Crochet Mood Blanket: Update and New WIP's

The first row of my Crochet Mood Blanket is done - 19 lovely little moody squares for the first nineteen days of 2014!    Linking at HAZEL'S CROCHET  - so hop on over to her Blog and add your progress!

We have been experiencing a heatwave here in Johannesburg (another one!  SIGH!)     It has been so hot that my CPU (brain) has started to melt!

I sit by the pool all day with a huge jug of  iced tea and, being completely incapable of just sitting, found some crochet to keep my hands busy!

First it was a little heap of teeny tiny scraps lying in my basket which I hooked into an odd collection of  motifs.

An idea popped into my head for a sunflower hexagon bag -  I have seen a lot of hexagon bags (my favourite one by the amaaazingly talented  FIONA) but have not found one with a pattern - I would have to wing it!  There would be quite a lot of  frogging involved in the making of the first bag and  I did not want to mess up my delightful little sunflower hexagons.

Sunflower Hexagons

Not feeling in the least bit sorry for the scrappy motifs they were quickly turned into hexagons by crocheting around them with what my son says is an "irredeemably ugly" colour and joining them as I went - until my little bag took shape.    The handles were a nightmare -  the strongest handle made the bag look a bit like a bulletproof vest (not really a good look for a bag).    Eventually after about 6 tryouts and feeling really hot and bothered I just made these and decided to be done with it.

The Sunflower bag is on hold for now until a better solution for the handles comes to mind!

After that frustration,  I was not in the least bit inclined to attempt to finish my other WIP's and so indulged in a bit of mindless crochet .....

making a rainbow of hexagons, squares and circles
 

Rainbow Crochet Motifs

And a pile of granny squares which are destined to become a beach house throw

Quite a productive week in spite of the heat!!

Crochet Mood Blanket 2014: My Square Pattern

I had a request for the pattern I am using for my Crochet Mood Blanket 2014:

My Mood Square

4ch, ss to form ring

Row 1:  4 ch (counts as 1dc 1ch), 1dc 1ch into ring (repeat 11 times) (12 x 1dc, 1ch groups) ss to close

Row 2:  Into any 1ch sp,  2ch 2dc cluster, 3ch;   *3dc cluster, 3ch* crochet *to* 11x (12 clusters), ss to close

Note:   a 3dc cluster is formed as follows - yarn over hook, work the first part of the stitch leaving 2 loops on your hook, repeat this twice more (four loops on hook) Yarn over hook and draw through the loops on the hook to form your cluster

This is what your motif looks like once you have completed the second row:

Row 3:  Into any 3ch sp crochet 3ch, 2dc;   3dc into next 3ch sp;   *3tr, 3ch, 3tr (corner) into next 3ch sp; 3dc into next two 3ch spaces* 3 x from * to*;   3tr, 3ch, 3tr into last 3ch space;   ss to close:

I used the  JOIN-AS-YOU-GO METHOD method to connect my squares

This project linking at Hazel's Crochet

Crochet Mood Blanket 2014 Update: Day 13

Just completed square 13 for my Crochet Mood Blanket 2014:    Green - feeling inspired!

I am still really happy with the COLOURS  I chose.

I had some misgivings about the randomness of the project but I think that these colours  work well together.

At the start of the project I  thought about using something fancier or more colourful.

I made a few test squares while trying to get my thoughts in order.    9 x popcorn stitch flower squares, 9 x simple double crochet squares and 3 x prototype of my final choice.    There were enough squares to make a cushion (which is not really spectacular but it kind of grows on you!):

The 9 x popcorn flower squares make up the front.

The 9 x double crochet squares make up the back and the other 3 I used for the flap, fastened down with odd buttons.

Double Crochet Stripe Afghan

At some point during 2013 a whole stash of Elle Charity Chunky was purchased on a whim!

Just before Christmas I had finished up all my WIP's and was undecided what to do next.    We were having some lovely rainy weather - a good time to tackle the Chunky project.     Something quick and easy - not requiring too much thought or effort - or so I thought!  

Was I in for a surprise?

I tried hook after hook size - before finally settling on a 7.00mm.    Then I tried out pattern after pattern after pattern after .....  Nothing seemed right!

I tried squares - nope.     A big granny - nope.     A ripple - nope.    Granny stripe - nope.     Diagonal granny - nope.    Box stitch - nope.    Diagonal box stitch - nope.

At that juncture I was - extremely annoyed and worked up!

I was NOT going to pack the chunky away - I WAS going to best it (the deciding factor here was that after removing all that chunky from my yarn cupboard and rearranging the rest of my stash quite satisfactorily I had NO intention of trying to get the chunky back into the cupboard!)

Eventually out of sheer desperation I tried a plain old double crochet stripe.   Not too bad after a couple of rows.......    and then it started taking shape.     So easy and quite nicely textured.     I calmed down and started enjoying the project.

 

I worked up row after row in mauve, blue and grey.

Bordered it with a few rows of single crochet and gave it a nice  bobble fringe (about twelve hours work start to finish - what a bargain!)

Even with the border the double crochet stripe was a bit boring - and so taking inspiration from my lovely popcorn cushion, I made heaps of yellow flowers, orange flowers and lime green leaves.

Appliqued them on to the bottom and top corner:

It fits quite nicely on a 3/4 bed (had to fold it to get the flowers in the photo).

Must say I am rather delighted with it!

Popcorn Stitch Cushion

I was having way too much fun with the popcorn stitch to stop after I finished my POPCORN STITCH SQUARES BAG

Had to make a bright and cheerful cushion popcorn stitch cushion

There was quite a lot of orange, yellow, lime and light grey left over from the bag, but the dark grey was finished - decided to add a bit of blue!

For the back - a colourful square.



