Tag: crochet blankets

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The Rainbow Blanket

Here it is, The Rainbow Crochet blanket!At the beginning… Not far from the beginning…. 2013-08-31 10.01.32   In the middle…. 2013-09-01 15.49.22   I apologize for this photo. I took it with my phone and it just isn’t very good. Here it is in all it’s glory. IMG_2690   IMG_2695 IMG_2696 IMG_2692and now a whole blanket shot! IMG_2721   These whole blanket shots are always a bit tricky. It is a wonderful arrangement of beautiful colors. All in all it took me a week to crochet it, and that is a record for me. I don’t think I could do it again. It kept me busy while I was laid up recovering from surgery. It is now available in my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/162914101/blanket-hand-crochet-blanket-afghan. If  you want to make your own Rainbow blanket you can also purchase the pattern here on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/168162461/blanket-hand-crochet-blanket-pattern or Here on craftsy: http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/crocheting/home-decor/rainbow-granny-stripe-blanket/70263

talk to you later,

Karen

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Why Be Afraid?

So, yesterday I asked if you are afraid. What I was really asking was  “Am I afraid?” Yes, incredibly, horribly afraid. I am afraid that I write to a black hole, that people will laugh, and the big one that NO ONE will buy any of the blankets I make. Does it really matter if no one buys any of these blankets? Will I stop crocheting them if no one buys them?

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No, I have this compulsion. It makes it easier because I love crocheting them. The activity of creating, the anticipation of the moment when I will be able to sit down and work on them. The choices of the yarns and fibers for the finished product. The moment when they are approaching the finish line. The Ta Da moment when I lay it out in front of one of the few whose opinion I greatly value; my cheerleaders , my family and…. boy, are they biased and I love it! Then I approach you; my internet friends and post it on the blog, facebook, ravelry and then at last on the final judgment stand; the marketplace. I love all the feedback but mostly  I love the feel of the yarn, the colors, how it comes together and winds up being something warm and cozy. I like to think about who will use it and to pray that they have great memories while using the blanket. The prayers woven into each and every blanket are for peace, for love, for the normal allotment of sorrows and joys, for friends to comfort and to celebrate, for brief moments of pain without which we wouldn’t know the mountain tops of joy and achievements. Prayers that the blankets will cover tiny toes and laps for naps and stories, hugs and kisses. There is a whole lot of joy to get out of a simple crochet blanket.

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I was a lot like Linus when I was little and I still feel a little like Linus from Peanuts. I guess I have never grown out of the need for a special blanket! I send my kids off to college or out into the world with one of a kind blankets. Sturdy ones that can handle the dorm washer and dryers, that can take abuse and dish out warmth, comfort and love. One that is a hug from me any time they need it. One that is bright and colorful to bring happiness and a touch of home to the dull dorm rooms.

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So why should I be afraid of continuing to do what I love to do. Fear should have no place in this equation but it does because I am human. I hate being judged and found lacking. I fear because such a great part of my heart ends up being in each and every blanket I make.

Why do I sell the blankets that I make? Well, I have to admit that a family can only use a certain amount of blankets and why should I keep the joy as not everyone can crochet.

What are your reasons for crocheting or knitting? Why do you do what you do for a hobby or is it a business?

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

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Are You Afraid?

I read this article this morning as it scrolled past on my facebook feed. It hit a sore spot with me and I had to write. Anyway here is the article and then the quote that started all this introspection.

http://storylineblog.com/2013/09/11/if-youre-not-scared-youre-not-doing-it-right/

Steven Pressfield sums it up well in his groundbreaking work, The War of Art:

“Self doubt can be an ally. This is because it serves as an indicator of aspiration. It reflects love, love of something we dream of doing, and desire, desire to do it. If you find yourself asking yourself, “Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?” chances are you are. The Counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.”
Are you doing your own thing or copying someone else’s work? Are you wondering if you are following the beat of your own drum or a rehash of yet another whatzit? I do ask myself these questions over and over again as I sew mundane things like cup cozies, baby bibs and crochet blankets.
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What I truly want to do or wish to do is the very thing I am most afraid to do.  I like sewing the baby bibs and cup cozies, but my heart is truly in design work. My heart lies deepest in working with colors, fibers and creating. I struggle to write patterns and do design work simply because the work proceeds from my fingers without much thought. It is relatively unconscious and simply flows through the arm and out of the hook. It is intuitive, and one of a kind. How can you create patterns of one of a kind creations?
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I guess I will need to figure that out in the coming months. After the last three months of recuperation from surgery I am very aware of the limitations of my body. I know that my hands are not capable of crocheting more than 1 custom adult sized blanket a month. Which makes at the very most only 12 blankets a year. How can a business be sustained on 12 blankets a year? That is the question that keeps me awake at night.
Do you have any suggestions or comments?
talk to you later,
Karen
I do have to say that this has nothing to do with 9/11 nor is it in any way to take away from losses  and grief that we as a Nation are feeling today.
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What’s in the future?

