The end of the challenge!

Granny Square Challenge: Weeks 5 & 6

This is the final week of the challenge and not only I have managed to stick to it I have made alot more Granny Squares than was suggested. So far I have 15 sets of six crocheted squares made and 6 sets in progress.

Week 5 was cut short as I went to Lake Garda for a long weekend, I had hoped to complete 3 sets of squares, but didn't have time to put the final row of white on two of the sets. When I was packing them, to take away with me, I noticed that I had mixed up the colour combinations from my original samples, so two more squares of each had to be made. 

This week I am off again to Agadir, Morocco with my daughter, so I have made a few samples that will just need white added to them. I was worried about taking a crochet hook on the plane, but a friend has just used one of the new Clover hooks on an Easyjet flight, so I'm hoping BA will be fine. These hooks are lovely to work with, definetely worth the extra cost.

These are all the squares that I have crocheted so far, I now need to start sewing in the ends and blocking them, ready for stitching together. I would like to make my blanket for a single bed, not sure of the size required I did some research on google. The suggested size appears to be 66" x 90"and as my squares measure 4 3/4", I have worked out I only need 266 squares to complete my blanket, not as many as I orginally thought.

I love looking at the rest of the groups progress and can't wait to see the finished blankets. Perhaps we should have them displayed on your 1st Anniversary at your new HQ Claire. I hope that most of the group continue with the kick-start challenge and actually make a blanket, I know that it will be a first for many. 

Granny Square Challenge: Week 4

I haven't been as busy this week making my crochet squares as I have been working on my project for Fen Edge Textiles, plus the garden has been calling me.

This week, I completed the three sets of squares that I started last week, and prepared three samples for next weeks work. As I have so many different colours of my yarn, I decided to record the colour combinations already used and choose a few more. I have worked out that I need 72 sets of six, to make my blanket, so I thought that if I chose 36 different colour combinations, I could then work them in reverse. However, when I did a tally chart of the frequency each colour was used, I found that there would be too much orange, so I might have to make a few changes.

Total number of squares completed for blanket: 72 (Only 360 left to make!)

I have continued to work on my bag, but instead of completing four this week, I decided to work on the last eight at the same time. These will all be finished next week, so that all I will have to do then is assemble it and make the handles. I need more of the brown yarn for this, so I will pick up a ball this afternoon when shopping. I also need to make a lining, as listening to advice, I think the bag needs it. Once the crochet squares are stitched together, before stitching the sides, I will make a pattern. I also thought that I would make a double lining, so that all the seams could be hidden and I could add a small zipped pocket on the inside. i put one of these into the bag I made for my daughter last month using the instructions from Lisa Lam's book, The Bag Making Bible. The instructions were so easy and it really finished off the bag.

Granny Square Challenge: Week 3

We didn't go out last weekend (un-heard of in this house), so I had plenty of time to crochet more squares in the evening.  I made another 3 complete sets for my blanket (54 squares in total), Plus I made three squares for next weeks colour scheme, plus the centres. I was going to sew the ends in this week, but decided to save that task for another day. I have, however, learnt to catch in the ends of the yarn this week, whilst I am crocheting, so this will save a task in future. I now have 24 different colours of Stylecraft Special DK plus the white, so hopefully my blanket will turn out to be nice and scrappy.

I have been looking at different Granny Square blankets on Google images, it is to clever how you can often link to the blog of the creator and read the story behind their blanket. I know that this is a long WIP project, but I can't wait to have my own blanket.

I also made four more squares for my bag, using the reverse colours. I'm half way there now, just eight more squares and two handles. I haven't decided whether or not to line the bag, at the moment that is my plan, as I think that the open squares will need it for strength and security.

Granny Square Challenge: Week 2

I haven't made as many squares this week for my blanket, just 12. That makes 36 in total now, only another 396 to go! Still enjoying the challenge, the most difficult part for me is making the centre. Next week, I hope to make another 12, plus sewing all the ends into the squares already made.

I have also made these four squares to make into a bag for my holiday in May. I already had a patchwork pattern that I was going to use as a guide and I have now found this pattern on Ravelry. It is the same style that I wanted, it just used a  different square as the pattern. This pattern will need to be another project as my daughter wants one. I need to make 12 more squares for this bag, four of them will identical, whilst the other eight will be the reverse of each square, with the colours pink, green, orange and turquoise.

Granny Square Blanket

For years I have wanted to own a Granny Square blanket. I could have cheated and purchased one, but it wouldn't have been mine then. Earlier this year, a friend mentioned that she had signed up for a crochet class. The rest as they say is history! I also signed up for a beginners class with Claire at Beautiful Things. Her teaching methods are great and by the end of the first session I was hooked. After two sessions I had mastered the stitches needed to make my blanket and started to collect some wool. But it wasn't until last Friday when Claire set up a challenge on her blog that I made a start on my blanket.

As a novice, I made my first six squares using chunky wool. I can't say that I enjoyed working with this weight of wool, but the work grew quickly and I was able to practice my tension. The pattern I used was from a blog called Little Tin Bird, it is just the basic pattern and an excellent tutorial.

On Monday, the fun started and I made my first square using Stylecraft DK, so many lovely colours to choose from. I already had a few colours but over the week I now have 18 different colours to use in my blanket with the main colour being white. Following the tip from a blog called 'The Stitch Sharer', I made myself a colour chart, so that I wouldn't forget the names of all the colours. I had already chosen my yarn before I came across this blog, so I haven't used the same colours. Mine are more pink and  purple based. I love the scrappyness of these blankets and have to say I am obsessed already. My husband doesn't seem to mind me crocheting in the evening (he hate's me sewing), so a great project whilst watching TV.

Following Claire's instructions, I am working in groups of six squares. But instead of completing the six, before I start the next set, I have different colourways at different stages, this is so that I just work with white at night when I'm watching television. I can already see that sewing in all the ends is going to be a challenge. I might have to watch a few You-Tube tutorials to see how to incorporate them into the square whilst I'm working. After week one of the challenge, I have six chunky squares and 24 DK squares. I know that I won't be able to make this number each week as I have other projects that I need to work on, with deadlines looming. As long as I make a set of six each week, I will be happy.

Frixion Pens

Frixion pens (by Pilot) have been about in the stationary stores for several years and were initially designed to use on paper. They are a rollerball pen and come in red, blue, black, green, purple plus  pink and yellow highlighters. They were designed, so that you could write, erase (rubber on the end) and then write over again. Someone, discovered that if you used them to make marks on fabric that they disappeared completely with an iron. I tested a black and red pen on white cotton and it definetely disappeared to the eye, but left a faint ghost mark. I have also heard that a hairdryer will remove the marks too. I'm not sure if the pen marks can be so easily removed afer a lond period of time, something worth testing.  There are quite a few reviews online of quilters testing these pens, as with all markers, do a test piece first before using it on a whole project. Craft shops are starting to sell these pens for just under £6 each. Amazon, all supermarkets and good stationary stores sell them at a fraction of the price. I recently purchased  a packet containing a blue and black pen, for £4 in Asda.

Skeletal trees Part II

Uploading photos to a blog, it the one thing that prevents me from blogging on a regular basis. It seems to take forever on my Mac, I have tried it on my iPhone too but without success. Not sure why the photo was previously rotated.

The trees were all pieced together and strips added without too much thought to accurate seams. I think I need to take slightly more care when I re-work this idea as some of the lines definetely go off at an angle.