Share a Square #9

This is the Irish Ivy Rose. First time I've ever done the Bullion stitch. It was a little tricky at first, but if you just take your time, it's not that bad. Oh, and picking the loops off the hook one by one is DEFINITELY a lot easier than trying to wiggle and wedge the hook through them.

It wasn't until I had it all done and the ends woven in that I realized my ivy leafs aren't quite right. The clusters of dc and trc are supposed to be three st clustered together, not two. LOL Guess that'll teach me NOT to do these things at 10:30 at night while my eyes are drooping. ;)

Oh well, It still looks pretty and I'm not about to take it all apart to do those over. :oÞž

Mine, of course, came out a little small, so I added a rnd of hdc between the last two rnds. Oh, and did anyone else's bullion flower come out... poofy? Mine is VERY raised from the "surface" of the square. This happend in doing the 2dc clusters around it in Rnd 3. Maybe I did my bullions a little TOO loose where they didn't match my gauge for the regular stitches. Something to think about for next time... Use a smaller hook for the buillions and switch to the called-for hook for the rest.

On another note, I put a wish on the Wish Upon a Star forum on CAL Pals and Diane granted it! What a sweetheart! So now I have a pattern for a thread teddy bear named Berty. I can't wait to get started on him. He'll be so TINY! Finished size is 2 and 3/8 inches tall -- small enough to fit in your hand! I've been wanting to do one of these for a while! This will be my first real foray into thread crochet. I've done a little bit of crocheting with DMC embroidery floss and a B hook, which I liked, but I think this will be a little different. I'm going to go out today and get the supplies I need for my bear - if the weather doesn't get too bad.

Anyone have any ideas on some good soft thread to get, size #30? I'd like to make him soft or even a bit fuzzy and since I've no idea about brands and types of thread, I'd greatly welcome any suggestions or tips.

Thanks in advance! Oh, and watch back for progress! Also, I have pictures of three little somethings I'm just *itching* to show, but I still have to wait. So keep checking back for those, too!

I will show a couple of teaser pics, though:

Little thing #1 with Lion Brand VelvetSpun (I loved working with this)

















And little thing #2 with Bernat Softee Baby












And little thing #3 I can't show yet. Soon, though!!

Share a Square #8

The Pinwheel Star square. Easily my favorite of all the 6" square patterns I've looked at. This one was Brandy's choice, but it was also the same one I was going to pick for when it was my turn! lol Great minds think alike, eh, Brandy?

This was pretty easy to do once you get the feel for it. I really love how it turned out. The pinwheel is really self-forming. The secret to this square is that it's really a LOT easier than it looks. The most time consuming thing on it was working in the back ridges of the stitch around the star, but that's about it.

Now I'll have to choose another for when it's my turn ;)

Share a Square #7

This is the Gothic Square Pattern. It was Wednesday's square but I didn't have a chance to work on it till today.

I liked this one a lot! Oh, and Julie, if you're reading this, I used that red H hook you sent me!! Thank you again for that!!

Survivor Game

Here's a button for our team, ladies!

Share a Square #6

This is the Antique Pearls Square. So so pretty!

It's got GREAT texture and worked up pretty quickly and easily. Mine came out a little small so I had to add an extra rnd of sc around it.

I LOVE doing these squares!

It's Memorial Day today. Take a moment to remember...

Share a Square #5

The Daisy Square. This one was so fast!

I wasn't sure if I was going to get to do this one. We've had a busy weekend so far and I've been working on my part of the CAL Pals Survivor Game. But I had some time last night and thought I'd give it a try.

I'm pleased with how it came out! I used Bernat Softee Baby in Pink, Mint Green, and White, and Red Heart Soft Baby in Yellow. All of these I used doubled up with Bernat Baby Fingering weight yarn in White (to make it close to worsted weight.) It still came out a bit small, so I did another row of grannys around, then a pink border of hdc and then the green sc around the edge. With the colors being doubled up with white, it not only made it thicker, it also paled the colors down a little bit, which I think is quite pretty.

And now for a little teaser: I also finished something else just this morning, but I have to wait to display that. But I WILL tell you that it's adorable! Check back soon!

The Storm

We had quite a thunderstorm here tonight. It started while the sun was still up to give us a strange yellow-green sky. Then out popped a rainbow! Albeit a very faint rainbow, but a rainbow nonetheless! My sons were SO excited.













