Backwards Blanket Blogging

I guess it's customary to talk about the blanket you plan to make to your blog community.  Then, as follows... you post pictures of your progress.  Finally - you do a big TaDah moment.  Sometimes you follow-up with a pattern, tutorial, link or details about your project.  I guess, I don't always do stuff in order - tho. I do consider myself a very orderly person.

That said, this past fall, I started a granny patchwork blanket.  I was inspired by all the granny patchworks I was seeing on pinterest in and in the blogs I follow.  Here are some of the inspiring blankets: This one and this.  Also go here and here and here.

I also started the granny patchwork mid-way through a 6 week crochet class that I was teaching at our local adult school.  I wanted to show the ladies what they could do with their granny squares and also teach them the join as you go method by Lucy at Attic24.  Further, I taught them about crochet blogs and how they might find and enjoy the crochet community as it exists in blog-land.  Several of the students made or started granny patchworks.

I had to search back through my photos (thank goodness they are organized thanks to my fabulous Memory Manager 4.0 software) and it wasn't too hard to find them.

So here is a photo excursion through my patchwork blanket.  Pretend you are watching this week by week by month on my blog...

Last night I finished the final row of the border.  I like the border, I don't love the border.  I was running low on yarn and had to opt for border stitches that worked with the colors of yarn that would make their way around the entire blanket.

I took some photos this morning when the sun was wafting through the windows of my bedroom and I'll share those ta dahs in another post.

That said... I started another Crochet A Long LAST FALL (aka fall 2011) - I stayed on track with the CAL and again, I'm sure there are photos of some progress rounds, but I never blogged about it.  I also never finished that project.  More about that in yet another post to come!

OH.. and I haven't forgotten the Tea Light Tutorial.  Part 1 is already up.  Part 2 is coming later today.  Stay tuned!!!

Tea Light Cozy Tutorial - Part 1

This lesson is Part 1 of the tea light tutorial.  This lesson will cover information about crochet yarn/thread and carpet warp.  It will also give the other tools needed for the project.  I hope this lesson is helpful.

For this project I used a very thin cotton crochet thread.  However, it isn't really crochet thread at all, it's carpet warp.  I first discovered carpet warp when some crafter posted a photo of their craft room.  Amongst all the shelves of crochet supplies were big spools of carpet warp.  I was able to just make out the name Maysville on one of the spool tags and looked it up to see what it was.

So - get yourself some cotton carpet warp!

Here's some info about cotton carpet warp:

My product is called Maysville Carpet Warp 8/4 from Webs Yarn Store (online or in person in Northhampton, MA).  I got mine online and had no trouble with their ordering process, delivery or customer service.  Although they do ship internationally, I'm sure there are stores that sell cotton carpet warp in plenty of other countries, so check your local listings if you are outside of the USA.  Carpet warp comes in several sizes.  What I used is sized 8/4 tho. apparently that is termed 4/8 outside the USA.

The site states: we offer a wide range of colors of 100% cotton Maysville 8/4 carpet warp. Use carpet warp for creating rag rugs and lots of other weaving projects.

I also found an article about carpet warp on Craft Gossip.  Another source for carpet warp here.

If you get confused about yarn that falls in the finer ranges - you are not alone.  This chart MIGHT help you.

The carpet warp is just slightly thinner than Aunt Lydia's Crochet Thread #3 and definitely thicker and more sturdy than a size 10 crochet thread.  I wish I had a skein or fingerling/sport or laceweight yarn to compare to the carpet warp.  The carpet warp is 100% cotton and feels like more of a sturdy string than a soft yarn.  Crochet thread has a sheen to it that the cotton carpet warp doesn't have.  I like using the warp because it doesn't slip and slide as much as crochet thread.  Also, the twist of the carpet warp is much tighter than the twist of the crochet cotton.

