crocheting | The Angel Forever

Category Archives crocheting

Selecting Baby Blanket Yarn

Posted on November 4, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

While I will not be having any more babies of my own, I adore making items for new babies. A special handmade baby blanket is what I usually make for family and friends. In recent years, I have had a favorite chunky yarn that was always my go to for projects. I would knit up a diagonal blanket for the new little one to grow into and use for a longer time. When I was invited to a baby shower for a friend, I started to look around for new yarn. My friend is not going to find out the sex of her baby until he or she is born. This meant that I needed to find a color that would work for a boy or girl. Ideally I did not want too much blue or pink. Enter Bernat Baby Blanket yarn in Little Sunshine.

The Bernat Baby Blanket filled two musts in my mind. It was not wool for sensitive baby skin (it is actually polyester) and it is machine washable. My boys were jealous when they felt how soft it was once I got started on the project. Originally, I had planned on crocheting my first baby blanket, but I did not like the way it was folding up, so I went back to my favorite baby blanket pattern. I also liked how Little Sunshine has peach, yellow and green for a different color combination. When all was said and done, the blanket above was large and the boys helped me to pick out the new baby a little buddy to go along with it.

Do you enjoy making gifts for new babies? I would love to know your go to yarn and patterns for gift making if you knit or crochet.

Ready for Crochet Wristers

Posted on September 16, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

My love for all things crochet has really taken off. Part of this is thanks to a great community called The Crochet Crowd. While I used to sit and wonder how I would ever be able to make things everyone shared in the group, I now makes lists of the next item to tackle. Part of the beauty of The Crochet Crowd is the gentleman who started it: Michael Selnick. Mikey is a master of crochet tutorials who helped me to ditch my knitting needles (for now) and finally learn to crochet. The video tutorials are amazing and have allowed me to not only make my giant Rainbow Granny Square Afghan, but multiple other items including the following:

Last week I realized I did not have much of a yarn stash in the house and wanted to start something. The next big project I want to attack is an 8-bit granny square blanket, but the planning is taking a bit more time. I found the vibrant blue yarn that I had bought some time ago and decided to try a new technique. I used two skeins and made a corner to corner scarf (variation of a Red Heart pattern in this tutorial). Once that was finished I got the guts to try the Crochet Wristers (using the Give em Spirit Crochet Wristers tutorial). This pattern also happens to be the Challenge on The Crochet Crowd right now and hundreds of pairs have already been created in just a weeks time.

I can not believe how easy this was to make. Once I had the yarn on my hook, it just took shape before my eyes.

I was a little nervous about the thumb area, but it was not difficult thanks to Mikey’s tutorial guiding me through it. Once I was finished with the first one, I tried it on and took a few quick photos.

Then I took a little break and eventually grabbed my hook and yarn and made the second for the complete pair. Once they were finished, a certain six year old declared that they were his. He said they made him a super hero and went flying around the house. He stopped just long enough for the photo below and the one at the top.

Of course, once you make one child a pair of wristers, chances are the other child will also want a pair. Hmmmm….there may be a book on this with a Mouse and a Cookie. Anyway, more yarn was purchased that the big kid selected. Plus, I bought a few additional skeins to start making additional pairs for gifting.

If you were to receive a pair of wristers, what would your dream color combination look like?

It's Me

Categories:
arts and crafts crocheting

Making Granny Square Bags

Posted on August 15, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Crochet projects have been on my mind a lot this summer. Even before I finished making my Rainbow Afghan, I had something in the back of my mind for my next project. I knew that I wanted to do more granny squares since I really enjoy them. I can make them on the go and eventually work them together into something larger and more complex.

I searched on Ravelry, Pinterest, and YouTube for something that called my name. In the end, I decided to try a pattern called Inga’s Crocheted bag (pattern PDF here) using smaller versions of the Granny Square pattern from my blanket. I figured that I would make one in cotton yarn eventually, but wanted to test the pattern with left over yarn from the blanket that I had just made. So I made sixteen squares with the yarn scraps that I had. I was able to make half of those in the colors and half with the larger amount of black that remained. Once all of the squares were complete, I single crocheted them together into four strips.

