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Finished….Granny Square blanket

Yes! I have finished this beautiful blanket this weekend. 

 

Isn’t it lovely. Crocheted out of Fisherman’s wool and wool ease yarn. It is a lovely spot of color for a family room. Perfect for folding and keeping on the back of a chair. I love the modern and yet retro look of this crochet blanket.

I apologize for the photos but the sun keeps dodging in and out of the clouds. It has been gloomy here lately. I have been hoping for rain or snow but it is too warm for snow this week.

It is 52 inches square.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

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Wednesday!

I finished this scarf up last night. It had been laying around the studio begging to be finished  and finally it ended up this very pretty scarf. It is about 5′ long and almost 6″ wide. It has 14 granny squares in it and a pretty scalloped border. The colors are fresh and springlike.

Just a little progress on this blanket. I am working on it and it is beautiful. I love the creamy white with the flash of color here and there. I haven’t decided what color the next row will be and I am tossing some ideas around. It will get the next color row and hopefully one more before the end of the day, but it is getting larger and that just takes time and work.

talk to you later,

Karen

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The Crochet line-up

During that post holiday creative slump, I started several crochet projects knowing full well, that they would be abandoned when the yarn shipments would arrive!

Here is what I started during that time and since the yarn shipment came in.

 

a bright and cheery granny square blanket

a black and melon granny ripple…

a beautiful big granny square blanket of brilliant colored wool with cream borders

and then this beautiful granny square blanket also out of deliciously warm wool.

I know it seems as though I should finish one before I start the next. My Mom and Grandma’s would agree but, I work best this way. I have two totes with several projects in them that are traveling size. I take these with me to places where I have to sit and wait and work on my projects while waiting. When they reach a point where they are too big to travel, I work on them at night while watching movies. If I reach a point where I have lost inspiration or run out of supplies then I simply put it aside and continue working on the other projects at hand. This system is working as it keeps the shop on a cash basis and I am not buying supplies on credit.

How do you work best?

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

 

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What has happened lately….

It has been a busy Holiday season. Things are moving so incredibly fast. The Chocolate Dog Studio shop has been over run with shoppers…which is GREAT, and I am very thankful.  Here are some photos of the crochet beauties that rounded out the shop this year.

This is a grand total of 10 full size crochet blankets and 5 baby blankets, two with baby hats. This isn’t counting the boot cuffs and Christmas ornaments. I have been fighting burnout on the crocheting end of things and I think a little break is what is called for. So, if I can I will take a rest. I have a couple of special orders lined up to finish now and a couple for after the holidays. I won’t turn down any special orders that come my way but I think I will sort through the yarn, roll it into little balls and maybe put it up.

Chocolate Dog Studio has tons of items 45% off at http://www.chocolatedogstudio.etsy.shop

Please stop by and say hi or just browse the shop. I uploaded a bunch of photos to my ravelry page. There are a few more details about the blankets there. You can find that here: http://www.ravelry.com/people/chocolatedogyarns .

thanks so much,

Karen

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Granny Stripe Finished!

I finished this up last night after an extended tv watching session. I talked the photographer into photographing it for me. He did an awesome job!

Granny Stripe Finished

Granny Stripe Finished

Granny Stripe Finished

I love it. It is in the ChocolateDogStudio shop here:

You can find the pattern here on Etsy and here in the Chocolate Dog Studio shop.

Crocheted out of very soft 100% washable acrylic yarn from the UK. It is 62 1/2″ long x 41 1/2″ wide. The pattern is a granny stripe and the stripes run lengthwise

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Rainbow Granny Stripe

It is now almost December and I have been sadly missed posting. It has been the Thanksgiving and Christmas rush around here. I finally got my camera out and took a few snap shots of my newest favorite.

I am about three quarters of the way finished, at least I think I am. It is definitely over the halfway mark. It is a wonderful five feet long and of the softest yarn. When it is finished I will be adding it to the shop!

I have also been selling quite a bit at the Etsy shop and it has been keeping me busy. We had a wonderful visit with our oldest dear daughter (home from college) for Thanksgiving. She brought her room mate and we had a great time watching Dr. Who on netflix. Only a few more weeks and we will have her home for three weeks. I have done absolutely NO Christmas shopping. So I will have to get busy and get on with it!

See you later,

Karen

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November Already!

