Completed Postage Stamp Baby Blankets

I wanted to share some photos of a couple of completed blankets. I finished them with a round of hdc (half double crochet). In the next round, I evenly spaced 3 dc (double crochet) -- 6 dc, ch1, 6 dc in each corner. I repeated the shell pattern around with various colors, then finished with another round of hdc. I was going for a fun, random, colorful way to tie everything together, while using leftovers as much as possible. 

It's interesting how a border and edging can change the look of a blanket. It's always helpful to see how different options look before you commit to one yourself. I hope these are helpful to you.

From the leftovers of my uncle's blanket:

I had so much fun with the little squares, that I did one with leftover blues, browns, and neutral colors:

The finished size came out to 34" x 40" (10 squares across by 14 squares down). Each individual square is about 3"x3". I just realized that's 140 squares in each blanket. It sounds like a lot, but when you're in the thick of it, it seems to sail by. The weaving in is a bit of a drag, but I think it's worth it for this waffle-y (new word) effect. 

On a side note, when I stacked them together, I thought they would make a really cute gift for twins. Anyway, I'll be listing these at my Etsy shop in the very near future. Happy Friday and bon weekend!

Special Christmas Gift

My uncle - who has always been a healthy and active person - has been struggling with a whole mess of health problems these past several years stemming from an infection he got after a surgery. His lungs have been deteriorating to the point he needed a lung transplant. Thankfully (after months of testing) he was approved and shortly thereafter received a new lung. 

On his 5 month anniversary of receiving the lung, he went on a 5 mile hike! I'm sure it hasn't been easy, but he makes it look that way. He's such a strong person, and I'm so happy he is finally feeling as good as he does.

For Christmas, I wanted to make him a blanket. Since I can't give him a big hug because of COVID-19, I'll let my blanket do the hugging :)

I had lots of blues and greens in my stash, and since he and my aunt are so outdoorsy, I went with those in a random granny square pattern. The colors reminded me of the sea, sky and nature in general. I just kept mixing the colors until I had enough squares (great stash buster too).  I think it came out quite nice.

Hope everyone is having a happy holiday season. 2021 can't get here fast enough!

This was my chaos. It was controlled chaos, but I'm sure this would make some crazy :) Reusable shopping bags and laundry baskets make great holders while you are working on a project. My current work in progress is a baby blanket with the scraps. Stop back to see how that turns out.

Grey like the sky these days, but with a spot of sunshine.

A very nice customer contacted me last month, and asked if I could create a new daisy blanket for her friend who is heading off to college next year. One of the reasons I like working with customers is because they sometimes push me in a different direction I might not go on my own. I love color, but I do enjoy the subdued shades as well. I think it turned out quite pretty.

I used Caron One Pound Soft Grey (2 skeins), White (1 skein) and Yellow (1 skein).

Click here for my daisy pattern.

It was fun to work with her and meet someone new. I have been blessed to meet so many genuine and nice people over the years since I opened this little shop. I really enjoy that part.

Hope every one is staying warm on this December day.

Feeling like summer

I have been busy with a few custom blanket orders, but before things ramped up, I was working on this one...to me it says summer...sun, sky, water...bright and fun. Now if only the weather would catch up!

I used Red Heart's Minty, Turqua, Delft Blue, and a vintage brand soft yellow

Radiant Roses Blanket Complete!

I used approximately 1 skein of each color: Red Heart Super Saver (white, pretty in pink, petal pink, and glow worm). For this baby sized blanket, I did 4 squares x 4 squares. With the green border, the size was around 34" x 34".

I will try to put up a finished square pattern soon...the rose only pattern can be found here.

Radiant Roses

On a rainy Sunday, I am finishing a new blanket for a customer. It is one I created a few years ago based on a vintage blanket and my rose pattern here. I will try to get a new post up with the last few rounds I used to make it into a granny square soon.

I used Red Heart's petal pink, pretty in pink, white and glow worm.

I hope it sends some color and sunshine your way. Happy Sunday!

New custom order

I have been busy with work and a new custom order for a mom-to-be. She asked me to work up a granny square blanket using her bedding as inspiration. The bedding is a pretty pattern from Pottery Barn. I found a new pink yarn that I love and works really well. It's called Blush Pink from Big Twist Yarns. It is one of the prettiest pastel pinks out there.

The blanket is coming along. I still have to work on the edging.

Garden flower sampler

Just finished up a new blanket for a customer. She is having a little boy and doing a garden theme nursery. We added a bee, bird, butterfly and lady bug! It was fun to customize it for her. She was a very creative client and knew what she wanted. It reminded me how much I enjoy working up these samplers...I will have to do more soon...maybe with some new colors?

Happy Friday!

Daisies in the middle

A simple, sweet, square variation of the daisy blanket with a special edge.

I used Berroco Vintage Chunky yarns (Snow Day, Aquae, Minty, and Banana). The blanket is on the smaller side measuring 30"x 30". It's perfect for a car seat or tummy time. The yarn is so soft and warm. It was fun to use.

The border is a shell spaced picot edge.

Finally finished - Daisies on the Edge

It took me longer than expected (between, kids, work and holiday things) to get this completed, but it's done. A new daisy blanket, I have dubbed "Daisies on the Edge". It's the same blanket I did back in 2012, but I used new yarn and new colors (Universal Classic Worsted Yarn). I also wrote the pattern, and it is available here. The main color is called bubblegum, but it reminds me more of a shrimp :)

Thank goodness it's almost Friday...

