Posted on September 12, 2016 by Karen Stewart

Yikes! Stripes Blanket Pattern

The Yikes! Stripes blanket pattern is so fun and easy to crochet.Â The colorful stripes and long length make this a great gift for the man in your life. The soft, chunky yarn is not what I normally use in my patterns, but that’s exactly what makes it more masculine: the bold colors and thick, warm strips.

Like a Favorite Scarf

Just look at these stripes! This pattern reminds me of the “team” scarves that so many people wear to sporting events. Can you imagine presenting this to the sports fan in your life? I’m sure he’ll find the colors of his favorite team in there!

I’m so excited for you to see this pattern and make it for yourself! Keep reading for links to my Etsy and Craftsy shops, where you can find the pattern.

This pattern is perfect for a beginner. It really is fun to crochet it and watch as each stripe continues the lovely pattern.

This blanket works up super quick, but you will need to know how to weave in all of the ends as there are quite a few of them.

Yikes! Stripes

The yarn for this pattern is easily found and relatively inexpensive. If you’re looking for a second project to squeeze in before the holidays, or for an upcoming birthday, this is it. Â You can find the pattern in either myÂ CraftsyÂ store or in my EtsyÂ store.

No time to crochet and need this blanket now? You can purchase the Yikes! Stripes blanket at either Amazon or Etsy. Thanks for shopping; I hope you will consider making this fun pattern in all of its wonderful stripey-ness!

What I’ve Been Up To

If you haven’t had a chance to check out myÂ YouTube videos that I’m making for the studio yet, I hope you will take time soon to stop by and see them. I have an Okie accent, which will hopefully bring a smile to your face as you listen. I honestly had no idea it was so thick!

It is truly amazing and humbling to see my videos out there in the world for all to see. I just can’t get over it! I am sure my family is getting tired of hearing me talk about them. Besides the videos, I am also working on two different afghans, along with writing new patterns and blogging. Life is never dull around here!

School has started; it’s my daughter’s senior year. She’s the last child, and that means I am almost at the end of what feels like a lifetime of teaching. It will be the end of an era for both homeschooling and motherhood. I will have 26+ years of “always being there” under my belt. Where did the time go?!

Are you transitioning this year? Perhaps you’ll soon have an empty nest, like me. Or maybe you have elderly parents for whom you have taken on caregiving duties. Leave a note in the comments and tell me what’s going on in your life! Then take time to sign up for our newsletter, so you’ll always know when new patterns are released.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Karen Stewart

So You are New to Crochet: How to Weave in the Ends

Here is my next installment of So, You are New to Â Crochet: How to Weave in the Ends. Crocheting so many granny square afghans has given meÂ soÂ many chances to learn how to weave in the ends. I have used several different methods on weaving in the ends and have finally stopped with this method. I like it best.

The week is a busy one with the brick and mortar shop Lokal and Main’s Grand Opening last night and some gardeningÂ later in the week. The shop was overflowingÂ Â with people so I didn’t take any photos. I will try to stop by later this week and take a few photos so you can see how lovely it looks.

Today is bittersweet for me. I remember my father today as this is the day he lost his fight to cancer 10 years ago. He fought a long hard fight for 15 years, and it was devastating when the news came that there was nothing more that could be done. He was cheerful Â and sweet tempered to the end and I never heard him complain. DadÂ was usually the first to share a joke and a laugh. Â One of Dad’sÂ gifts was the ability to change the mood in the situation by making people laugh. I watched him time after time enter a hospital room or hospital waiting room where family was waiting nervously and by sharing funny stories help people relax and laugh. He did that for me more times than I can count. Â Today, I want to remember him as he lived, laughing.

I don’t normally share so much that is close to my heart but today I Â just had to share. I am doing Â a little planning today and later I hope to be spending time with the crochet hook as I keep working on a new afghan. I can’t wait to show it to you. It uses suchÂ beautiful wool yarns and it is another granny square afghan. It makes me so thankful that I learned how to weave in the ends. It truly is a crochet skill worth having!

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. Remember long ends are easier to weave in!

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Karen Stewart

So You are New to Crochet: Tools of the Trade

There is another youtube video out today, So You are Â New to Crochet: Tools of Trade will go over my tool kit and what I use in my crocheting. There are a few points that I need to tell you about that I don’t think I cover in my video.

The length and diameter of the crochet hook are important to me.

The length matters as a slightly longer handle helps me grip the hook better.
The diameter or how big the handle is around also matters as I have arthritis and it is easier on my hands to hold a fatter crochet hook.