Four daisy squares to close the cushion, some odd buttons and a fun bobble fringe!

Popcorn Stitch Squares Bag

The popcorn stitch has been "popping" up all over Pinterest, and I was suddenly inspired to use some really bright colours I had in my stash.

I made one of these GRANNY SQUARE BAGS a while back - you only need 13 squares and the bag works up in no time at all. 

I didn't use a pattern - just made it up as I went, adding in a light grey and dark grey for contrast:

I am so totally in love with these delightfully puffy flower centres that I have used them on a whole lot of colourful projects - I cannot wait to show you what I have made!

(PS:    The pattern for the Thirteen Squares Granny Bag can be found HERE)

(PPS: Variations of the Squares used:     POPCORN FLOWERS AND LEAVES and SOLID GRANNY SQUARE)

Crochet Mood Blanket 2014

Stumbled across this Crochet Mood Blanket 2014 challenge on Facebook (started out on Instagram, which I still have not got around to using).

The Rules are simple:    Choose colours to represent your moods, then crochet 1 square a day in the colour that matches your mood for that day = 365 squares.  (Or 1 square a week = 52 squares)

I am doing one square a day in these colours, with a white border:

I shall be making a total of 360 squares (allowing the spare days for bordering and finishing) - 19 blocks x 19 rows 

I don't want this project to be too time consuming and so I will be using the same pattern throughout.  My squares consist of 3 rounds each.   Each completed square measures 8cm, which should  give me a final measurement of 152cm  x 152 cm - without the border.

Groovyghan: Little Princess Groovyghan

Way back in  July 2013 my daughter decided to crochet a GROOVYGHAN for her "bestie" (don't know who to credit with the original idea as there are so many of them on the internet.

We both love the fun mix of a variety of stripes and squares and have both made quite a few Groovyghans since June!   

Here is one that I made:

The ripple was the perfect choice for the centre panel.

The squares just evolved as I went.

Alternated the stripes between the grannies with double crochet and granny cluster stripes.

I used 6 colours - purple, lilac, cerise, pink, peach and white.

I was a bit worried about using the peach but I think it balanced the colours out quite nicely in the end

Big Circles Afghan

I made this throw mid 2013 using the Big Circle Afghan Square by Kate Jenks from Signed With An Owl.

This was one of those patterns that you have to make the minute you see it.    The circles are a brilliant way to use up those oddments of colour yarn that always seem to accumulate.

I had so much fun making the circles that I did not pay much attention to the colour combinations.

I managed to make 16 circles using up leftover yarn in red, purple, tan, dark brown, white, light blue, cornflour blue and denim.

I used beige to square the circles.

Then worked them together with Dark Brown using THIS method.

For the border I added to rows of granny clusters in beige, a row of white and a row of denim.     Then a row of single crochet in white on the reverse side and a row of denim on the right side.

I love the way the colourful circles pop against the neutral background!!

Baby Blanket (Part 2)

My daughter asked me to design a groovyghan for her using the squares and yarn we had saved from her frogged projects back in MAY.      She wanted a lacy design for one of the panels and I came up with this pattern while playing around with ideas.     It makes a lovely soft drapey fabric - perfect for a baby blanket:

Lacy Crochet Baby Blanket

I used two shades of pink, dark red and white.

Crochet Flower with Button Embellishment

I added a single row of crochet flowers with button centres.

 Blanket Stitch Picot Edging

 For the border I did a few rows of double crochet, with a blanket stitch picot edging.

I crocheted the middle panel of my daughter's afghan and she completed the rest.    Not quite a baby blanket (it fits quite nicely on her queen size bed) - but I thought I would show you anyway since this is what sparked the inspiration for the lacy stitch.

This picture was taken by my daughter on her phone - but I am sure she won't mind me using it to brag about her handiwork!

Baby Blankets (Part 1)

During a heatwave a while back I made a heap of circles in lacy squares which I assembled into baby blankets using the continuous-join-as-you-go method

This frog has a bit of a story:

My younger daughter was in hospital with a tummy virus.    The gift shop at the hospital also served breakfasts and light lunches.     I ran down to get some juice and saw the frog - couldn't resist buying him for her (even though she was almost eighteen at the time).    I thought his name should be Kermit (well obviously).  When I gave him to her she hugged him tightly and immediately turned exactly the same shade as the frog.     Oh dear!!    He smelt of food!!     And not just any food - like a big greasy plate of bacon.     When her "greenness" settled a bit she said she would call him "Bacon" but could I puh-leeez take him home and wash him!

Happy 2014!

Happy 2014!    Hope this year is filled with all things wonderful for you.

2013 was a very busy, successful year for my little family - with each of us setting and achieving our individual goals and even keeping to the resolutions we made at the beginning of the year.   

We have enjoyed a lovely festive season - lots of (too much) good food and good company.

I used plain brown paper and kraft board to wrap and package gifts this season, decorated with green paper raffia and handmade embellishments.

Star flowers crocheted with paper raffia, with a bit of glitter and some shiny beads:

Crochet Christmas Trees found on Ale's lovely blog:

Our weather has been a bit strange - quite a few grey rainy days, a lovely cool respite from the South African heat.     The cloud formations have been absolutely stunning and we have had some pretty scary electrical storms.    Overall though the days have  been magically clear and sunny - perfect summer weather.    I am as brown as a berry from all the lazing about in the garden and around the pool.

2013 was a very busy and enthusiastic crafting year for me.   My blogging was sadly not anywhere nearly as enthusiastic and I made heaps of projects which I never got around to photographing, much less blogging about (hoping I won't be such a lazy blogger this year!)  

I have been sorting through my photo's - putting them into folders etc and I have come across a few that I took and never showed on my blog.       I will be doing some posts over the next few days to show these.........