Vintage Solid Granny Blanket - Week 4 - Tuesday's Tallies

So one hundred and ninety two squares, twelve each of sixteen colours are whizzed up. The only teeny tiny annoying bit being I didn't sew in the ends as I went. Now regretted, naturally.

Although it isn't too bad as I am sewing in the ends for a pile of 16 different squares and then adding to my throw, a row at a time.

Using teal that has not been used so far. I will work all the rows one way, and then the vertical rows.

A nice neat join going through the back 2 loops only, and just an end at the beginning and end of each row.

Properly arty types can be random.....but I have equal numbers of 16 colours, and am randomly working out each row as I go. So I sew in the 32 ends for 16 squares, and place next to the throw to date to make sure a colour only ever repeats in one row of 16 and never more than twice is a 12, and of course never adjoin each other. The top row is "planned" but not joined yet below.

So is this random or not? Who cares.....! 6 rows of 12 done!

I love the Elmer Squares, so neat.

I should be on the border next week, and I am hoping to goodness my mum hasn't taken up crochet and blogging and seen her Christmas Present!  Keep up with Carole's One A Day Tuesday's Tallies here

Vintage Solid Granny Blanket - Wks 2 and 3 - Tuesdays Tallies

Crochet is fabulous. However bananas life goes you can carry yarn and find 10 minutes in a day to squeeze in a square. Dead time becomes profitable. so progress has been good on my Vintage Granny despite an update not happening last week. I have finally decided on 16 colours for the blocks and a 17th to join. Yes I know, a prime number! I love the maths and counting and repetitive patterns in squares.

So I am making 12 squares each of my 16 colours. So far I have ten of each so the missing siblings should be finished this week.

I love the way the squares all curl in the same way.

I have spent quite a bit of time jumping ahead of myself and contemplating the joining method. Originally I was planning a final round in teal for each square and then a join as you go technique suitable for the solid squares. It was not right. In the end I think I have settled on a double crochet join but through the back loop of each stitch when wrong sides are together. So the join is a feature of the design. Last time I joined in this way on my flowery throw I joined through both loops (so through all 4 loops in the two stitches) and it was not very neat.

It looks a lot neater through the two rather than four loops. I am also gleefully enjoying the fact that this is a very quick way to join with minimal ends to sew in as complete rows are worked up and down and then side to side. I think the border may also be teal heavy, after all I bought 3 balls of teal expecting to need a lot!

My work basket...some of the colours are hiding!

Stylecraft Special DK unless stated Left to Right. Row 1: Mocha 1064 Copper 1029 Meadow 1065 Silver 1203 Row 2: Gold (King Cole Big Value DK 323) Mint (Stylecraft Life DK 2342) Pale Rose 1080 Sherbet 1034 Row 3: Claret 1123 Parchment 1218 Apricot 1026 Raspberry 1023 Row 4: Soft Peach 1240 Grape 1067 Walnut 1054 Aspen 1422 Finally Teal 1062 (not pictured above) to join

Aran Cushions - Part 2 - Blackberry Stitch DONE!

Do you remember  way back when? The summer sometime, before the trees turned, before we moved house etc etc etc Middle one wanted an assortment of cushions for her uni room. Aran Cushion number 1 was completed before the start of term, but number two was finished for her birthday last week. It was going to be a knitted bobble stitch with a plain back but I decided to have a bash at a crocheted Blackberry Stitch instead based on this pattern.

I Bobbled Along.... quite happily. Working in Stylecraft Chunky was harder on the hands, and each bobble takes some working, 5 stitches into 1 do go with some elbow grease.

The lovely effect of this stitch does come at a price, you need a massive amount of the yarn. I was so far out I used double what I expected and that was keeping the back as plain trebles. It is a gorgeous effect though, just be warned on the yardage!

I worked a simple button closure slip stitching along the last row of trebles and just working a 3-4 chain loop where a button was sewn on accordingly on the opposite side. The cushion is a large 60cm square, and cost a fortune to post with its pad to my daughter.

