Granny Square a Week-Week Nine

This week we are back to the smaller square! And it is a pretty one:

Granny Spiral by PKOlson

This looks FAR harder than it actually is. I worked this up very fast, less than a half hour. You will need 4 separate colors-or 2 colors with 2 separate skeins for each color-and I think that is what makes it go a lot faster. In my main color square, I added an off white and a pink to complete the 4 color spiral. This will definitely have to be blocked.


 No adjustments were necessary.

The 2 added colors are Vanna's Choice in Pink and Red Heart Soft in Off White

The alternate square was made with Red Heart Soft in Off White, Red Heart Super Saver in Light Blue, Lily Sugar and Cream in Brown and Bernat Super Value in Wedgewood which is a variegated yarn in blues, browns and off white.

Until Next Week!

Granny Square a Week-Week Eight

Continuing with the theme from last week, this square is larger than our earlier ones. This is a beautiful flower centered square that is a bit 3D. It almost looks like a lotus blossom! It is made with the crocodile stitch which is very popular lately.

Also, you will notice, I added a third color with my main color square. I wanted to  change it up a bit, so I added a wee bit of Red Heart Soft Off White (I am planning on edging and joining in the color in the end when I assemble the afghan). Without further ado, here is the pattern:

Crocodile Stitch Afghan Block By Joyce Lewis

Colors are: Red Heart Dusty Rose, Bernat Super Value Lilac and making a second appearance, Impeccable Forest

It is a 3 dimensional square so it adds a lot of interest to the piece.It takes a wee bit longer to work but it is worth it!

Until Next Week!

Granny Square a Week-Week Seven

Valentine's Day is upon us so of course we have to make a heart motif granny square! There are no shortage of heart granny squares, but I chose this one for the simplicity and the texture since you work in the back loops for one round, which gives it a bit of interest.

This week also marks the start of my branching out beyond the 5 inch square. I have some gorgeous patterns and I want to include in this project but they are larger than the size I started out with and it would be impossible to finagle the pattern to be smaller. I figured we will make a few for the center of the afghan. This is the first one that is a larger square that I will be making.

Center Heart Square by Heart Made Blessings

A little sweetness for Valentine's Day <3

Alternate colors are done with Vanna's Choice yarn in Cranberry and Pink Poodle

 
As you can tell, these squares want to roll or shrink up into themselves, mostly because of the heart that was worked in the middle. These will definitely need a bit of blocking when done!

Happy Valentine's Day! Until Next Week!

About Blocking and Finished Squares

I was asked a few times why do I share my squares right after I am finished, without blocking, which makes the squares appear uneven or not as perfect as it looks in the link to the pattern. There is a method to my madness! In my years of crocheting, I have found that most books, magazines, websites and blogs that feature crochet show completed pieces at their most perfect. While I understand the intent behind it, I would have loved to have seen some of those pieces before the blocking and perfecting done to it, so when my piece was done I wouldn't look at theirs and back at mine and think I did something wrong. I like to show what yours may look like RIGHT when you complete the piece. If it is a wee bit wonky or crooked, that is ok, because that is how it is straight off the hook.

As for blocking-I mentioned this quite a few times and a few people have mentioned to me they have no idea what I am talking about. :) So this is for you! Blocking is when you wet the finished piece and arrange it in a way that when it dries it comes out with straight edges, neat, clean lines and perfect gauge. The process I use is one I learned a hundred years ago when I made my first scarf:

You will need: 2 towels-must be colorfast, light colors or white are best, a bunch of rust proof safety pins and access to cold water.

1. Wet your piece in the sink or tub until it is thoroughly wet. I use cold water for everything, no matter if it is acrylic, wool, cotton, a blend, etc. Only because this ensures no shrinking or felting ruin all my hard work.
2. Lay out your 2 towels.
3. Lay your piece(s) down on one of the towels and roll it up. If you are doing a bunch of smaller pieces, you can put a few down on the towel at once.
4. Press firmly all along the towel roll to get out any extra wetness.
5. Unroll the towel and move the piece(s) to the second towel. Begin to arrange your piece(s) and safety pin them into the shape you want.
6. Leave to dry. Usually it is about a day. But make sure they are dry before you remove them.