I love fisheye lenses!! Mine made it possible to get the whole rainbow (except the part hiding behind my neighbor's garage) :oP

And here's a shot of the rainbow behind my 7 year old's pot of pansies:













And of course, the "money shot." The lightning we were having was just a TRIP! It would just come out like spider webs and travel all across the sky. It was NUTS! I tried to get some pics of it, but being that it was still twilight out, the lightning doesn't show up as well as I'd like it to. But you can see some of it :) (if you click the pic, it's bigger with more detail.)

Share a Square #4

Square #4 is the "Carousel Square". It's so cute! Mine came out a little big, so I had to leave rounds 9 and 10 off. The reason why it came out big was because I used sport weight yarn in purple doubled with fingering weight yarn in white and that's about the same thickness as Red Heart worsted weight (which is much thicker than Caron Simply Soft worsted weight.)

Anyway, since my gauge seems to be a bit small on all of these square patterns so far, I used an H hook. LOL Well for the first time, I came out a tad big!

Oh well, it looks pretty.

I'm going to do another one in blue and white with Caron SS. I so want to try the multi colored look with this square. Before I started this one, I saw the note that said color changes were a bit tricky with this square, so I thought I'd try it in a solid color first. I think I get how to do it, so I'm off to do that now.

I'll update this post later with a pic if I get it done ;) Wish me luck!

I'm back! ;)

It wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. This time I used Caron Simply Soft in Lt Country Blue and White. The front:













And here it is from the back (I hope this one's useful)













All together this is a really neat square! I like both versions and they both show off the pattern in different ways. That to me makes this one a definite winner. Nice pick, Linda!

Share a Square #2 & #3

This one is the "Tropical Spring" square for the Share-A-Square thread on CAL Pals. Such a pretty pattern, although I did have to add a round of sc because mine came out a little small. *blush*

I really like these! They don't take long at all and talk about your instant gratification fix! :)

And I finally got a use for this obnoxious conch shell my husband and I bought on our honeymoon in Jamaica -- not because we wanted to buy it, but because the guy wouldn't let us GO until we did. Geez, those people down there are intense! But that's a story for another time ;)













And this is square #3. It's called "Tic Tac Toe".
A neat square to do and it worked up quickly.

These are fun little projects and I'm really enjoying them!

Share a Square #1

Julie started a thread with a great idea on CAL Pals - everyone does the same patterns (voluntarily of course) for 6" squares and on a certain date we mail them to her with tags on them labeling our name. They will later be assembled into an afghan. After that she'll draw from a hat one of the tags that came off one of the squares and that person will be lucky enough to receive the completed afghan!

The first square pattern is called the "Fisherman's Ring." At first I had a bit of trouble: it doesn't tell you on that first sc after the first cable is made to sc BEHIND the cable. I did my first two in front, saw it looked COMPLETELY wrong, and saw further in the instructions to sc behind the cable. Why didn't they put that first? LOL Frog frog frog and start again with the first cable. This time it's coming out right!

After that it was smooth sailing.... until.... I noticed that I was running low on yarn. I thought I had enough on the end of the skein to do the square, but nope, I was going to be short by about half the square. So I decided to try something different. Instead of tying a knot to join the two skeins, or dropping one and picking up the other (which I just don't trust - who says it won't pull loose???) I thought I'd try out the "Russian Join Method." It made the yarn just a tad more bulky than it normally is, but nothing too bad. I don't think it's noticeable on the finished product unless you're looking for it.

For the picture, I was going to just photograph the square, but then I thought I'd bring a little color splash in to really pop the blue. :)

Can't wait for the next square pattern!

Tumbling Blocks

Boy what a trip! This is going to be for my 7 year old son, Tyler. He needs a more "grown up" afghan now that he's getting to be quite a little young man. After I'd done the Prairie Star for my niece, and also the Tumbling Block quare for the Comfort Squares, I thought I'd try to do a full afghan. Since this could be achieved by using the same diamond pattern from the Prairie Star, I thought it would be pretty easy to just wing it with the pattern on this one.

So far, everything's going really well. It's pretty quick work and I LOVE the colors I picked out for him. I'm using Caron Simply Soft in White, Lt Country Blue, and Country Blue.

I think maybe three more blocks wide on the bottom row and that should be good for width. I'm not sure exactly how many high yet.

As for the edging, I've got something totally different from anything I've ever done before. I taught myself the reverse single crochet the other day and I'm SO excited. I was really hesitant about that stitch because I'd heard so many people complain how they hated it. I thought for sure it MUST be difficult. BUT - it's amazing the things you'll try out of sheer boredom. LOL The other night I picked up a scrap piece of yarn about 3 yards long, chained 10, did a row of sc, then did the reverse sc. I LOVE the look and I think it will be a nice accent border for this afghan. I don't want anything fancy since I don't want to take the focus away from those blocks (although it's hard to think of ANYthing that could take your eyes off of those -- they're demanding!) and the reverse sc is a nice little accent with enough simplicity to work.