Experiment and try different brand hooks and see what works better for you. Â The hooks in the photo above are both the same size “J”. You can see that one is longer than the other and the shank is longer as well. This can make a difference. The style of head is also different.

I hope you enjoy the new video. I am still so new to creating videos. The only thing I do not carry in my tool kit that you might want are stitch markers. They are pretty vital when you start crocheting in the round.

I’m sitting in the coffee shop this morning, waiting for enough time to pass that I can go to an appointment with my daughter. She just took advantage of a 40% off Â coupon for new colored pencils. I am rather jealous of all of the beautiful colors! Amazing that the first words out of her mouth were

“Wouldn’t it make a beautiful crochet blanket”!

(I have trained my children well, they know what their Mother likes!) I agree but I have too many items waiting for the crochet hook…well, maybe.

Life has been busy the past several weeks. Who, am I kidding? Life is always busy, if it weren’t I wouldn’t be alive. There is much to be done, much left to do and much more left undone at home. I have been working on an afghan in neutral tones of grey, brown, beige, and creams. It is beautiful but I think it will be difficult to write a pattern from as it has taken a certain amount of stretching, fudging and frogging to keep the sides evenish. I have been enjoying it, even though it seems so beige and boring. It is great for showing texture.Â

If you watch my shop then you know that I have removed a greater portion of my sewn items from my shop. There is a great reason for that. They will be available for consignment at a shop near the house and completely on my flight path.Â I have also been sewing again to add a bit to the consignment items. The shop is new and will be great for quick gifts for family and friends. There will be no shipping and finally my Etsy shop will be more crochet and yarny items. I am very excited. I will take you on a quick preview later this week as they get ready for opening.

Talk to you later,
Karen

P.S. Please give “So You Are New to Crochet: Tools of the Trade”Â a thumbs up after you watch it. It will encourage me to keep filming.

As always if you shop online at either Joann Fabrics or Craftsy for anything, please use my affiliate links and I will get a very small percentage back. It will help me pay for my yarn addiction!

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Karen Stewart

How to Join Yarn in Crochet

This past couple of weeks I have been posting new youtube videos once a week. This week I am adding Â a new video to the series So, You are New to Crochet: Joining yarn. This is such a short video and takes a little bit of the mystery out of joining yarn. It is one of my favorite joining methods and a little different as it takes care of weaving in one end of the yarn as you go.

The week has been full and busy with family and business pulls on my time. I have spent quite a bit of time at the library this week as one of my daughters has had a commitment 4 days this week from 8-12.

This was the view from the second floor of our library one day this week.

A direct consequence of her time commitment has been extended time getting work done, just not housework. I need to head out to the library more often. It is quiet and there are no dogs barking or household chores pulling at my time.

I have a neat opportunity heading my way at the beginning of August. I can’t wait to tell you about it.

Crocheting has been simple and direct. Right now, I have 4 afghans started and I have finished 4 quick and easy projects.Â I am working with some neutrals in shades of grey, beige, cream and brown in a wide variety of textures and incorporating some stash yarn. I love how the colors blend.

I am not sure of the pattern as it is bugging me right now.

The orange is reclaimed yarn from a sweater. It has been hanging around in my stash mocking me. The yarn is very low twist and exceedingly hard to crochet into anything that looks great. It is turning into something strictly utilitarian. I think I will get rid of what is left. I am very disappointed in the yarn.

The lovely purpley blue is turning out quite nice. I’ll show you later what it is turning into.

Remember the hexies, they had a couple of rounds added and some joining in a bright red yarn. It is about 1/3 the size that I need it to be so I am going to lay it aside for awhile. I will let it grow organically as I am left with little balls of stash yarn. It is making quite a nice afghan and I love that each hexi is different.

I have also been working on the home front and there are odds and ends to finish up before school starts next month.Â I was painting my daughter’s bedroom a couple of weeks ago. It was this horrible cafe au lait color with a muddy green wallpaper accent wall. It was dark, depressing, and made the room feel incredibly small.Â

I have it finished and it looks wonderful. Pardon the lumpy quilt. I originally took this photo to show my Mom and it ended up here as well.

There is more work to do in her room. There is a little bit of wallboard repair that needs to be finished and then I will need to touch up the paint. Needing to repair the wallboard didn’t show up until we were in the middle of the painting. Her roomÂ looks so much better, even needing the repair. I need to get back to work on it and finish it up!

What have you been working on lately, home chores, crochet or other things?

Talk to you later

Karen

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Karen Stewart

Where I Talk about Gauge and Why it Matters

What is gauge and why does it matter? There is another youtube video out today and I am introducing gauge and why it matters. It does matter, most of the time. I am not too concerned about gauge most of the time but you should be. Since I design most of my own crochet and walk my own path.

