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.

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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.

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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!