This is what I am working on right now. I love it. It feels wonderful and the pattern is coming out so crisp.
Talk to you later,
Karen
Tag: crochet afghan
Introducing: The Blanket Club
Introducing the Blanket Club:
There are a select few out there in the world today: lovely people that own more than one ChocolateDogStudio crochet blankets. When you own more than one you get the benefits of being a member of the Blanket Club! Members of the Blanket Club have purchased these lovely blankets from the shop over the years.
Blanket Club membership grants you a discount good every day of the year!
Talk to you later,
Karen
New and Old Together
I have long wanted to add cute little hats to my crochet baby blankets. These baby afghans are just calling out for some cute newborn hats. I recently opened the baby shop. While I was getting it online and started, I had a couple of days where having baby hats was a great idea. I just ran with it. Here they are, the blankets and the hats on the same page.
They are beautiful and I will be adding more crochet baby hats with matching baby afghans as I get the time. You can find these in my shop at www.chocolatesbabyshop.etsy.com. I am off to get some things completed for graduation.
Talk to you later,
Karen
Natural light vs Indoor light
I try really hard to take most of my photos with natural light. I wait for a bright day and take the photos with the sun shining. Here is a really good photo illustration why I do this.
This is the same blanket one photo taken in indoor lighting and the second photo taken in natural light.
There is a huge difference. Sometimes you can successfully edit photos and get a more natural appearance. I am truthfully not that good with photo editing software. I use Picasa, an old program that was free. It is pretty easy for me to use. Â These photos are cropped but not color edited in any way.
Talk to you later,
Karen
Monday April 28, 2014
I had an overwhelming feeling this past weekend that I needed to buy more yarn. I have, after all, crocheted a huge amount of items. I haven’t really ordered any yarn since January when I started the 100 items in 100 days challenge. I did buy two destash orders from friends on Etsy last month but that doesn’t really count!  Here is the yarn I bought from my friend Rose who knits wonderful blankets, scarves, and shawls. 
IÂ am combining it with the rest of the wool yarn that I had leftover and it is in the process of being turned into a wonderful one of a kind art blanket. It is full of lovely texture and Autumn colors, but it is wool and it is HOT to sit under right now. Here is the undoctored photo of my foot in the boot. This is the other reason it is hot. This boot is heavy and like wearing an insulated blanket.
I don’t know about you but sitting around is exceedingly boring. I have run through many Netflix marathons in the afternoons and evenings. This is also the reason I have completed so many different baby items. So, I was thinking that I needed to buy more yarn and decided that I would first see what I have on hand.
Lovely blues, greens, white, red and navy
A nice assortment of colors from pink to bright orange back to purples, and grey.
Another tub full of neutral yarns. So, I am not ordering any yarn. I have ENOUGH yarn to keep me busy for a little while! These are all full skeins, we aren’t going to look at all the partial sets of yarn.
Actually, I did buy yarn but it isn’t for me. I am having it shipped to my cousin in Keller, Texas because she sitting a lot right now as well.
Talk to you later,
Karen
Flower Blanket
This is a sweet little baby blanket set. The flowers are crocheted as the blanket and the hat are crocheted together.
 Only one side has the lovely white flowers with the yellow centers.
Talk to you later,
Karen
Monday’s News
It appears that my plans can change in 5 minutes or the length of time it takes the Dr. to say you may have torn your tendon. So, I am no longer looking forward to sewing for the comic con as I was thinking of doing. I can always do the comic con later. The good news is that I will get a lot of time sitting with my foot up which is always good for the crocheted items in the shop! I have been working on some little things but I will surprise you with them next week.
My family cleaned the flower beds out for me this past week. They worked hard as the beds had been neglected over the past year.
Here you can see the rose bush and the sage that grow by the front door. We need to put some weed blocker down and then cover it in mulch in an effort to cut down on the grass growing back. I had a lovely package yesterday that was exciting and cheerful at the same time. I received these beautiful yarns in the mail from my friend Rose. Rose does lots of fancy knitting and these are (probably) a small part of her destash. They are all shades of brown and orange and I can hardly wait to get started on them. I have some ideas and they are percolating while I work on some other little things.
Talk to you later,
Karen
100 items in 100 days!
Looking back at this challenge. I would say that it has helped me think outside the box. I had to get out of my comfort zone in my sewing and forced me to finish some mending projects. I finished a bunch of things in a short period of time. Â I forced myself to use what I had on hand to fill my shop. It was good for me as it pushed me to create new and different things. It was an incredibly freeing experience to
Here they all are!
See you later,
Karen
Challenge Blanket and instructions!
Here it is in all of its glory, the challenge blanket and the instructions! I started this in the 100 items in 100 days challenge  and I meant for it to be the very last entry but I just couldn’t wait to get this finished.
I love granny square blankets, but this one is great too! It has one thing going for it that the Granny Square blankets don’t. Can you guess what it is?
It has no holes! That is right, absolutely no holes for the air to get through. So, if you want to crochet a blanket for a non-Granny Square lover this is the one to use!  I used DK weight yarn for this blanket as it was what I had on hand and a G sized hook.
This is a super simple pattern and I am going to share it with you right now! If you need a more complete pattern, I am pretty sure that there is already one on Ravelry.com.
Chain the length you want the blanket to be as a multiple of four. Half double crochet in each chain across.
2nd row.
chain five, skip the first two half double crochets and half  double crochet in the third, half double crochet in the fourth chain two and skip the next two half doubles, half double in the next two and continue in this pattern across the blanket.
3rd row.
Chain two and turn. You will have a funny loopy thing there at the start. Double crochet down into the 2nd row into the first half double that you skipped and then double crochet again into the second half double that you skipped in the row previously.
Chain two and continue in this pattern across the blanket.
This is the basic pattern if you have any problems just let me know.
The last row in the blanket you double crochet into the spaces and half double into the tops of the double crochets of the previous row.
To finish it out I simply crocheted a simple grey  border around all the edges of the blanket with two chains in each corner stitch.
Let me know if you make one! I would love to see it.
Talk to you later,
Karen
P.S. This one is for sale in the ChocolateDogStudio.etsy.com shop!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/186196415/hand-crochet-blanket-afghan-multicolor
Stripey Wool Stash Blanket #91
This is number 91 out of 100 items created from my stash! Woohoo!!
I finished this last week but I was waiting for our son to come and take these photos to show off it’s true beauty.
It is crocheted completely of wool out of my stash yarns. I used little balls of yarn and whole skeins. 
Some of the skeins were variegated and some were solid. I love it, it is warm and cozy. It was almost too warm to work on as the weather is turning to the mid 60s these days.
I like the peaked scalloped border that is a bit more masculine than I normally use. It is  59″ x 49″ on an average size.  I just love it and it is available in the Etsy shop!
Talk to you later,
Karen