Gauge matters most when you are crocheting from a pattern. The one thing about gauge is that you MUST use the same size crochet hook throughout a project, unless the instructions say otherwise. Â You can find out more in my youtube video on gauge.

There is much going on this summer as we ready our house for a fun gathering of friends. I have been reading about scruffy entertaining. I am afraid that the house will be Â scruffy looking but I hope that it isn’t too scruffy. Scruffy entertaining is having friends over with Â minimal cleaning. I really do need to find the tops of my coffee tables as they are full of yarn, patterns and scissors. Since some of the friends coming have toddlers, I haveÂ to put away all the pins, scissors and yarn. Life has been busy this summer with full time crochet work, three kids at home and all that life brings in the course of the week and will be sorting these things out. It is wonderful to feel well enough to work and clean in the same day.

What are you working on and how is the summer going at your house?

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Karen Stewart

Where I Burn Yarn and Expose my Okie Accent

This is where I burn yarn and expose my Okie accent at the debut of my Youtube channel. Â It is funny to me how I actually sound and I hope it doesn’t grate on too many nerves. It is amazing to me to see these videos come together so quickly. I am showing tips, tricks and just generally sharing my knowledge. I have found it hard to crochet slowly enough to show what is going on. The first video I am releasing is called Burn Test. Â I was terribly afraid that I would set the house on fire and you can see the results of the test in the video. It was very interesting to see how the yarns actually burned. We did this test in one of my classes at college. I was amazed to see how much knowledge I actually retained. Here you go!

It was fun to create and see how things turn out. I have been filming little videos all week.

The July 4th weekend has been fun and busy. We have been finishing a bunch of yard work and cleaning in the house.

I am working on a couple of different crochet projects. This one is fun and it looks nothing like this now but I played with the colors bit.

These are the basis of my blanket.

The next photos remind me of the Grandmother’s Flower Garden Quilt.

I have already moved on from these square arrangements. I am crocheting a scrap afghan and just ran out of yarn for these little flowers. The yarn that I have left over I roll into little balls of yarn. These end up in a jar or when it overflows into Â a large plastic box. When the box overflows, I try to start using them up. I am and it is turning out really bright and colorful.

Talk to you later,

Karen

I would love to see your projects. Post your photos in the comments and I will stop by and see them. What are you working on now?

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Karen Stewart

Crochet projects and other projects

Here is what I am doing now on my crochet projects and other projects. The flower blanket is zooming along and I am almost finished with it. Here is a more current photo of it. Â I just have the borders left on it now and it is enormous. It is a heavy blanket and will be wonderful this coming winter. The blanket already has a home as it is a custom order. It will feel good to start on other crochet projects, I have so many in mind.

I went to the business conference last weekend and it was wonderful. The goals setting advice and clarity I got for my business has been wonderful.Â

I was able to meet Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom. I have been reading her blog for years and it was nice to meet her in person. Â She is as fun in person as she is online.

There has been a bunch of stirring around and re-organizing. I am excited that part of this area will be my new studio area.Â

We have been having a huge cleaning session, getting rid of extra stuff, condensing boxes, and packing up our daughter’s college items until she gets her own place. This is the dirty truth about our makerspace. It sometimes becomes the catch all!

I also found some yarny messes that I have been organizing and clearing out.

It is Memorial day here and we spent time at the cemetery decorating Dad’s gravestone. He was a veteran and we are thankful for his and other’s service for our country. Â Dad’s stone is the one in the foreground.Â

If you or a loved one has served we thank you for your sacrifice for our freedoms.
The week was full and fun. It has been a busy week and even busier weekend. I am excited to finally get to work in the new studio area. I hope to get more organized with my pattern writing and crocheting. Â My yarn is more organized. I have decided that I have too much yarn and need to get started crocheting so that moreÂ of it leaves my house! (Is it really possible to have too much yarn?) I have yarntopia and then three plastic tubs full along with baskets full in the living room. I also bought more this past week at a flea market, but it was sooo nice and such a lovely color!

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Karen Stewart

Crochet Projects

I am working on several different crochet projects this month. I have three in progress; a custom granny square and two new stripe afghans. There are also 3-4 projects in what I call the incubator.

The incubator is a blending of several things; a secret pinterest board of ideas, yarn in yarntopia, and visual ideas that persist in running through my mind over and over again. Sometimes the ideas make it to the sketchbook or a yarn order.