Yes, it is November already…am I ready?  NO! There is so much I want to finish before the end of the year. It has been a hard year and I won’t be sad to put it behind me and start with a fresh clean slate. It has been a year of changes.

  • We have moved: packed everything we own and moved it 7 hours South and unpacked it yet again…plus unpacked the boxes we hadn’t unpacked yet the first time. No, we aren’t done yet and there are still boxes left.
  • Put one kid in college (and then drove off and left her five hours away from home)! Don’t laugh that has been one of the hardest things to do and also one of great joy. She is doing fantastic, even when she thinks she isn’t…she is!
  • welcomed a son back home until the wedding so he can save money…That has also been hard and continues to be hard simply because I forget he is an adult, but he has been an incredible help and I have so enjoyed this time.
  • preparing to have a wedding….no they haven’t picked a date or have a minister yet…but there is the Dress, so things are moving forward.

Well, that is a small list but there has been some good news. I found my camera last weekend. So, I will once again be able to show off some bad photos of things I have finished unlike these that my live in photographer took last weekend.

I added up the things I have done lately and here is my list. November Already

This is the stack of afghans I have finished this year that haven’t been shipped off. That is a huge stack of crocheted blankets. It doesn’t include the two granny square blankets that I shipped last week or the custom baby blankets I have been crocheting lately. The pretty one second from the bottom is headed out tomorrow after I get a box. We did braces today and then some comforting and hanging out. I would love for all of these blankets to find a home. Some crocheting is so repetitive that I find myself praying for the person that will receive them. That it will comfort and warm them when they need it most. I have also made tons of Christmas ornaments and I am just going to share one photo of them.ÂNovember Already

I love these star ornaments. I was trying to come up with a way to use small bits of yarn and ended up crocheting  too many of these stars. Then last week, I had a great idea…so these happened. Spontaneously, and now I have about eight pairs and could easily make tons more.

November Already

Boot Cuffs! Aren’t they cute? I don’t usually wear boots. I love these cuffs. I have so many different colors now. So, that is some of what I have done. I am also in the painting mode. I am in the process of finishing a house project that has been in the unfinished stage for more years than I would care to count. I have done the prep and just need to get the motivation to finish. You know, it is painting a bathroom cabinet. The downstairs bathroom cabinet and I keep putting it off as I know that I WILL get paint all over me when I forget that I painted in there.

See you later,

Karen

P.S. You can crochet your own boot cuffs from this pattern here on Etsy and here in the Chocolate Dog Studio shop.

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Baby Granny Blanket

This is a fun little granny square baby blanket that I crocheted up quickly a week or so ago. I started it during the move and then ran out of yarn as I only picked up one skein. So I added the green and pink to make it large enough. It starts with a 20 round granny square of the multi-color yarn. Then it has a row of green, another variegated round and two rounds of pink. I then added sweet little two round granny squares to the ends to make the blanket a rectangle.The whole thing is bordered with two rows of green and the pink scalloped border. Here is a detail photo of the cute little granny squares. 

I apologize for the snap shots of the baby afghan. I have lost my good camera sometime during the move. I really think it is hidden in a box that is not unpacked yet. Hopefully it will turn up soon. This pretty little blanket will be in the shop as soon as some decent photos are taken. It was really just a quick little fun project! The good news is that I used up the variegated yarn.

What have you been working on?

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. I can always make one in blue and white for that baby boy in your life!

 

 

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Granny Stripe Ta Dah……

I know this sounds like so many other Ta dahs that you read about in the crochet blogging world. Actually, there is no other way to celebrate a wonderful finished project, aside from a party, but who goes to a finished project party?

Here you go the newly finished Granny Stripe!

I love the chocolately richness of the zig zaggy border.

This was created with soft new yarns from England. Yes, I actually ordered in enough yarn to finish this crocheted blanket. The yarn is so incredibly soft that it puts our American yarns to shame and the colors are bright and cheerful.

I love the way the granny stripes vary from one section to the next, always with the same  seven colors bordered with the chocolate brown stripe. It is big, twin bed sized.

It is 72 inches long and 45 inches wide. A perfect size for a throw at the end of the bed or couch. The yarn is 100% washable on gentle and low temps with a low temp dry. Yes, it is for sale in the Chocolate Dog Studio shop. https://www.etsy.com/listing/108330486/crochet-blanket-crochet-afghan-granny

See you later,

Karen