Coming along

Here's a photo update of the pretty aqua blanket. It's oh so sunny!

As I mentioned in my first post, This one is going to be a coverlet for a double sized bed, so I have a little ways to go, but I just love these colors together. Again, I am using: Lion Brand Gold Fish and Sweet Pea, Red Heart's Cornmeal and a discontinued Robin's Egg, as well as Bernat Aqua. I'm using the join-as-you-go method to put them all together.

Happy 2014.

It's been way too long since my last post, but life has kept me busy, and this little empty blog has had to suffer. I hope to be a better post-er now that the kids are both in school. I hope everyone has been having a wonderful new year so far.

I'm working on a couple of new custom orders: a pretty 3D daisy blanket in coral, and another "citrine blanket", similar to one I've done in the past with a more muted, earthy palette.

This one is going to be a coverlet for a double sized bed, so I have a long way to go, but I just love these colors together. Speaking of, I am using Lion Brand Gold Fish and Sweet Pea, Red Heart's Cornmeal and a discontinued Robin's Egg, as well as Bernat Aqua.

Have a lovely Sunday!

New custom order...pretty pansies

A special customer down in Texas, who I have worked with over the years (has it really been years?), requested a special blanket using the pattern from Leisure Arts #100318, Afghans for All Seasons, Book 1. It's called "Pretty Pansies", and they really are.

She wanted colors similar to the photo, but on a white background, so this is what I came up with:

(I used Caron One pound in white, jonquil, light blue, lavender, lilac; Vanna's Choice in sweet pea; and Red Heart's pretty in pink.)

She was happy with the samples, so off I go...

Happy weekend!

Custom daisy blanket complete

I finally finished up the pretty custom order, so I thought I'd share a little happiness with you:

It really is a sunny square. It somehow makes my day brighter. I hope it makes yours brighter too.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Loads of color surround the daisy

I'm back after a long break. The spring and summer have been busy months with travel, work and family. I've also been working on a steady flow of custom blankets, so unfortunately this blog has been a casualty.

One of the newest orders is for a baby afghan to match a shower invite. My customer liked the daisy pattern, but was looking for colors similar to the image below:

So I came up with this square:

I still need to ask if she would like it bordered in white or just purple. Maybe even a darker purple? What do you think? 

I'm really looking forward to seeing all of the squares together. I'll be sure to post a photo when I'm finished. I hope you've been having a wonderful summer!

Simple

Sometimes simple can be elegant. My latest blanket is for a lovely lady in New York who will be giving this as a gift to her friend (what a nice friend!) She asked for an all white blanket with flowers. I used the rose pattern, but added one more round of petals and sewed them onto an 8" simple granny square.

These squares will be for the middle of the blanket. Then I'll have a border of several rounds (haven't figured how many yet) of 3dc shell pattern and another border of roses. I'm excited to see how it looks when it all comes together. I love the all white though.

This is the schematic I drew up as a guide:

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Gifts for the twins

I've been racking my brains trying to come up with something special for my cousin's new twin girls. I came across a lovely sunburst pattern (seems very "floral-ly" too) over at Purple Chair Crochet. I think I've seen similar patterns out there, but she has some nice photo instruction as well.

I chose Lion Brand Baby's First cotton/acrylic blend in Twinkle Toes, Fairy Tale, Cotton Ball and Bean Stalk. I'm going to add more squares and perhaps do some granny border in predominantly light pink for one and the darker pink for the other to keep them similar, but not the same. Just like the twins (whose names are Sofia and Lauren - I always want to say "Sophia Loren" :)

I'll post some final photos when I get these done, so you can see how they turn out. Hope you're having a lovely President's Day!

(Un)Perfect pink patchwork

Happy belated Valentine's Day. I sound like a broken record, but I've been busy working on a couple of custom requests. One of which I finished up yesterday...

It's a throw sized afghan. I used Hobby Lobby pink and hot rose as well as Red Heart's perfect pink. Usually, I work each square, lay them all out, and use the join as you go method with a border color, but with this one, I made up and attached each square as I went. It's a bit more difficult, because I like to be able to move things around, but I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I hope my customer is too. I'm in love with random patchwork -- afghans, quilts. I think it's a little like life: it's never perfect, and you make it up as you go along!

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.

Having fun with edgings

Here are some photos of the finished edge of my purple patchwork afghan. Of course I can never follow anything without adjusting it in one way or another...the book calls for a dc base and I did hdc and the picots were ch5 and ch9 - I didn't like how loopy they were, so I trimmed them down to ch3 and ch5 picots. They are more nubby, but I like them that way.

Have a wonderful week!

Scrappy purple patchwork

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I've been so busy these days finishing up some large orders for Christmas, I haven't had much time to spend on new designs or posts to this little blog. I did however get Tillie's costume done for Halloween as well as finish up some works-in-progress including this one:

I started it this past summer! I used mainly end-of-skeins that I pack into little Zip Lock bags I always keep handy (I also use baggies for my snipped tails to stuff projects!) These poor little purple squares were sitting around for too long.

Instead of using my usual go-to edgings - sc/dc or scalloped edge - I've decided to use one of the lovely edges from a new book I purchased: Around the Corner Crochet Borders. Once again, Edie Eckman does not disappoint! I'm so pleased. I've got plenty of border books, but not many that address the corners!

There were so many to choose from, but here's the one I picked.

Stay tuned to see how it turns out...