Since I was not completely clear on the pattern and how to put it together, I went to YouTube. Yolanda Soto Lopez made a video tutorial of this bag that helped me to make sure I was on track. This video was very helpful and before I knew it the bag was coming together.

Next, I secured all of the strings on the inside and turned it right side out to see the side of the bag and pattern of the squares from all sides.

The second to last part of making the bag was to single crochet two straps to sew onto the bag. This was tedious to me since I am not a fan of crocheting straight lines, but I got it finished and put them onto the bag.

The bag is perfect for a purse. I just want to add in a liner and possibly a button to keep it closed. I am not a fan of sewing, so this may not be finished until after the kids go back to school. I did buy fabric for the inside since I found something that I fell in love with. Of course, I also found cotton yarn and made a rather large bag using the squares that are called for in the pattern and only have to complete the straps for that one.

Needless to say, I have already asked TechyDad if he will help me to figure out my next crochet project. This time, I want to do something 8-bit style using solid colored granny squares. So the geeks that we are need to do some math and work to make that happen before I can buy my crafting supplies.

Categories:
arts and crafts crocheting me moments

Tuesday Tales – Crocheting Books

Posted on August 6, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Just after JSL was born, I started to knit again. I really enjoyed it, but I secretly wanted to learn to crochet. This was about the time that a lot of books came out that promised to teach you with photos how to do crafts and more. I bought one of those books. While the book is beautiful and may assist me now that I know the basics, it really just sat in storage until I pulled it out for this post.

Although I am a visual learner, this books did not teach me to crochet because I needed a little bit more. YouTube videos were my secret to success. I watched many different beginner tutorials and then found my love in the world of granny square videos. I admit it, I am a granny square addict in the making. As I was thinking about topics to write about, I recalled an Instagram photo that someone had shared recently. It was a book all about Granny Squares that you can crochet. If you have been watching my Instagram photos since March, I am a little obsessed with granny squares since I learned to crochet and immediately started what turned into a giant granny square rainbow afghan.

Once I finished that blanket, I went to look for more granny square inspired projects. Thanks to Pinterest, I located a cute bag pattern and finished that with scraps from the blanket. I will share that as soon as I sew a liner into the bag. Now that I am finishing up another bag, I am curious about other granny square patterns and projects.

So I figured I would asked in Tuesday Tales this week if anyone has crochet books, specially about granny squares, that they would recommend. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Categories:
books crocheting knitting Tuesday Tales

Granny Square Rainbow Afghan

Posted on July 8, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Have you ever wanted to learn to do a craft and just never been able to accomplish it? For the longest time, that was learning how to crochet for me. I have been knitting since I was in elementary school, but the lure of the hooking kept me going back and trying every so often. I bought books and even had several people try to show me how. Then, YouTube videos really made everything click. Since early March, I have hardly held my needles, instead a hook has been in my hand most of the time.

After making one cloth with some cotton yarn, I jumped into trying to make crocheted granny squares. I used colors from a project I was recycling and then slowly added more colors. When I wrote my last post about the project at the end of May, I had used seven yarn colors and was debating what to do. Since that time, I used two additional colors. By July 1, I had finished making 81 granny squares in nine colors. Each square has ten rounds and are rather large, especially after a border round of black was added.

When the squares were finished, I brought them to Nana and Papa’s house to spread them out on their floor. I was not entirely sure how large the afghan would be. I had measured it on our queen sized bed, but it was a guesstimate.

As you can see, I placed the squares in a rainbow like pattern to begin. This was the easiest way to go. After that, I changed it up a little. With TechyDad’s help, we moved them around and came up with a second option. Both of these can be seen below.

In the end, TechyDad and I both liked the more funky pattern. As I mentioned before, this is my crochet project of any size really…and it is huge! Putting this together scared me a little since I have never done anything like it. Thanks to the crochet tutorials on YouTube from The Crochet Crowd, I was able to watch Mikey explain how to single crochet connect them. Before I knew it, I had four rows finished. I took it over to our couch to share a sneak peak of the afghan.

More work continues and I hope to finish soon. Then, I really want to finish the afghan that I was knitting. I’m not sure what I am going to do after that, but no doubt I will figure something out.

If you have any favorite crocheted projects, I would love to know. I am always looking for new items on Pinterest, Ravelry, and other locations.

It's Me