Grid and Bloom

Posted on October 14, 2014 by admin

Crochet Ribbon Blanket

Here it is, the Crochet Ribbon blanket. It is a true scrap blanket. I started this blanket over a year ago. I just wasnâ€™t sure if it was turning out right or if I wanted even to make a ribbon blanket. So I put it on hold when it was just a long string of crochet. It sat there there glaring at me. Every time I reached into the yarn basket it was there taunting me. Reminding me that I had failed to finish it or frog it. Finally, in August I started to work on it in earnest. Here it is in all its glory!

This crochet ribbon blanket contains bits of yarn too short to save and too long to throw away. The colors rise and fall through the whole color spectrum, from bright yellow-golds, through red, pink, green, blue and variegated bits of yarn to small stripes of white and black. It is glorious and bright in all its lovely ribbon stripes. I did my best to repeat colors from the beginning to the end so that it doesnâ€™t get dull and boring at one end. The crochet ribbon blanket is available for purchase at the Chocolate Dog Studio shop on Etsy. It is beautiful and bright which makes it perfect for so many people. Use it at the end of the bed to add a bright touch of color. Throw it over the back of a couch or sofa to be handy on cold winter nights.

I have been helping a family member get their house ready for moving, so I have been in and out quickly the past several weeks. I hope to be here more in the future as today is the actual moving day. So, I must run as I get to let the movers into the new apartment and tell them where to put everything!

talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on October 9, 2014 by admin

Dashing in and dashing out

These days it seems that I am just dashing in and dashing out. The days are overwhelmingly filled until the time I fall exhausted into bed. It is just for a short time and then life will sort itself out again into a more respectable and livable rhythm. I apologize for short and non existent blog postings. I have great peace and I am so thankful that it is NOT health matters, or personal tragedies that fill my time and life. So, all is well at our house and home. I leave you with these photos of some bibs that I had a chance to sew on this past Monday.

My happy Autumn crocheted pumpkins.

Some color inspiration for a blanket for the future. Such a beautiful aqua and orange and this would make a wonderful blanket.

Some lovely warm infinity scarves that I crocheted the past few nights. What are you working on these days?

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on October 6, 2014 by admin

Stacks of bibs

Today, I am getting stacks of bibs sewn so they can be available in ChocolatesBabyShop.etsy.com. I can’t wait to get to the photography part. I am adding a bit more to the geeky line of bibs and I actually found some Dr. Who Tardis fabric. I have so much to share that this post should really be two posts but I am short on time these days to condense this down any smaller. I will start with the blankets that I listed for sale this past week. These granny square blankets will be in both shops. This green and lavender granny square is throw sized. It is perfect for keeping on the end of the bed or back of the chair for quick warmth. Crocheted of soft, warm and washable acrylic yarns it is infinitely useful. It is 42 inches square.This beautiful pink granny square baby blanket Â and the aqua and purple blanket areÂ both be available in ChocolatesBabyShop. The pink blanket is 32 inches square and the aqua blanket is 27 inches square. They are both crocheted out of soft acrylic yarns. These washable yarns a greatÂ allergy solution to wool yarns.Â I have spent a huge amount of time with family the past several weeks. It is just that stage of life, I guess. My Mom is is downsizing into an apartment from her house and is moving to town. I am excited as we will get to spend more time together. I have been adding her stash to mine and the sewing room is even more chaotic than normal. I feel a bit sleep deprived and I have been low on energy to sew so waking up this morning to a blast of energy is beyond my understanding. It has been one of those days. A day when I get huge amounts done. Â I fixed a baby shirt a friend was having issues with. I also got all of this done this morning as well; before noon!Â This is the before photo.Â I trimmed, sewed, pinned and turned right side out all of these bibs.Since I seem to be accomplishing things, I am going to dash off before the coffee wears off!

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on September 29, 2014 by admin

Striped Crochet Blanket: Autumn Stripe Afghan

This striped crochetÂ blanket started on a whim. The yarns called to me from the bins at the store. I haven’t bought this brand of yarn in months but I couldn’t resist it.

I love the heathered Autumn colors. They reminded me of the country in the Fall. Brilliant blue skies, brown plowed fields, rusty orange treesÂ mixed in with green cedars, and a golden harvested hay meadow. Â It is a lovely blanket.

This is one of the first Â photos that showed how it was going together. This is a super easy pattern. There was no counting, no tricky parts, no worries about increasing or decreasing just the lovely flowing color row after row. It was soft and warm, almost too warm to work on in September in Oklahoma. Thankfully, we have had a lovely cool September.

You can find this blanket for sale in the Etsy shop. The Autumn striped crochet blanket is 42″ x Â 66″. Â The stripes run vertically and the yarn is super soft. It looks incredibly masculine with its beautiful stripes. It is soft, striped and it has no “holes” all of which make it a superior crochet blanket in Â my husband’s eyes.

It is a great size to lay over the back of the couch, or use with a recliner.

I have already started on my next crochet blanket and I can’t wait to show it to you, I need to get a bit more crocheting done before I start in earnest and frankly, I am giving my hands a bit a of break this week. I finished up five crochet blankets this past week and I am tired of crocheting. I never thought I would say that but it is true.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on September 26, 2014 by admin

Works in Progress: Crochet Blankets

The works in progress list of crochet blankets is getting smaller. I was waiting on several yarn orders before I could finish the crochet afghans I had started the past month. Here is the current list of projects in progress.

