how cheap they were and that my whole intention was not to use them but to take them apart!

Oh, what to do?!?!

This one is a crocheted blanket that got a little wonky in sizing. The yarn seems to be in pretty good shape with only a spot or two that seems fuzzy.

Also a crocheted blanket, this one is the smallest. It's made from a very bulky yarn, so it may not work into my Ugly Blanket very well. Maybe it will be used for something else. This was actually in a bag that held 2 handmade blankets and one store-bought blanket, so I figured it was still worth it.

This last one is a knit blanket. Clearly a lot of time and work went into this one. Especially since I don't knit and admire those that do, this one is the one that is screaming at me most for having the audacity to take it apart. But I really love the color! Once i got it home and took a closer look, I realized that it is two strands worked together. A warm and cozy blanket for sure!

Have you ever done this before? Have you found good quality yarn? What would you do?

Bright Ugly Blanket

I've started a new Ugly Blanket, and here's my progress so far:

That reminds me, I never posted a final picture of my completed Original Ugly Blanket! I'll have to snap one soon.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that fuzzy row (and another one coming) will be the highlight of this one. =)

Little Quackers Pattern

I recently tested this pattern for Lazy Daisy Crochet. It's Quackers the Baby Duck, and he's a smaller sized cuddle blanket.

Look how cute he is!

I keep thinking he needs some little smile lines around his beak to make him even cuter. But I hate to mess with a good thing!

Her pattern is for sale here. Go check out her blog --she has some amazing giveaways pretty regularly! She's currently celebrating her followers with a great giveaway package.

Chocolate Raspberry Torte ...Afghan

Separate thoughts that will eventually converge:

Thought 1: I generally stray away from panel patterns on afghans. The only one I had ever done was to highlight a gorgeous variegated Christmas yarn I found one year. It stretched my abilities, but it's very pretty, so we love it.

Thought 2: I've had my eye on a pattern for quite a while, and I wanted to get my yarn when the sales were just right. It's just a chunky afghan that's done with two strands together. It's very warm and functional but requires much yarn. I received some gift cards and figured that would be a perfect use!

We picked up the yarn, and hubby picked out the colors. He's good at that sort of thing. The colors were so pretty that I started second-guessing my pattern choice.

Uh oh.

Well, I picked out several patterns online and a book of patterns, and I asked hubby what pattern he liked for the colors he picked.

Thoughts converge: He picked a panel pattern. We both loved it for the colors.

10 days later...

Behold the Chocolate Raspberry Torte Afghan! It's very warm, and saying its name makes you hungry for some sweets!

It's a perfect mix of pretty and practical. Such warmth!

How do you feel about panel patterns? Do you love them? Hate them? Never try them?

I have a niece!

My new baby niece was born last night!!! Yay!!

I would love to show you a picture of the blanket and headband that I made for her, but somehow hubby or I took the pictures and erased them before they made it to the computer. =(

We'll have to see if the new mama can take a quick pic with the beautiful baby sometime!

On that note, her blanket was made with the very special Great Great Grandma Ginny stitch. I'll be posting about that once I have some pictures.

Jewel Afghan - Complete

Finally!!!!

It's done.

The final afghan is slightly wider than a twin bed and more narrow than a queen size bed. The shape is quite normal, but the tiny house prohibits a good picture of it on a bed.

Boy am I glad that it is done!

Ugly Blanket Progress

One of my favorite projects got some TLC recently:

This picture needed some sort of perspective, but it's too hard to take a picture while laying down next to it. ;-) It's growing and growing! Since it could be done soon, it's time to start laying out the yarn choices for the next one that will be a bit smaller  (more twin-bed size). Can't wait!

Baby Girl Blanket and Headband

Is it because summer is winding down that all of us are so determined to finish off various projects? School is almost starting and craziness will begin again? Back to schedules and calendars and much less free time? Whatever the reason, it's good to accomplish projects that have been waiting around, and I'm determined to put away certain ones to make room for something new.