I'm not sure when I'll give this to him - his birthday's not until November. I don't think I'll be able to hold out that long! ;)

Here's a close up of the blocks: Oh by the way, please excuse the end tails curled on the diamonds.... I haven't woven them in yet *sheepish blush*

Alternative Diamond Instructions

Long half diamond

ch 4, join w ss to make ring.

Row 1 - ch 6 (makes tr + 2) tr, dc, hdc, sc, hdc, dc, tr, ch 2, tr, ch 5 and turn.

Row 2 - 3 dc in ch loop, dc in next 3 st, (dc, ch 2, dc) in next st, dc in next 3, 3 dc in ch loop, ch 2, dc, ch 5 and turn.

Row 3 - (joining row) with wrong sides together, sc in ch 5 loop on completed motif (join made), ch 2, 3 dc in c 5 loop of half diamond motif, sc in ch 1 sp on completed motif, skip next dc on half diamond, ( join made), dc in next 3 dc, join, dc in next 2 dc, dc in ch 3 loop, ch 1, sc to join, ch 1, dc in same ch 3 loop sp, dc in next 2 dc, join, dc in next 3 dc, join, 3 dc in ch 5 loop, ch 2, sc in ch 5 loop on completed motif, ch 5, ss in top of ch 3 on row 2.

-----

Quarter diamond A

ch 4, join w ss to make ring.

Row 1 - ch 6, tr, dc, hdc, sc, ch 4 and turn.

Row 2 - dc in sc, dc in next 3 st, 3 dc in ch loop, ch 2, dc in top of ch 4 sp. ch 5 and turn.

Row 3 - (joining row) with wrong sides together, sc in ch 5 loop on completed motif, ch 2, 3 dc in ch loop on incomplete motif, sc in ch 1 sp of completed motif, sk next dc on incomplete motif (join made), dc in next 3 dc, join, skip next dc on incomplete motif, dc in next 2 dc, dc in ch sp, ch 1, join, ch 4, ss in top of ch 3 on row 2.

-----

Quarter diamond B

ch 4, join w ss to make ring.

Row 1 - ch 1, sc, hdc, dc, tr, ch 2, tr. ch 5 and turn.

Row 2 - 3 dc in ch loop, dc in next 3 st, dc in last sc, ch 1, dc in same sc sp. ch 4 and turn

Row 3 - (joining row) with wrong sides together, sc in ch loop on completed motif, ch 1, dc in same ch sp on incomplete motif, dc in next 2 dc, sc in ch 1 sp on completed motif, sk next dc on incomplete motif, dc in next 3 dc, join, sk next dc on incomplete motif, 3 dc in ch loop, ch 2, join, ch 4 and ss in top of ch 3 on row 2.

Comfort Squares!

I've been working on these leisurely for the last few days. They've been fun and a nice break from large projects (and, ahem, sewing stars.) ;)

I've used Caron Simply Soft in Off White, Victorian Rose, and Plum Wine. Just some leftovers I had lying around from other projects.

The 1st one I did was in the lower right hand corner after being inspired by comfort squares that *Brandy* had done. I joined them as I went (like she did) and then did a round of sc, a rnd of granny stitches, and another rnd of sc to measure 12".

The 2nd one was the one in the upper right hand corner. Just your basic granny squares joined with the flat braid method (which I just love.) And then a rnd of sc, ch1, sc, another rnd of sc, ch 1, sc in color B, then the final rnd of sc, ch 1, sc in color A. ( If I remember correctly, this is called the "seed stitch".) I liked how it looked and how it complemented the flat braid join nicely.

The 3rd one was the upper left hand corner. Basically that one was the middle 6 diamonds of the Prairie Star pattern that I put together a couple of weeks ago to help Julie out when she was wondering how the join at the center should look. It's been sitting here and I wasn't planning on doing a PS with that color, so I thought I'd see if I could make a 12" square out of it. It worked! I had to modify the diamonds in two different ways to get it to have a straight edge. I did a half diamond in the long way (rather than the short way that the PS pattern has you do half diamonds) and then I did a quarter of the diamond for the final corners. Then two rnds of sc in color B and a final rnd of sc in color A to make it 12". I REALLY like how this one turned out.

The 4th one is the one in the lower left hand corner. It's supposed to look like the tumbling blocks pattern, but not too easily seen with these colors. It's the same layout as the 3rd one, just with different color arrangements with the diamonds. I really like how this one came out too, and will probably now do an entire afghan to look like the tumbling blocks.