So I have finished the three granny square blankets in the past four days. I just needed to have a moment to figure out the size and then add the border. I did get to crochet for a long time yesterday on the purple and aqua baby blanket. I managed to get the border on and some sweet little flower embellishments. I think this needs a little beanie or baby bonnet to go with it. Â I am exceedingly close on the ribbon stripe and the Autumn stripe. Currently, I am working on the Autumn stripe as the photographer is scheduled to come by this weekend.
There is sewing that is needing to be done today. So, I will work on it this morning and hopefully finish the large stack of sewing I have all piled up. There are bibs, and press cozies waiting on the sewing.
There are also some new projects I have in mind and I just need to make time to prototype the new ideas.

I have been having issues with the blog and I needed some help to get it all straightened out. I apologize for that.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on September 22, 2014 by admin

Striped Crochet Blanket

I feel like I have hardly had a chance to breathe the past month or so. Do your days get that busy? First we took vacation and then packed two of the kids for college and dropped them off. It seems as though we just keep running in and dashing back out to take care of this chore and that chore. Â I came down with a migraine that has stuck around all week and tends to make me just sit and do nothing. It isn’t a bad migraine but it does make me creep around in dark rooms.

I have been working on this blanket here in my spare time. I love the colors in it and I showed you the yarn first several weeks back.

Here it is in the beginning. It is going to be a beautiful Autumn striped blanket.

There are such beautiful stripes. I put three blankets on hold as I am waiting on more yarn. So, now I have five or six WIPS sitting around waiting on the final touches and one waiting to be frogged. I think it needs to be frogged, but I am not sure.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on September 16, 2014 by admin

New Crochet Throw

This new crochet throw has hadÂ a rough start. I frogged it several times right at the start. I tried two different greens before I settled on this one. This is new throw is a beautiful deep mossy green. It will be a beautiful throw when I get finished with the border. It will be a perfect size for a lap blanket.

I have struggled to find time to crochet this week. The only time I have found to work on this new crochet throw was at night and it was difficult to match colors then. Â It has been several years since I have made a throw sized blanket. Here are the last two I made.Â http://www.ravelry.com/projects/chocolatedogyarns/granny-square-53

Â http://www.ravelry.com/projects/chocolatedogyarns/granny-square-53-4

I have been out and about this week. I got to spend some good time with my Mom. We had a great visit. We spent time laughing and remembering my Dad. He was a good man and a great father.

Talk to you later,

Karen

You can join me on Facebook @
https://www.facebook.com/Chocolatedogstudio
and instagram @
http://instagram.com/chocodogstudio
for special sales and new items.

Posted on September 12, 2014 by admin

New crochet blanket

Crocheting blankets have filled my mind lately. Â I found these beautiful yarns at the store and just had to put them into a new crochet blanket. Aren’t they beautiful?

I can ‘t decide what blanket pattern to use for them. It will be stripey, I think.

I love this one by Black Sheep Wools.Â It is simply a gorgeous granny stripe blanket!

It would also look beautiful as a granny square blanket made up of solid squares like this one.

I love this blanket from Littletinbird. It makes me so happy!

I love this pattern by Laurence Meriat. It is found on Ravelry. There are incredible options for crochet blankets and I can spend hours exploring each one.

talk to you later,.

Karen

Posted on September 8, 2014 by admin

True Confessions

True confessions: It appears that I have started so many new things that I am totally overwhelmed. The new school year has called for a complete change in routine. I seem to be the spending a Â large amount of timeÂ waiting. I tend to take small projects with me until they get too big to travel well. I started several projects last week. When we were cleaning up the house this past weekend, I noticed that I have these 4 bags, just from last week!

So these are my works in progress or WIPS. You could also call them PIGS (projects in grocery bags!) Here are some up close photos of the actual projects started.

I am not sure what I think about three of these. The granny square, star stitch and the baby bonnet. So, I am letting them rest while I think it over and see what I think. I really don’t like the Granny square so I will probably unravel all the limeyÂ green Â and start over. I’m not sure I like the grey blanket. I started the star stitch to learn a new stitch and I’m afraid that it isn’t comfortable toÂ crochet as I have to keep counting.

This doesn’t even include the scrap blanket that is too big to travel.

The weather is supposed to cool off at the end of the week. Hopefully, I will find time to work on/under this blanket on the weekend. What are you working on? Do you start more than one project at a time?

Karen

Update:

I never finished the baby bonnets. They were too fussy for me and I don’t have a baby to model them for me. Â They are still in the bag and it is over 2 years since I wrote this. Wow, usually I am really good at finishing what I start. I did finish the baby blanket with lavender and green. It is beautiful and sold super quick.

The scrap blanket is finished and sold! Here is the reveal post for it.

Posted on September 2, 2014 by admin

Ta dah! Granny Square Blanket

I am finished with this Granny Square blanket. I am so excited. It has been a fun, quick blanket. This blanket started like this, just a mix up of various granny squares of all different sizes. It is also a scrap blanket as it used up various little balls of yarn that I had in my yarn bowl. I had many different squares left over from different crochet blankets and I added to them to get a more uniform size for the granny square blanket. The crocheting went fairly quickly as these squares are larger than I normally crochet.