If you are going to use a fingerling weight yarn, I'd suggest a sturdy cotton for the utilitarian nature of the project - and I'm guessing you'll want a more string-ish and less hairy fiber so that when your tea light cozy is near a flame, there will be less chance of danger.  I'd also suggest creating the first three rounds of the project and making sure your guage gives you the same result as mine.

One thing I didn't realize is that the Maysville cotton that I have been using is maybe not colorfast.  I did have an instance where I sprayed my carpet warp with some Stiffen Quik and the red ran a bit into the white.  Apparently the cotton 8/4 carpet warp sold by Camilla Valley Farm may be a better choice for you - they state that their cotton warp is colorfast.  If I'd known, I'd probably gone that route when I bough my supply.

That said, the warp comes in huge spools and it will take a long time to use up your supply so your investment is probably pretty long-term use.

Some other tools you will want to have for this project are a size B crochet hook, a darning needle for the ends (I used my regular darning needle as the tapestry needle I tried was a bit small for taking the warp through the eye) and a pair of scissors.

Next, you'll want some tea lights.  The ones I'm using are a really inexpensive pack of lights.  I purchased it years ago on the clearance rack of a 5 and dime type store after Halloween.  The pack contained 100 tea lights!  It was a whopping $1.  I've also seen them at Ikea in big packs at a low price.  I would guess that tea lights are a somewhat universal size, but I don't know that for fact.

So, assignment number one is to gather your supplies.

For my tea light cozies, I created just about the entire cozy in one color of warp and then did the final round in white.  You could of course make a striped cozy - switch colors on any of the rounds if you opt for stripes.  I didn't want to bother weaving in all those ends on such a tiny little project so I left mine mostly in single colors.

Click HERE TO MOVE ON TO PART 2 of the Teeny Tiny Tea Light Tutorial - we'll start right in on Round 1.

Ripple C-A-L with Melissa Goodsell

I've decided to join in on a Crochet-A-Long with Melissa Goodsell from Day to Day/ over at One Crafty Mumma. 

This CAL is for a Ripple Pattern Blanket.  As I'm in a blanket making mode and I've never done a ripple, I decided to join.  I'm just about finished with a granny patchwork - can you believe I've never blogged a breath about it?

The ripple begins in just 6 days.  AND... during the CAL time period I'm going to be out of town for five of those days.  My travel time will NOT include crochet, so I'll have to play a little catch up with one of the weeks.

I spent the day envisioning how my ripple would look.  I'm excellent at determining if I like a blanket color-scheme or not but not so good at choosing colors for myself.  I have to SEE the outcome before I dive in.  So today, I first looked into yarn types.  I decided to go with a worsted weight acrylic.  But, I'm kind of picky about acrylic yarn.  It doesn't tend to be my favorite for blankets unless it is a cut above the typical big box store acrylic.  I first looked to Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Yarn," (which I DO love) but they are out of stock of what seems like 2/3 of their big color selection and I just couldn't make it work!

Hobby Lobby skein's of acrylic are BIG - at about 198g and 355yds

Then, I went to the new Brava line by KnitPicks.  I like KnitPicks yarn and their customer service in general and they offer FREE shipping, so I pulled up the color selection for the Brava worsted line.  Unfortunately, they were out of  MOST of their blue hues - bummer.  So, I re-envisioned my blanket just a bit.

Here's a review of Brava worsted - most reviews I read were very good!

Bottom line, I knew I wanted several colors with one single color running through it.  I decided that a rich and creamy camel-like color would be the one to run thru which left me with tons of options for the "several" colors I'd combine it with.  I finally picked out what looked pleasing in my cart but then had the idea to see my selection a bit more graphically and this final step REALLY helped.

I popped into my Storybook Creator 4.0 software (normally used for digital scrapbooking) and created a blanket complete with the album colors from my cart and it looks JUST like I wanted it to! YAY!

A 30 day free trial of this fabulous software is available here!