Right now I have about five crochet blanket ideas running around in my brain. One is definitely on the hook and progress is being made. One in in the design mode, two are definitely going to be crocheted as I have all the supplies and the shop needs them. I am thinking about several more scarves and tossing color combos around. Some scarves like this…

IMG_2672 I want to make another one similar to this… IMG_2911-001

Some more baby receiving blankets like this..

So all in all I guess I have about eight or more crochet ideas percolating. Then there are a bunch of new baby bib ideas plus some coffee cozy ideas. All with a autumn/winter feel to them. Most of them are for boy babies as I feel like the guys get slighted when it comes to cute boy things.

I would like to make a couple of quilts for the house on the home front. We are redoing a bedroom and it doubles as a guest room. It needs a little spiffing up as it feels dark and outdated. It has some really bad wallpaper that is almost ten years old now. I am also working on some pinterest ideas here and there. So those are also rolling around in my brain. We will see what happens when I actually get up off this couch and start walking! Planning is great but the proof is in the doing. Here are the quilt ideas that I am thinking about. Aren’t these beautiful!

http://pinterest.com/pin/210121138837676517/

 

http://pinterest.com/pin/210121138837661811/

Yes, these are off of Pinterest and if you find the original page please let me know. I searched but didn’t find the page to be able to give credit to the design work. I’m off to eat lunch and do more crocheting. I have been going slow on the crochet this week as the crutches are hard on my hands, on the plus side, my arms and shoulder muscles are getting a great workout off and on all day.

Talk to you later, Karen      

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Granny Square Bulls Eye Blanket!

Finally, It is finished. This blanket has taken me longer than any other. It has been frogged not once but twice. Here you go the ta da photos. It is now listed in my shop and ready to go to a new home. It is 100% wool. You can find it here in the shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/159280644/crochet-afghan-hand-crocheted-blanket

IMG_2572 IMG_2590 IMG_2591-001 IMG_2593-001My wonderful, oldest son took these photos for me as I am still on crutches. He did a great job and I am really thankful that he helped me out!

Thanks, Mark!

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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The “To Do List”

Here is what I have been working on these days.

The red granny square blanket only needs 21 more squares and edging to be completed.  Let’s not forget that I will need to weave in, sew down and clip all these long threads.

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The brown granny square blanket needs  more yarn. I am almost finished with this. I lack about 10-12 more rounds and then edging. I won’t have many yarns to weave in as I carried my yarn from one row to another.

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Boot Cuffs

I have tons of yarn that I bought to crochet these. I have about eight that need to be joined and finish work.

Scarves

I have one dark green scarf that needs to be completed. It is wool and a joy to crochet. We cleaned up prior to the wedding and it was tucked away.

There is also one dark blue cotton yarn scarf that needs to be completed.

I am also wanting to crochet a bunch of granny stripe scarves for the shop. I think they would make great stocking stuffer gifts for my girls, but I think that they are overloaded on yarny things.

Patch blankets

When my kids were in scouts I started making patch blankets. This is a blanket with all of their patches sewn on so they don’t get lost. They would look a bit like this. I also sewed his favorite  t-shirt fronts to our oldest’s blanket. Needless to say, the others now want theirs finished as well.

(You can find this patch blanket here: http://www.streamwood.net/scripts/prodList.asp )

So this is my to do list at present!

What is on your to do list?

Karen

 

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Tutorial: Carrying Colors in Granny Squares

My first Tip and Trick that I want to share with you is how to carry your yarn up a row when you crochet Granny Square blankets. I have been working on this granny square blanket this week. I love crocheting Granny Square blankets, I love all the colors, the patterns, using up bits of yarn. The thing I hate about Granny Squares is  weaving the ends in after it is crocheted.

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It has grown from an idea to almost 5 ft square.  It is a simple color change pattern of two rows of a variegated yarn and one row of the cream color. I have used American crochet terminology in this brief tutorial. I decided to carry the yarn on up through the crocheting to the next row. It works like this.

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Here is my finished row of beige yarn. I am getting ready to join the end of the row to the beginning.

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I use the purple yarn to join because the next row is going to be the purple.

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I have started the chain three for the first post in the double crochet group.

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I then make each chain around the beige yarn so that it is inside the purple chain three.IMG_0021 IMG_0022

Then you simply hold the beige yarn out of the way and start your regular double crochets around the granny square. Here is the back view of the granny square with the beige yarn at the beginning of the double crochet group.IMG_0026

 

You can see the yarn a little from the back but it is much easier that tying off, weaving in ends and then sewing them down so they don’t pop out.

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That is a very close up image and it is hard to see where the yarns were carried up.I apologize for the photos, I am still in a cast healing up from surgery. It is difficult to get into proper daylight with everything I need for the tutorial as I am still keeping my foot up and on crutches. This also explains how quickly this granny blanket has come together. I do not have as many pulls on my time.