I looked at some 12" square patterns on the net, but in the end I had a good time working these out on my own. It was fun to just really let loose and see where creativity could take me.

These will all be sent to *The Crochet Dude* for the *Heartmade Blessings Comfort Afghans*. I've been meaning to do some of these for a while, and while avoiding sewing stars on seemed like the perfect time ;)

Gerbera Smiles

Pretty Gerbera Daisy - I just love these!

This was one of the ones my mother in law had in pots on her deck. They're SUCH pretty flowers and as one of her friends said - they always look like they're smiling at you.

Nothing wrong with that! After such a long and busy weekend, it's nice to have extra smiles come in.

Well, I'm off. Have a ton of housework to do (all that stuff that needs to be put away after a long weekend away from home - yuck.) I'll check back in later!

Blossoms in IR

The cherry tree outside has started to bloom! These blossoms are a dark pink in color, but through one of my favorite types of photography (Infrared {IR}) they look white. Since so much outside is finally getting foliage, I'll definitely be doing more IR photos. :)

An update on my flag: I'm slowly making way on these stars. A number of factors keep me from doing more than 2 or 3 in one sitting: it gets boring, my knees hurt, it gets boring, my back starts screaming, it gets boring, there's some new posts to read on CAL Pals, oh, did I mention it gets boring? ;) I'll be out of town for the weekend, so I'll have a nice break from it and will hopefully be able to come back on Monday to look at it with fresh eyes.

Right. ;) We'll see. I *would* like to have it done by the beginning of June. I fear if it goes longer than that, it might become a UFO. *gasp*

I've Got You Pinned

A teaser pic, basically, of what it's going to look like. I've only got 6 stars sewn on - the rest are pinned (you can see the safety pins if you look closely enough) ;)

I'm taking a break for a while as my back is killing me. I have to work on this while it lays flat on the floor so I can only do a few at a time. It'll be a slooooooow process. :)

Well I guess I should go sew a couple of stars on. I figure I'd like to do at least 5 a day. :)

Stars!

:) I've got 30 done now. Yay! On to the last 20!

The Gift

A present from my 4 year old. :)

He was outside playing tonight with my husband and our 7 year old. I heard the door open and he came in saying he had a flower for me. I was totally expecting it to be another dandelion -- my 7 year old brings these "flowers" to me proudly on a regular basis and whatever he does, the 4 year old follows suit. I haven't the heart to tell them they're not really flowers but weeds. It would break their hearts and it's such a sweet gesture, so I lovingly put my "treasures" in water. :)

Anyway, he came in with this and presented me with a perfect daffodil that he'd picked from outside. So pretty! And boy was he proud of his gift! His eyes were glowing with love that made my heart just want to burst. He's so sweet!

So of course I had to take pictures to have a memory of the first time he's brought me a flower.

In shooting, I liked the way the petals were backlit from underneath from laying on my lightbox, so I shot a tight macro of just that.

Such a perfect perfect gift.

Prairie Star, take 2 and a half ;)

Updated due to discontinued color and one that wasn't true to tone.

Prairie Star, take 2

My possible color palette for a Prairie Star afghan for myself.

I wanted neutral tones with some soft greens because I LOVE green (especially sages.) I put together several other possible palette choices (see below) but just kept coming back to this one.

Someday maybe I'll do the blue and green palette group. :)

Ripple-Along

For the Ripple-Along CAL at Crochetville. I'm using Bernat Baby Coordinates in white, baby pink, and sweet pink.

I started this a few weeks ago and then put it down for the Crochet-A-Quilt CAL. I want to do the Patriotic CAL, too, but not until I've got this one done. I need to get some of these UFO's out of here and either gift them or donate them. They are taking over my living room!! lol ;)

Rainbow Sunrise

Isn't this a pretty sight to wake up to? This was the sky off our balcony this morning.

It only lasted just long enough for me to notice it then get my camera and take a few shots. After that, the sun had risen higher and those beautiful hues of golden and blue were gone.

A nice start to what will hopefully be a great day. Hubby and I are packing the boys up and going down to Chicago to see the White Sox host the Kansas City Royals. I'm SO excited. I haven't seen the Sox play live since 2002. We used to go every year, but things have been hectic the last few years. But since hubby is on vacation and our oldest son is on Spring Break this week, we thought it was the perfect chance.

Happy Easter!

Have a wonderful Easter, all!

The Grand Finale!

