Pink Gingham Blanket

I have never really been very good at completing projects that take me longer than 2 weeks to finish. I am guilty of starting several afghans over the years, only to end up putting them away for months and not getting them finished for years. Now that I am retired I find myself longing to make an afghan for my granddaughter.

It was important to me to find a pattern that would keep my interest while not requiring endless hours of joining motifs and weaving in yarn ends. I am so inspired by the beautiful afghans made using square motifs but the thought of those ends! So, after a bit of research on my favorite "yarny" site, I located the beautiful Crochet Griddle Stitch Black Gingham Blanket by Daisy Farm Crafts. She also put together a great video tutorial on her site! Here's the link to the video tutorial: Video Tutorial

I had never used a stranding technique to make a blanket before and thought that this looked easy enough to do using just two basic stitches, single crochet and double crochet. I decided to try the technique out on a much smaller scale using up some yarn leftovers that I had available before ordering enough yarn for my granddaughter's twin sized bed. I'm pretty pleased with the result. 

Here's a photo of my "test" blanket in progress. Don't you just love how the colors and squares work so nicely together? The key to getting a nice finished result is to make sure that you straighten the rows out every 10 stitches or so to make sure that the yarn you are carrying does not get too snug.

Here is my finished "test" blanket. I think that Teddy is loving it. :)

Now for the BIG blanket. For Meredith's twin bed, I decided to work the Griddle Stitch Gingham Blanket up in shades of her favorite color; PINK. I wanted it to be something that she would love to use because it was her favorite color, but I also wanted to make sure it wouldn't be cast aside when she gets older because it seems too childish. So I chose more muted pinks, hoping that it will be one that she cherishes forever. I used the brand Big Twist Soft in the colors rose, blush and white. This is an acrylic yarn, which makes washing much easier. The three colors that I chose blend nicely together. I worked a total of 140 stitches across in blocks of 20 stitches by 14 rows. This will work nicely.

Here are some progress photos:

After 5 sessions...

A little more than half way...

Only three rows of blocks left...

And now after working 26,280 stitches and more than 40 hours of dedicated work, it's all done! I just need to weave in my yarn ends. I added a simple shell stitch border. I am so happy that I decided to try this new technique. It wasn't extremely difficult, and it has a wonderful finished look that appears much harder to complete than it actually is. I hope my granddaughter loves it and cherishes it for a lifetime. I thought of her with every stitch.

Ribbed Fingerless Mitts

A few days ago I made a sweet little hat for a student who is graduating from the school district I taught in for more than 20 years. I wanted to make something that would complement her personality so I went to an old favorite called "Phannie." I had made several hats years ago using this pattern and went right to work making it. My supply of yarn is varied and it seems that I have a lot of several varieties but not quite enough for a big project, so a hat was the perfect item to make. I chose a single skein of Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable in the color "Dragonfly." This will look really nice with this young lady's complexion and hair color.

You can find the free pattern directions to the hat here:

PHANNIE

After making the hat I had about a third of a skein of yarn left over so today I decided to add a pair of coordinating fingerless mitts. Here's a look at how they turned out.

I try to keep things pretty simple and decided to use front and back post double crochet stitches to complement the texture of the hat. My former student is about my size, so I figured an adult small would likely work for her. If you like my fingerless mitts and want to make a pair for yourself or someone you care about you can follow the pattern directions below.

SKILL LEVEL: Easy

MATERIALS:

▪︎Approximately 100 yards of Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable in color "Dragonfly"  

▪︎Size 4.5 mm crochet hook

▪︎Scissors

▪︎Tapestry needle

NOTE: You can use any fiber of your choice. Simply adjust hook to recommended size on your yarn label and work pattern in multiples of 2.

NOTE: There are directions for each hand you are making the mitt for.

DIRECTIONS: (Left Hand)

Round 1: Leaving a 6" yarn tail, complete 24 foundation double crochet stitches. (Alternately you could chain 26 and dc in 4th ch from hook but the foundation double crochet adds a nice stretch to the fabric, especially when sliding over the widest part of the hand.) Being careful not to twist your work, join with a slip stitch to the first dc of the round to form a small loop. Double check to make sure that you are able to slide this loop over your hand. If necessary, add more foundation dc stitches in groups of 2 until your loop is able to comfortably slide over your hand.

Round 2: Working in the same direction throughout, ch 2. Fpdc in the first st, bpdc in the next st, *[fpdc in next st, bpdc in next st.] Repeat from *[ ] around to end of round, join to first fpdc with a slip st.

Rounds 3: Ch 2. Fpdc around post of first st in round 2, bpdc around post of second st of round 2. Fpdc next st, bpdc next st around to end. Slip st to first st to join. 

Rounds 4-17: Repeat round 3.

Round 18: Ch 2, fpdc in first st, bpdc in second st. Fpdc in 3rd st, bpdc in 4th st. Ch 6, skip 4 sts. *[Fpdc in next st, bpdc next st.] Repeat from *[ ] around to the end. Join with a slip st to first st of round. In this round you made the thumb opening.

Round 19: Ch2, fpdc in first st, bpdc in second st, fpdc in 3rd st, bpdc in 4th st. Work 4 dc stitches in the ch6 space. *[Fpdc in next st, bpdc in next st.] Repeat from *[ ] around to the end. Join with a slip st.

Rounds 20-23: Repeat Round 3.

Round 24: Ch1, sc in each st around to the end. Join with a slip st to the first st of the round. Fasten off, weave in end.

Return to starting yarn end. Secure a stitch or two to the starting st and last st of your foundation dc round to close the gap. Weave in end.

DIRECTIONS: (Right Hand)

For the right hand, repeat all of the left hand pattern directions through Round 17.

Round 18: Ch 2, fpdc in first st, bpdc in second st. Continue to work front and back post stitches through stitch 16. Ch 6, skip 4 sts. [Fpdc in next st, bpdc next st.]2 times. Join with a slip st to first st of round. In this round you made the thumb opening.

Round 19: Ch2, fpdc in first st, bpdc in second st. *[Fpdc in next st, bpdc in next st.] through the 16th stitch. Work 4 dc stitches in the ch6 space. [Fpdc in next st, bpdc in next st.]2 times. Join with a slip st.

Rounds 20-23: Repeat Round 3.

Round 24: Ch1, sc in each st around to the end. Join with a slip st to the first st of the round. Fasten off, weave in end.

Return to starting yarn end. Secure a stitch or two to the starting st and last st of your foundation dc round to close the gap. Weave in end.

A Poncho For Meredith

My little granddaughter just turned 5 years old and will be entering Kindergarten in the fall. I am so excited for her and am also amazed at just how fast she is growing up! I wanted to make her a cute little poncho that she could wear to school and this is what I came up with. It is a smaller version of my Bahama Breeze poncho pattern  (with a few modifications) and can be found on Ravelry. 

V's in front and back

V's to the sides

Before adding fringe

Where It All Begins...

Hello and welcome to my very first blog post! I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Merri and I have been crocheting for nearly 50 years now. Time sure flies, doesn't it? My mom taught me some very simple crochet basics at the young age of seven, and since then I have learned to simply love and enjoy the beauty of this fiber art. It is my hope to use this blog space to share current crochet projects I am working on as well as to communicate ideas and thoughts  about items I would like to make. Occasionally I will even share some of my own designs. I hope you enjoy my blog. Thanks for stopping by!