The flower blanket you have been seeing updates on through Instagram. It is just a huge project. I feel like I am eating an elephant, one little bite at a time. I know it will be completed soon but it feels like climbing up a mountain on a slippery ice. It just keeps dragging on and on with no end in sight. I really wish I was at the joining stage. Truthfully, I’m not. I was just setting them out to verify how many squares I really needed.

I have been continuing to read the books on my list. I have been completing the exercises as I go and I think I am making progress. Breaking Busy has been reminding me to not overcommit to activities. Frankly, it has been hard as my life is in a shift of priorities. It appears that we are shifting from parenting to coaching to support staff, and from being friends with parents to keeping an eye on things for them a little bit more. Mom calls it the sandwich generation. I know she is right as sometimes I feel pretty squashed.Today, I am tired, deeply exhausted that tends to go with the fibromyalgia has set in. The weekend was full of family, fun and plain hard work. The results are amazing and today’s exhaustion is worth it.

The weather is gloomy and chilly today, which makes me want to snuggle under a blanket with a cup of coffee. I just need a Â day of quiet, crochet and dinner in the crock pot. So, I am off to get dinner started so I can sit and crochet the rest of the day guilt free. The laundry is going so I feel pretty productive even if I am not working very hard.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on May 14, 2016 by Karen Stewart

Scalloped blanket is finished

I have finally finished this beautiful afghan that I have named the scalloped blanket. I use this beautiful yarn that comes in so many different colors.

Aren’t they gorgeous? I decided to write the tutorial and share it with you but it is still in the process.

This close up of the different colors in the yarn makes it a beautiful addition to your home.

It is a truly wonderful blanket full of texture. The design Â and pattern are very simple and the yarn is easy to work with. I think this is a step up from a basic beginner blanket. I can’t wait to share the instructions with you.

The colors look different in different lights. Reds, blues and grays can be so hard to photograph. There is tan and browns in the blanket as well.

I was hoping to have this tutorial written by now. Things have been busy at home. Our oldest dear daughter graduated from college this past weekend. We had tons of work to do getting her things loaded up into the cars and then attending the lovely graduation ceremony. Celebrating this wonderful accomplishment was an honor. Then there was a super fast loading of her stuffÂ and the 5+ hour drive home in three different cars. It was a long drive but incredibly worth it. We are very proud of her. She worked incredibly hard and is now ready to start the next chapter in her life!

You can see why writing the crochet pattern just didn’t happen this past week.

talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Karen Stewart — 2 Comments

4 Ways to Plan a Crochet Blanket

Planning a Crochet Blanket

Planning a crochet blanket can be difficult. How many skeins of yarn will you need? How big will it be? What colors should you use? Planning a crochet blanket can be difficult but there are 4 ways to plan a crochet blanket that will make it easier.

The sketch method

Drawing out your afghan can be helpful if you are creating an afghan with complex color changes or designs. Pull out those colored pencils and start sketching it out. Like a road map it will help keep you on track. You can refer to this sketch when you aren’t quite sure what to do next and it might keep you from having to frog (take it all out) as much. If you are creating a pixelated or tapestry design then you will follow the chart much as a cross stitcher does.

Do the Math

I use the math method when I am working on a Granny square blanket to see how many squares I will need to crochet to create a specific size blanket. It is simple to use and very helpful. Simply create a square, measure it. You can then figure out how many squares per length and width. Multiply length and width together and the answer will tell you how many squares you need.

This should read 10 x 12 which is 120 squares. They are 6″ squares. I need twelve squares for the length and ten squares to reach 60″ x 72″. This will create the perfect size for the afghan I needed to crochet.

The Sample Method

Here is my sample method. I was playing with some new yarn and I wanted to see how it would look in stripes. People all over the crochet world use different types of sample colors to see how they will work in their blanket. Wooden clothes pins or pegs and little cardboard spools are used to hold colors. These work great as it helps you play with the colors until you get just the right color combinations.

Here I layout the skeins to see how the colors work together. This is one of my preferred methods. They are usually set out on the couch to get an idea of how they will work in a blanket. There were so many skeins used that it is easier to see the progression of colors without putting the skeins on the floor.

These are my 4 most favorite ways to plan an afghan. Do you have a favorite afghan planning method. Do you plan your projects or do the spontaneously happen? My favorite afghan are scrap afghans or blankets that just happen! They seem to have more life in them than the meticulously planned, but I am very spontaneous about crochet. Not everyone is spontaneous so planning has its place as well. It does help you know that you have enough yarn for the project you have planned. If you know of another method, let me know. I am always looking for new ways to stay organized!

talk to you later,

Karen