And here it is, all completed, and just in time, too! :)

Ya'll I'm SO happy this is done! There was a while there where I was convinced I was laboring for nothing, but I'm happy to say that it's all done, ends are woven in, and now it's off to my niece's party!

I can't wait till she opens it.

I'm so excited because this was my first small motif afghan and I did it! I've been in fear of these because all the ones I'd found were sewing together assembly. These join-as-you-go patterns are a much better fit for me. :)

Here's a closer look to see the border and all the colors:

















And here's something I think is interesting: a progress chart I made up from my photos. The anal mathmatic nut inside me going, you know? ;) (click photo for larger size)

An End in Sight

Diamonds are DONE!!!!

YAY! Now just to try to do all of the blue border tonight and maybe start weaving in some of these ends. The rest of the ends I'll do tomorrow before the birthday party (which starts at 1)

I'm also hoping to get done in enough time to wash it to make sure the ends all stay where they're supposed to and to get rid of the inevitible dog hair that makes its way into my stitches. grrrrr.

But those diamonds? I BEAT THEM!

Pluggin' Along

Progress report #3!

160 diamonds done! YAY!

Let's "Git 'Er Done!"

Progress report #2!

After a grueling day yesterday of literally crocheting almost every waking minute, I now have 121 diamonds completed. WOOHOO!!

Looks quite a bit different now.

Let me tell you, though, I thought I was going to go out of my mind working all those white ones. I just got so *sick* of doing white I wanted to throw it out the window. ;) But at least all the white diamond blocks are done and I won't have to do more until the very corners. Wee!

Here's a wider shot to see all of it so far:

Crochet-A-Quilt CAL

Progress report with piccies!

I've completed 55 diamonds on this baby and am right now starting the white diamond groupings around the star. So far the pattern has gone pretty well!

This is for the Crochet-A-Quilt CAL over at Crochetville. I started this Sunday night and need to get this done by Saturday. EEEK! I hope I can get it completed. It's for my niece's birthday party.

Yup, I know, I've already completed an afghan for her, but when I saw this, I wanted to make this one! (Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment - trying to take on a huge project like this one in a week??)

So anyway, here it is. I was SO intimidated by the pattern when I first started out. I've never done a square (or diamond) motif afghan before. Putting all those little pieces (so MANY of them!!!) together just seemed like such an impossible task.

But I decided to give her a go anyway because the Prairie Star Afghan Pattern is just breathtaking. I think I'd like to do this one again someday in colors for me (yea, like I need another afghan) ;)

A wider shot to see all of the middle star:

Here We Go Again ;)

MAM #2

Another Mile-A-Minute CAL entry ;). I had so much fun with the first one I decided to do another one! This is also my own design -- just kind of winging it. But this one is MUCH easier than the last one.

My sister in law bought this yarn a couple of years ago when she wanted to learn how to crochet. It didn't go well for her so she gave the yarn to me. It's been sitting here for quite some time and today I thought it would be perfect to try out this granny MAM pattern idea I had in my head. I'm liking how it looks so far! :)

---Baseball talk ---

I started this today while listening to the White Sox baseball game on the radio. My husband and I are HUGE White Sox fans (have been since childhood for both of us.)

I feel bad for the Sox. After such a sensational year last year and the World Series title, losing two of the first three games of the season has got to be a little disheartening. I hope they won't let it phase them, though. Hopefully with tomorrow's day off they'll be up and ready for Friday night's game in Kansas City. :)

It's Finished!

Yay! I'm so pleased with how it came out!

I decided that just 3 strips was going to be wide enough and then started joining. I researched just about every way of joining motifs that I could before I settled on the Flat Braid join, which I LOVE. It was relatively easy (though tricky in some spots) but really went pretty quick. I also like that it really does lay flat and matches the pattern design I made up beautifully.

For the final edging, I was going to do (5dc, sk 2, sc, sk 2, 5 dc...) but decided that was not the right look at ALL, so I just went with (sc, ch3, sk 1, sc...) which I think added a nice little frill at the edge but doesn't take away or distract from the main pattern of the afghan.

I'm still in the process of making the final adjustments in writing down the pattern. I have pages of scribbles and crossed out sections from where I frogged. ;)

Anyway, my first Crochetville CAL AND my first Mile-A-Minute is finished! BIG smiles!

Here's some other shots:

MAM CAL update

Just a little update -- I've finished Strip #2! Yay! Went a lot faster than the 1st one, thankfully!

After measuring the two of them side by side and accounting for the space between where the join will be, I'm thinking I'll only need two more strips. Weee! Makes it easy on me :)

I'm having fun with this one! I can't wait to see what it looks like when I get the strips joined!