Next Project: Zoe's Doc Blanket

I've been wanting to try a Corner to Corner (C2C) blanket for a while.  Now Amelia has her blanket, Zoe (3) has been asking me multiple times a day when her blanket will be done.  Poor girl doesn't understand the concept of MONTHS yet.  So far it's been a learning experience and a bit trickier than I thought but I'm starting to get the hang of it.

Chart:

Materials: (Vanna's Choice Yarn)
F Hook

Sources:
Inspired by these pictures
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/f3/65/1e/f3651e923cd9c9e8ba6719e18c291f41.jpg
http://wondersofdisney.yolasite.com/resources/disjunior/mcstuffins/docexaminelambie2.png

Owls in a Tree Blanket

Amelia (7) helped me design this blanket for her twin bed.  It is an amalgamation of a few patterns linked below.  This is completed in Single Crochet with an F Hook (although I crochet with little tension so for "normal" crocheters it may be more like an H hook).  I learned a lot about graphs, colour changes and bobbins.  I'm planning on adding a border but Zoe (3) is insisting I work on her blanket so that's taking precedence for now ;).Please note that this is an untested design and I don't claim to be an experience pattern designer.

Materials:  (Vanna's Choice Yarn)
White (dyed with glow in the dark acryllic paint using this method - http://hodgepodgecrochet.net/2014/09/diy-glow-in-the-dark-yarn/) - for the stars and moon
Navy - sky
Raspberry - bottom left owl, hearts
Aqua - letters & top owl
Eggplant - right owl
Oatmeal - inside of owls
Black - owl eyes
Silver Heather - tree
Orange (from my stash) - owl beaks
F/5-3.75mm Hook

Graph:

Notes:
I actually just did 3x3 squares for each of the stars as this X design did not work well in SC.
I highly recommend using bobbins.  These are just small ones I picked up from Target but I've since purchased the huge ones you can find at Dollar Tree.  They should make for less knots when the bobbins run out.  I also learned to change color every time there was a color change more than a couple of stitches.  It made for a much cleaner finish without carrying yarn across different colors, especially with the big difference between the Navy and Silver Heather.























I experimented with a few different joining techniques but settled on this one by the end of the project.  I only used it when joining two strands of the same color though.  http://jennybellairs.blogspot.com/2010/01/fast-pictorial-guide-to-weavers-knot.html?m=1

Sources:
Owl - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/297800594089339342/
Tree - https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/cf/85/b5/cf85b5362bdfab2e4c718c07e10d2c99.jpg
Alphabet - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/297800594089335917/

You are welcome to sell what you make from this pattern, but please link back to this blog to credit the pattern.

Puff Stitch Hat

This one was for me.  I needed something a bit more colorful

Pattern:
http://www.bhookedcrochet.com/2015/01/06/free-puff-stitch-hat-pattern/

Materials:
Red Heart Unforgettable in dragonfly. 

H hook

Notes:
Adult large size with an extra few rows of puff stitch and single crochet. . . . I have a big head AND lots of hair.

Sparkley Silver Cowl

This ended up being a Christmas gift for Amelia's 1st Grade Teacher.

Pattern:
http://www.allcraftconnection.org/2015/03/simple-lacy-crochet-cowl-instructions.html

Materials:
I hook

Caron Simply Soft Party in Silver Sparkle

Notes:
Ch 106 and then followed pattern as written

Kate's Baby Blanket

My childhood best friend just had a baby. . . so a great excuse for a blanket.  As I have two girls, I haven't explored many baby boy crochet patterns but love Pinterest for giving me some inspiration.  This was relatively quick to pull together and I love how it turned out.

I started with Lucy's ripple pattern from Attic 24.  I love how simple it is.  I wanted to try out  Moogly Blog's Standard Double Crochet technique to eliminate the intermingling of colours when I'm joining.  My goal was to get the blanket to measure 29" x 36" as this is the size of our most used blanket for the girls.   After a little experimenting I realized it was important to use Lucy's method of 14 stitches repeating rather than using a multiple of just 7 (you don't end up with the same number of increases and decreases in each row) so I used edging to get closer to the dimensions I was after.  It ended up being 28" x 35 1/2" so not too far off.

Materials:
Bernat Softee Baby in pale blue (2 1/2 balls)
Bernat Softee Baby in heather and white
Worsted weight yarn in bright colors and black for cars
H/8-5mm Hook for Chain
G/6-4mm Hook for Blanket
F/5-3.75mm Hook for Cars

Abbreviations (Using US Terms):

ch - Chain

st/sts - Stitch/Stitches

sl st - Slip Stitch

SC - Single Crochet

HDC - Half Double Crochet

DC - Double Crochet

TC - Triple Crochet

Blanket:
Ch 108 with an H hook.  I used a G hook for the rest of the blanket.
Repeat Attic 24's ripple pattern for 19 rows (note that she uses UK terms so Treble Crochet = US DC). Finish off.
Make the Road: Join grey yarn using Moogly Blog's Standard Double Crochet technique.

2 DC rows in grey.  Don't finish off.

Slip stitch across in white.  Finish off.

2 more DC rows in grey.  Finish off.

Join Blue yarn using Moogly Blog's Standard Double Crochet technique.
41 DC rows in blue or until blanket measures roughly 34".  Don't finish off.