I knew from the get go that I would use the NEAT RIPPLE pattern by Lucy at Attic24 - I've wanted to ripple along with Lucy for some time and haven't hopped on that bandwagon as of yet.

Now all I have to do is wait for the big brown truck (aka UPS) to wheel its way up to my house and drop off my yarn.  Oh yeah, and do a bit of math to determine the blanket size, ripple pattern more specifically etc etc - not the fun part when it includes math. At least for me.

If you want to join the ripple-along - let Mel know, she's keeping a list and marking updates on progress.

A TINY LITTLE Crochet Tutorial on the way...

I just finished creating these cute little tea light cozies in crochet.

Aren't they super cute?  I'm so pleased with them.

I've designed and re-created the pattern a few times now - so once I get the photo tutorial up and ready, I'll post it here and put a pdf on MY RAVELRY PAGE. (the tutorial is NOW available on ravelry and as a photo tutorial in 2 parts - see links below)

 

Stay tuned for the tutorial (follow me and leave a comment if you like this design!)

UPDATE:  Part 1 of the tutorial is up - go HERE FOR PART 1

UPDATE:  Part 2 of the tutorial is up - go HERE FOR PART 2

Visions of Valentines

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone.

After weeks of crocheted heart patterns from pinterest and a LOVE WREATH ringing the door, the one special day of Love has passed for another year.

Some folks don't particularly like Valentine's Day - but I do.  In fact it's the day I said, "I DO!"  I was married on Valentine's Day in 1989.  It was a Tuesday.  Valentine's Day 2013 marked my 24th Anniversary to my lovely hubby, Jay.

Here is a photo-visit to my Valentine's Day:

The view from my kitchen window early in the morning is of the sun just beginning to make it's rise.

The day began as usual - making lunch for my youngest - the only one still not yet graduated from high school.  In hope that it would bring humor, I cut his peanut butter and fluff sandwich into a heart.

The sun continued it's climb into the daytime sky.  It looked like a huge red ball by the time the lunch duty was complete.

A light layer of fresh snow coated the grass and the dog enjoyed a frosty sniff around the yard.

Inside, the house was toasty warm and my spray roses were just beginning to pop open.

I spent the first few hours of the morning with a few cups of coffee, some fuzzy yarn and a crochet hook.  I was overcome with a last minute desire to add a bunting to the fireplace for some Valentine charm.

Valentine's dinner is often an "at home" affair even tho. it's our anniversary.  We like to fancy up the table and avoid the restaurant crowds.  I like to add a little love to our meal and I did so here with my favorite crustless spinach quiche.

A few little Valentine's greetings had come in the morning post and adorned the window ledge.

A few favorite pieces graced our table full of red and brown decor.  The candle holder is a favorite.  It's handmade by our good friend Smyth Boone, a professional wrought iron artist.  The special bees wax candle came from the Locust Grove gift shop and the woven tapestry on the table was a gift from my daughter on a trip to Chiapas, Mexico.  The vase and mini pottery candle holder are some favorite thrift store treasures.

The Valentine's Day gift for my son was something he'd been bugging me for a while - homemade chicken noodle soup - entirely organic and ridiculously yummy  - even I thought so and I don't like chicken.

Don't you love the brown Royal Staffordshire dishes?  The whole set of 12 place settings was found at a favorite thrifting place for a mere $10 - I love them.

Add some bubbly water and some bubbly champagne and a celebration for two is sure to ensue!

Our son was kind enough to take a Valentine's photo of the two of us - but an extra head and tongue made it into the photo shoot!  FUNNY.

Tho. our humble dinner took place without hoopla at our own dining table, we decided to head out to a favorite local restaurant bar for the bit of dessert and a final libation.

We finished the night with a bit of fun and the bartender was kind enough to snap this final photo with my phone.  A lovely day to celebrate 24 years of marriage.  Next year is a big one! #25!  AND... we have big plans too - but that post can wait for another day.