Ain't Too Proud To Beg ...

For crochet help that is!

I finished my Attic 24 Granny Stripe Blanket with only a day to spare until the baby shower - talk about cutting it close! Here is the finished product:

 

After completing all the rows of granny stripes, I had tons of ends that needed to be woven in before I could start on the border. As I started to weave in the ends, I began to find spots where my work was literally coming apart!  In some spots I had to add more yarn to bring the work together. Here is what I mean:

 

I had to add some black yarn to connect that part with the yellow . And here:

 

I had to add some yellow yarn to keep this part together, but as you can see, the cream colored stitch at the end doesn't look the same as the rest in that row.

 

I could not believe this was happening - to make matters worse, after I washed and dried it, there were more areas that needed repair. I certainly hope I was able to fix everything, because I gave this away as a gift and would be mortified if it came apart!

 

Here is the part where you come in - what am I doing wrong??

 

What I did on this blanket was after finishing with a color I would fasten off the yarn (to me that is cutting off my yarn and bringing the end through the loop and tightening it). Then I would start again with a new color by making a slip knot and beginning again in the first stitch of the next row. Now that I think about it, though, there is one row of this pattern that has you bring the yarn through the first open space of the previous row, not a stitch, so maybe that is the row I was having troubles on. Since I don't have the blanket anymore, there is no way for me to check. Her instructions said to insert your hook in that space and bring the yarn from the back to the front (which I did by putting the slip knot onto my hook and pulling it through) then starting my chain 3. Maybe this did not secure it enough?

 

I was so frustrated after finishing this blanket that I swore I would never crochet another blanket again! This is why I usually only do projects that use one color yarn throughout, or a variegated yarn - I don't have these problems.

 

I sure hope all of my blathering on makes sense!! If anyone can help me figure this out, I would be so grateful.

 

 

For those interested, here are the particulars for this blanket:

 

Pattern: Granny Stripe Blanket by Attic 24 - pattern is available for free on Ravelry.

Crochet Hook: Size K

Yarn: Red Heart with Love. Colors were: Iced Aqua, Black, Eggshell, Tan, Pewter and Daffodil.

Border: I did a simple edging of a row of Granny Clusters around the whole blanket, followed by a row of DC, a row of HDC and then finally a row of SC.

Size: 41 X 46.

 

 

 

A Finished Project, Crochet Books and a WIP

While my great-niece Ashley was here staying with us, I made her something very special. She absolutely adores cows, and we just could not find a cute stuffed cow in any of the local stores. I decided I should just make her one instead, and after looking through many patterns, I chose to make the Chibi Cow pattern that I found on Ravelry. It was a really easy pattern to follow, with well-written directions.

Ashley was absolutely thrilled with it (even though the udders somehow got sewn on sideways!)

 

This past weekend I went to visit my sister in the big city and got to go to Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann. I found some great crochet books and magazines that I wanted to share with you.

 

The first crochet book I found was called Farmhouse Crochet:

 

 

I don't know if you can see it in the photo, but this book was marked down to $2.36... such a steal! There are several great projects in here that I want to make, including this pillow:

 

And these cushions for my kitchen chairs:

I also liked this Yo Yo Afghan:

There are quite a few nice projects in this book, and the price just couldn't be beat!

These are the two magazines I bought:

I purchased the Crochet Gifts to Go for this pattern:

I fell in love with this table runner - isn't it pretty? It is also a join-as-you-go project, which makes it even better. There was lots of variety in this book, including some really nice cardigans and tops, as well as baby items, placemats, socks, and afghans. The retail price for this one is $9.99, but I got it with my 40% off coupon.


I found the Glorious Granny Squares magazine at Jo-Ann, and since it was already 10% off the retail price of $9.99, I wasn't able to use a coupon for it. I thought it was well worth the money, though, as there are almost 40 projects included, ranging from home decor items to clothing to afghans. Look at this beautiful afghan:

After I finish my baby blanket that I'm working on, I think I will start one of these projects.

I finally started my Attic 24 Granny Stripe blanket.  Thankfully it is one of those easy patterns that you can memorize quickly. Here is what I've done so far:

I added the black yarn to hopefully make the colors pop and also to make it not so girly, since it is for a baby boy. I haven't decided yet what kind of border/edging I will put on it. As you can see, I'm going to have lots of ends to weave in :( 

Oh, also wanted to let you know that I changed my blog so that you can now find my reply to your comment immediately underneath yours in the comment section (think it is called a thread??) I have always been lax about replying via e-mail, so this way will be much easier.

That's it for now - hope everyone has a great week :)