Edging:
Round 1:
Start working across the top of the blanket.  The goal is to make a straight edge.
Ch 1, 3 SC, *2 HDC, 4 DC, 2 HDC, 6 SC*, repeat from * to * across, ending with 3 SCs.  HDC in same corner stitch as last SC.
2 DC in each row all the way down the side of the blanket, working into the chains and stitches rather than just in space created by the chain or stitch.
2 DC in the corner stitch, DC, *2 HDC, 6 SC, 2 HDC, 4 DC*, repeat from * to * across, ending with 2 DC.  2 DC in the corner stitch.
2 DC in each row all the way up the side of the blanket, working into the chains and stitches rather than just in space created by the chain or stitch.  Join to first SC.
Round 2:  Ch 2, DC around, working to DC into each corner.  Join to first DC.
Round 3: Ch 1, SC around.  Join to first SC.

Cars:
Using an F Hook.
Ch 11
Row 1:  SC in 2nd ch from hook, SC across (10 SC).
Row 2:  ch 1, 2 SC in 1st St, SC in next 8 sts, 2 SC in last st (12 SC).
Row 3:  ch 1, SC across (12 SC).
Row 4:  sl st, SC in next 10 sts, sl st (12).
Row 5: sl st, SC, HDC, ch 5, skip 2 sts, TC in 3rd st, ch 5, skip 3 sts, HDC in 4th st, SC, sl st.
Row 6:  SC around with 2 SCs in bottom corners.  Finish off.
Wheels:  With black, make a magic ring.  7 HDC in ring.  Join to first HDC.  Finish off with long tail to attach.
Sew wheels to cars then cars to the road on the blanket using blue yarn.

Throwback Post: My First Blanket

The project I've just finished is a secret until it reaches its recipient so here's a throwback post in the meantime:

December 2011

This was a blanket for baby Tenley (who is now two!).  It's made up of hexagons in Caron Simply Soft in White.  I've learned over the years that blankets get heavy quickly so if I did it again I'd use a light weight yarn but I was very pleased with it as a first attempt.  It was time consuming but a great on the go project as I only had to have a "square" or two with me at a time.

I followed the Pinwheels pattern from the book Make One For Baby.  I used an E/4-3.5mm hook and as my motifs turned out bigger than the pattern I'm sure I made less than the 52 stated in the pattern but honestly can't remember.

Starry Stitch Diaper Cover

Mandy over at April and August Photography asked me to make her a couple of diaper covers as newborn photography props.  Having never made one before I hunted down a pattern.  The best I could find was this simple one from Crochet A Flower.  The dark grey cover pictured below is using that pattern.  However I wanted something with a little more texture to it so I set upon designing my own.  Mandy originally wanted these to photograph boys but I added a removable flower from Mimi Alelis's Crochet and Other Stuff blog to make them more versatile.

Materials:

Lion Brand Wool-Ease Worsted Weight Yarn in Natural Heather

G/6-4.25mm hook (Disclaimer - I crochet loosely so a normal person would use an H or I hook)

Stitch Marker

Tapestry Needle

1" Button

Abbreviations (Using US Terms):

ch - Chain

st/sts - Stitch/Stitches

SC - Single Crochet

HDC - Half Double Crochet

DC - Double Crochet

TC - Triple Crochet

SC2TOG - Single Crochet 2 Together

Diaper Cover (to fit 0-9 months)

Note: The first (1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) set in each row is worked into the same stitch as the chain.

Ch 61.

Row 1:  SC in second stitch then across, ch 2, turn (60 SC).

Row 2:  TC in same stitch as ch then across, ch 1, turn (60 TC).

Row 3:  SC across, finish off (60 SC).

Row 4:  Join with slip stitch in 17th stitch, ch 2.  *(1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in next stitch, skip next 2 sts* 9 times. SC in last st, ch 1, turn (9 stars).  There should be 16 open stitches on the other side.

Rows 5-13:  *(1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in next stitch, skip next 2 sts* 9 times. SC in last st, ch 1, turn (9 stars).

Row 14:  (SC2TOG, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in same stitch as ch, skip next 2 sts, *(1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in next stitch, skip next 2 sts* 7 times, SC2TOG in last st, ch 1, turn (8 stars).

Row 15:  (SC2TOG, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in same stitch as ch, skip next 2 sts, *(1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in next stitch, skip next 2 sts* 6 times, SC2TOG in last st, ch 1, turn (7 stars).

Row 16:  (SC2TOG, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in same stitch as ch, skip next 2 sts, *(1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in next stitch, skip next 2 sts* 5 times, SC2TOG in last st, ch 1, turn (6 stars).

Row 17:  (SC2TOG, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in same stitch as ch, skip next 2 sts, *(1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in next stitch, skip next 2 sts* 4 times, SC2TOG in last st, ch 1, turn (5 stars).

Rows 18-22:   *(1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in next stitch, skip next 2 sts* 5 times. SC in last st, ch 1, turn (5 stars).

Row 23:  (2 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in same st as ch, skip next 2 sts, *(1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in next stitch, skip next 2 sts* 5 times, 3 SC in last st, ch 1, turn (5 stars).

Row 24:  (2 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in same st as ch, skip next 2 sts, *(1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in next stitch, skip next 2 sts* 6 times, 3 SC in last st, ch 1, turn (6 stars).

Rows 25-36:  *(1 SC, 1 HDC, 1 DC) in next stitch, skip next 2 sts* 7 times. SC in last st, ch 1, turn (7 stars).

Ch 1, SC around entire diaper cover, placing 2 SC in each corner.  Finish off and sew on button.

Buttonhole Flower Accent:

Using an F/5-3.75mm hook and Lion Brand Worsted Weight Wool-Ease yarn in Dark Rose Heather and Rose Heather crochet the flower from  Mimi Alelis's Crochet and Other Stuff blog.

Dark Grey Simple Diaper Cover:

This came out smaller, probably for a preemie or newborn.  I followed Amber's pattern at Crochet A Flower using an F/5-3.75mm hook and Lion Brand Worsted Weight Wool-Ease yarn in Oxford Grey.  I added the same removable flower accent.