Pictures were hard to get on a gloomy day when rushing to pack and post off.

But she did like it! One of those "DONE" projects that was enjoyable but I am glad to be moving onto something else, namely my Vintage Solid Granny that is progressing well, no update so far this week as my mum has been here for a few days and I just worked on the odd square here and there keeping the rest hidden away.....

BLACKBERRY STITCH CROCHET CUSHION finished 5th November 2012, it took me two months off and on.

FINISHED SIZE: 60cm square

YARN: 3x100g Stylecraft Special Chunky each in Fondant 1241 and Cream 1005

Hook: 5.5mm

PATTERN: Based on this Blackberry Stitch Baby Blanket

HAPPY HOOKY INDEX: 7/10

Blogging Fame (tongue in cheek smiley inserted here!)

As I mentioned in my last post, I was lucky to win a gorgeous satchel from Julie Slater and Sons in a competition organised by Brands on the Blog. Part of the "prize" was evaluating the bag honestly. I don't blog for fame, or money, but it is quite flattering to see your work "in print" on someone else's site! A boost to the ego anyway. I love the bag, genuinely, but at present I could not have bought one so I am very happy!

Crochet on the go

Here is the article on Julie Slater and another one on Brands on the Blog...it is quite spooky as the picture of the bag in the French window I did not take, but the window is almost identical to the kitchen windowat our  gite in France, White Shutters, where we were last week. I wrote the article before we went away! I know I am not going mad, I hope I am not! Hang on, there are shutters on our window. Phew, sanity is retained for another day, just! It turns out that the day I took the photos of the bag on the bench was the last day I spent at our old house too. Mixed emotions as things are all topsy-turvey having half moved house!

Oh well, I'll keep on crocheting...that is a constant, along with family, and the friendship of lovely bloggers and twitterers and FaceBookers and Ravelry peeps worldwide! You can see my solid granny squares that travel with me, well my hook and a ball of yarn do.

Vintage Solid Granny Blanket - Wk 1- Tuesdays Tallies

It has been a while fellow knotters, a very slack blogger I have been! Since my last post, after moving house, we have also had a flying visit out to France to close up our holiday rental gite White Shutters for the winter. We also started extensive refurbishing of the kitchen.  Our old people carrier was loaded with kitchen carcass base units and a lovely new range cooker that was installed in the island unit in the kitchen. We only had 4 days but boy did we work hard, the pool is now hibernating, the Virginia Creeper cut back and the shutters closed for the winter hibernation. 12+ hours in the car each way and evenings in front of the wood burner means lots of crocheting time too. Look what I started about 3 weeks ago.

A square takes about 15 minutes...so a square can be hooked up whilst the rice cooks, a square in the car waiting for an appointment and before you know it there are...

113 squares...oh my gosh how did I make that many without realising? The colours even go with my lovely new Sandstripe Satchel too! I wonder if the colour influence was also in my subconscious?

I started with 6 each of 6 colours, took another 10 colours with me to France and have 10 each  of most of those colours. I will add a couple more colours possibly. This throw is totally inspired by Sandra's beautiful Giant Granny Throw over at Cherry Heart. I am making this for my mum for Christmas, to coordinate with a lovely patchwork quilt she made years ago. I am having to remember the colours but they seemed to be so similar to Sandra's that I am mainly just sticking with her brilliance in picking out colours. The yarn is all good old Stylecraft Special DK with just the gold from another brand. The square pattern is of course the wonderful Elmer square by Little Tin Bird

I knew I loved this square having made the Gingham Cushion back in the summer. This time the last round on all the suares will be in teal, and hopefully I can work out a suitable join as you go method that will work with the solid squares.

It was so nice hooking in fromt of the woodburner with bread, cheese and wine for supper after a hard day's graft!

It's a good job mum doesn't "do" computers so I am not spoiling the surprise! It's nice to be back on course with Tuesday's Tallies again, keep up the good work organising us "One a Day" Carole!