Talk to you later,

Karen

PS. Please let me know if you have any questions or don’t understand what I did. It seems pretty self explanatory from the photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tutorial: How to make a rectangular Granny Square blanket.

I have had people asking how to make a rectangular Granny Square blanket. Tutorial: How to make a rectangular Granny Square blanket.

You can see in the photo above that the extra rows were added in blue.  I crocheted my Granny square as a square for 15 rows. I then crocheted back and forth on one end and added three more rows. I continued on around the square to the opposite end and crocheted 5 extra rows. It is important to add odd rows so that you are ending on the opposite side that you started the short rows.

Tutorial: How to make a rectangular Granny Square blanket.

Keep your crocheting continuing in the same direction that you started. Re

I hope that you aren’t thoroughly confused, if you are please leave a comment and I will see if I can write up a pattern instead of just showing you all of the photos.

 

Thanks,

Karen

 

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How I Finish Crochet Projects Quickly.

I will be honest, it seems like I finish up crochet projects super quick.I really don’t finish them up that quickly but I do have different things I do that help me finish several projects at a time.

To start with I will lay out all of the yarn within a brand on my table…or the couch or …. well you get the idea.

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I sort them into color groups like the one shown above. I am playing with the colors to figure out color combinations that work well.

I also dovetail my work and work on several projects at a time.  Usually, I have at least three  projects in process at a time. One is in the portable phase and goes with me where ever I go that I might have to wait; orthodontist/doctor appointments or music lessons are usually where they get the most work. One I will work on during the evenings when the family is watching tv. The last one to three projects might be waiting on yarn, an uninterrupted block of time when I can concentrate, or simply inspiration to finish it up.

I also use my scraps as I go…

So I love crocheting Granny square blankets. They are usually scrap busters and are always so pretty. It helps me use up bits and pieces of yarn. I simply crochet the center rounds of the granny squares or even the second row on a square until I have used up the bits of yarn to short to keep. I  stored them all in a bowl until I was ready to start on this crochet afghan. It is crocheted out of a dk weight yarn and there were others that are vanna’s choice mixed into the bunch. So I pulled out the other vanna choice and wool, and just use the dk yarn centers I have been collecting centers since January of last year.  So when I started on this blanket on Tuesday I already had all of the centers and some had a second or third row on them. When I started on Tuesday the bowl was full and it now looks like this.

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This current red bordered Granny square blanket started out as small granny square centers from left over bits and pieces of yarn.  I have used most of them but the blanket has 36 granny squares now.

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The next part of the blanket will be the longest but I am inspired by it and will keep working on it every night until it is done. It is jump started and will move along quickly and finish up before the month is over.

One other thing that I do is to… buy only a couple of brands or weights of yarn so that a majority of them go together for scrap granny blankets.

So in a nutshell.

  •  I keep several projects working at the same time.
  •  I take crochet work with me if I expect to wait anywhere for any time.
  •  I have a set time to work on my projects.  I usually work on them in the evenings. I take a break several times a week.
  •  I also work on several different size projects at a time. I tend to get discouraged working on long crochet blanket projects so I work on little fun things in between. I am still finishing up work here and there and I get to look at something else for a change of pace.
  • Just frog the things that you don’t like and don’t want to finish. Roll that yarn up in a ball and put it aside. Another day you will have fresh inspiration.

Like this blanket that has changed from this

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To this…

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and I am still not sure if I like it enough to finish it. So it is waiting until I decide!

I am crocheting as a business and I try to keep my spending on a cash basis. I refuse to spend money on yarn for a blanket with credit. I will start several different crochet blankets even if I don’t have all of the yarn I need to finish it.

(I know that our grandmothers’ and mother’s didn’t start a project unless they had all of the yarn for a project. I work mainly with synthetic fibers and have never had a problem with dye lots being different, at least in the past ten years. I think dyes and  yarns are much more stable now than they were. IF you are using natural fibers or hand dyed specialty yarns then you need to be careful to buy enough of the yarn  in the beginning as the colors among dye lots may vary. When I crochet a custom blanket I try my best to order more than enough yarn at the beginning of the project to cover any dye lot inconsistencies.)

Talk to you later…

Karen

Do you work on more than one thing at a time?

 

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Roses are Red…

I have mentioned these pillow cases that I found at an estate sale. They are larger than usual and I think I will use them as pillow shams. They still have the directions on one of them. It called for several different colors but I am going to work these like Redwork and use only red embroidery floss. I won’t have to change colors that way and it will get done more quickly. I chose a garnet color that will work well with the items in our bedroom.

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It is stained but I hate to wash it yet. I am afraid that the blue stamped design will wash out before I get a chance to stitch it.

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I bought the embroidery thread at our neighborhood Michael’s store and also found these beautiful recipe cards at the same time.

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They fit together for this photo perfectly. I have a plan for the recipe cards so we will see how quickly I get that one together.

They will also need a pretty crocheted lace at the edges. I will have to dust off my tiny crochet hooks as I don’t often crochet with thread that dainty.

See you later,

Karen