There are different variations on this-some people put plastic down before they pin the pieces, some people just spray with a mister instead of wetting the pieces in a sink and there is also a way to block using a steam iron(although it is not recommended for synthetics).

Any other questions I will be more than happy to answer, either privately or here on the blog!

Granny Square a Week-Week Six

We are back to the number randomizer and we got 38, which is this pattern

Versatile Granny by Red Heart Yarn

Left are my main colors
My alternate colors this week are Red Heart Soft in Off White and Bernat  Super Value in Yellow

It is a relatively easy square for this week. Just a slight variation on a regular granny square. It works up fast but looks very pretty! I actually like my alternate colors this week a little more than my main ones!

Until Next Week!!

Granny Square a Week-Week Five

I decided to make a departure from the traditional Granny Square and make a block out of Tunisian or afghan crochet. If you are not familiar, Tunisian crochet is worked up much like you would if you were knitting something; you cast on a row of stitches and then work all those stitches off the hook 2 (or more) at a time.  Traditionally, you would also use a much longer crochet hook that is uniform in diameter, since you keep the stitches on the hook (for this project I used a regular hook since it was a much smaller number of stitches). It gives a much more dense appearance and  is often used for afghans, pot holders and sometimes sweaters.

Plus, to me, it works up very fast, especially if you get a rhythm going. I remember one year for Christmas, I made 5 pot holders for my daughter's teachers in about 3 hours with Tunisian crochet.

I found this variation on the Tunisian Crochet and thought it would make a very fantastic addition to my little project here.

Andrew's Keepsake Tunisian Crochet by Teresa at Crochet Geek

It is a very pretty motif. If you have never done Tunisian Crochet before, Teresa at Crochet Geek (formerly Art of Crochet by Teresa) has a TON of videos on YouTube as well as written tutorials on her blog.

My adjustments:
I did 20 beginning chain stitches instead of 25
I only made 3 shells
I skipped 3 stitches between the single crochet and the start of the shell in order for it to come out even
I added a border. And the type of stitch rested solely on making the final size uniform with the rest of my squares. On my main colors, I ended up having to make a double crochet border and on the alternate I only had to do a single. It is up to you what you make.

Also a note-Tunisian Crochet will roll, just like knitting, as you are working your square. So try to stretch and smooth it out as much as possible.

And here they are

See it rolling?

My alternate colors I used a cotton yarn which worked up larger than the tradition acrylic yarn
This is Lily and Cream Fleur de Lavande and I did not realize until I got it home that it was scented LOL

Until Next Week!

Granny Square a Week-Week Four

The number randomizer I used to pick the pattern this week gave me number 21 which was this pattern:

Pinwheel Star Square by Esther Leavitt from Crafts by Starlight


Boy, this one was a bit of a toughie. The basic crocheting was fine, it was trying to fold the crochet to make the pinwheel that stumped me. I finally figured it out....when I realized I had an extra pinwheel! I have  no idea how that happened, but I was able to fix it so I had the correct number.  The edging was tricky, too, because I wasn't sure about what counted as stitches because  of the  folding. This is another square that will definitely need a bit of blocking to get it to be perfectly square.

Because of this, I am only making ONE of these in the main colors. I will catch up with my alternate colors toward the end, maybe a  traditional square in a solid neutral for  dead center of the afghan, we'll see once we get closer to the end. I still have 45 blocks to go! ;)

And make sure someone reminds me of this-I envision myself going crazy, wondering why I only have 48 blocks for my alternate color, thinking I lost one. 

So here she is:

I took the picture this week a little closer to show more of the detail since it was lost with the standard pic. It is made to look like a pinwheel, the folding creates small pockets. And if you do it in 2 or more colors, you get that circle pattern effect. Overall, it is a very pretty square!
 

I wanted to add that if you know of any Granny Square patterns I would like-either yours or one from another blog-please pass it along to me! I need a link of all original work in order to be able to use it, so please make sure you include it in your comment or message.

Until next week!