We were headed out for camping this weekend, and I knew there were certain items I didn't want to drag along with me (more on that later). On Thursday night, I wanted to finish a project I had started with that fantastic yarn deal from earlier this summer.

Here is the Ocean Tranquility Afghan from Anastacia Knits.

I decided on a color changing pattern rather than one solid color. I also made it slightly bigger than the suggested baby blanket size using a Size H hook and beginning with Ch 93 rather than Ch 63.

I really liked this pattern! It was fun, simple, and it came together so quickly even with adding the color change in there.

When I finished, I had just enough yarn leftover to make a matching baby headband.

Here it is not-yet-assembled. Now it's time to find a really great button to put in there to make it perfect for a little girl.

Once I finished that blanket, I had to rush around to figure out what project I did want to work on while camping... oops. Plan ahead! I figured it out though, no worries.

Jewel Afghan progress

I'm forever finding new projects that I want to start or a new method I want to try, but at the same time, I'm a little bit of a perfectionist (hey, friends and family, no comments from the peanut gallery, please!). Leaving something unfinished will start to grate on me.

As we were doing our rearranging and cleaning last week, I unearthed my Jewel Afghan. I'm determined to finish!

A lot of progress was made over the weekend.

Here's the most recent picture.

I really hope it's done soon. I like the way it looks, but I'm not a huge fan of the pattern. It's not mindless enough.

There's another WIP that I'll have to update, then I'll get to fill you in on my big plans for the No-Longer-A-Mystery Stitch! Yay!

Both sides of Mystery Stitch

I think we're getting closer to figuring this one out! While I'm trying out a sample, here's the promised pictures.

Side 1:

Side 2:

The sample will be coming soon!

Baby Girl Blanket

Glancing through old pictures, I came across a baby blanket I made for a friend a few years ago. It was a fun project and sort of a mystery. There wasn't a picture, so I just blindly followed a pattern. Very unusual way for me to pick a project, but I loved the finished product!

Notice that little pile of yarn? Yep, that's the extent of my leftover yarn when I finished. Wow! Cutting it close!

I really loved the edging for it, too.

With a niece on the way soon (YEAH!!!), little girl projects are on the brain. Do you have any favorites?

Still no luck on that stitch yet... I'll keep you posted.

A New Stitch

Back in April, I showed you a very special afghan that was crocheted for my hubby by his great-grandmother when he was just a boy.

He told me that his mom had asked him for his favorite colors knowing that Great-Grandma would be using them to crochet him a blanket. When he said blue and black, she tried to talk him out of it. =) It's perfect and great for any boy, right?!

A while back, we put it on our boy's bed for him to use. One day, he decided to pull off a bunch of the tassels. I was heartbroken to have to break the news to hubby, but also a little intimidated to be the one to have to fix the beautiful work of this dear and wonderful lady. Tassels fixed, it now stays out of his room.

For years, I've looked at this afghan, and I've admired the stitches on it. It looks very simple but sturdy and warm. I've never been able to figure out how she did it. I'm certainly not a pro-crocheter, but I would (humbly) say I know a few things about some different stitches. This one had me flummoxed.

This weekend, we were camping, and my mother-in-law gave us an extra blanket. It was another gorgeous light blue and white one made by Great-Grandma. I commented on how much I love her afghans but haven't figured out the stitch yet. She told me, "Yeah, I wish I remember how she did it! All I know is it's called a broomstick stitch."

OK, duh. Why did I never ask her if she knew the name of the stitch?!

Have any of you ever done the Broomstick Stitch? Was it used a lot in those years or was it just a special stitch Great-Grandma happened to like? Anyway, I guess I'm off to check the internet to hopefully learn a new stitch! I'll keep you posted with what I find. I have a long way to go if I'm ever going to be as great as she was!

EDIT: Everything I've found so far is definitely not the same stitch... Any advice? Should I take a macro pic?