Tag Archives: shell stitches

May 18, 2015 · 10:21 pm

Baby Afghan and Pillow Set

MainI received a custom order request for this baby afghan from an old friend of mine and I was very honored to be able to accommodate.  Her Grandfather had crocheted baby afghans for all his great-grandchildren before he passed way.  Deanne is now expecting the first great-grandchild since his passing and asked if I could try to reproduce the pattern.  Though the result is not exactly the same as his pattern, it is very close and I hope reminds her of him.

I think this is probably my favorite request ever.  Crocheting an afghan for an order is one thing.  But to try to stand-in and create something on behalf of someone who is now gone is very humbling.  I was so touched to be asked to make the attempt.

EdgingDeanne selected three Bernant Baby Sport skeins in a coral, light taupe, and a matching variegated yarn.  These colors turned out to be just fabulous together and I must say it is one of my favorite afghans I have ever made.

DetailWhen I completed the afghan I still had a lot of yarn left; so I made two solid color pillows to go with it.  I made four flowers using the same stitch as the edging on the afghan and sewed them together on each side of the pillows, using a button in the center and adding pearl beads for embellishment.  I love how the solid pillows look against the stripes of the afghan.

FullIt turned out so pretty that I have listed the set in my Etsy store.  I would love to make the set again in some other customized colors.  I am also working on writing up the pattern to add to my Ravelry store.

Teal Signature

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January 29, 2015 · 2:11 pm

Afghan Order Complete

Ribbon CrossHere it is, all ready to package and mail out!  It’s a good thing I got this order actually because as I was working this up I found and corrected two errors in the pattern.  I got an updated PDF loaded to Ravelry and sent out to those who have already purchased it. Fortunately (and unfortunately) that’s only 3 people.

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January 23, 2015 · 11:55 am

Afghan Order

Afghan 3

Well I was started back up on the Granny Square project, but then I got an order for an afghan on my Etsy shop.  So now I’m working this up again real quick this week to ship out. Then it will be back to the grannies again, again, again.

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September 6, 2014 · 11:49 am

Toddler Dress

Dress AI’ve been meaning to make my daughter a dress for a while now.  Clothing is not generally my favorite thing to make, maybe because I don’t like the added requirement of having to focus on my gauge.  I can do it, I just don’t enjoy it so I don’t make much clothing from patterns, and I design even fewer – especially with regards to sizing.  So when I made this dress I pretty much crocheted it free hand as I went and custom sized it by having her try it on at different stages.

Dress BI worked it from the collar down in once piece with four increases at the front and back of the shoulders.  Then I chained and skipped stitches for the arm holes and joined in the back so there was an opening for buttons.  After this I continued working in rounds and eventually added a row of chain-2, skip-2, dc for a belt.  I must not have tried the finished bodice on her before I started the skirt because it’s just a tad longer than I would like.

The white colar at the neck is just shells, and the ruffles at the shoulder are just two rows of 2 double crochets in each stitch.

For the skirt, I basically used a round ripple afghan pattern for the chevrons with a 3 dc decrease at the valleys instead of a skip-2 so there were only holes at the peaks.  It worked well for an aesthetic way to increase each round for a full skirt.

Dress CI was going to add a shell edging after the last white round, but it looked better when I got to it to just stop there.  Then I worked a long chain for the belt.  The center part is just single crochets for around the waist, but each end hanging down is a corkscrew curling ribbon.  This is way simpler than it may look – just work 3 single crochets in each chain and it naturally curls.

It’s not perfect, but it’s a starting point for making more dresses for her in the future.  I probably won’t write this pattern out yet.  Maybe after a few more iterations to work out the kinks.  Anyway, she loves it because her favorite color is purple.

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February 26, 2014 · 3:30 pm

February – Square Four

February - Square Four

February – Square Four

February’s second square is quite a bit more complicated and includes an Extended Double Crochet Cluster (EDCC) which I had never done before.  The heart is crocheted first and then the granny clusters must be worked around it and built up to make the piece square.  The heart ends up slightly off center in order to accomplish this.  The pattern for this square can be found here.  I made a few small modifications for mine including changing color back to red at the half double crochet round and then changing back to white again and crocheting another double crochet row followed by a single crochet edging.  Happy Valentines Day!

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February 18, 2014 · 2:44 pm

February – Square Three

February - Square Three

February – Square Three

February’s first square is another very basic Granny.  As a matter of fact, the first three rounds are worked exactly the same as the basic Granny I did for January’s first square.  However, starting with round four, instead of working clusters (3 dcs) in chains spaces, double crochets are worked in the previous row’s double crochets – with the exception of the corners of course.  I completed this square in a single variegated yarn instead of finishing off and changing colors after each round.  I prefer January’s basic Granny over this one.

Round 1: Sl st in a magic ring, ch 3, 2 dc in ring, ch 2, (3 dc, ch 2 in ring) 3 times, join with sl st in top ch of beg ch 3, pull tail of magic ring tight to close ring to complete round.

Round 2: Sl st across to corner ch 2 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in same sp, ch 1, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc in next ch 2 sp, ch 1) 3 times, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3.

Round 3: Sl st across to corner ch 2 sp, ch 3 2 dc in same sp, ch 2, 3 dc in same sp, ch 1, (3 dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1) across to corner, *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in corner ch 2 sp, ch 1, (3 dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1) across to corner, repeat from * around and join with sl st in top of beg ch 3.

Round 4: Sl st across to corner ch 2 sp, ch 3 2 dc in same sp, ch 2, 3 dc in same sp, ch 1, 2 dc in next ch 1 sp, dc in next dc and in each across to next ch 1 sp, 2 dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1, *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in corner ch 2 sp, ch 1, 2 dc in next ch 1 sp, dc in next dc and in each across to next ch 1 sp, 2 dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1, repeat from * around, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3.

Repeat round 4 until desired size has been reached. Finish off.

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February 17, 2014 · 10:01 pm

January – Square Two

January - Square Two

January – Square Two

January’s second square is a bit more complicated.  I continued with the cold winter blue and white and added a snowflake.  This pattern requires a bit of knowledge in shaping in order to transform the piece from round as it starts out, to square by the last round.

The FREE pattern for this square can be found here on Ravelry.  The original picture there is in red and white and the center is done in the contrasting color rather than making the inside all the same color.  But it looked like a snowflake to me so I did the center all in white.  Just another example of the different results you can get by changing colors.  I also skipped the last round of single crochets on this one as I had already reached my seven inches by the round of double crochets.

I do like how this one turned out.  The snowflake is very pretty.  I didn’t find the pattern to be completely clear though.  I had to do a bit of experimenting to figure out the shaping.  But it all turned out well in the end.

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February 17, 2014 · 9:12 pm

January – Square One

So I am a little behind in starting out the Granny Square Project.  The new baby decided to come a few weeks early in December rather than wait till the middle of January so I’ve been a bit busy.  But, we went to visit the in-laws this past weekend and I was able to get caught up while they played with the kids.  So I will be posting both January and February’s squares here shortly. 

January - Square One

January – Square One

January’s first Granny Square is the most basic of Grannies.  I completed it in blue and white to go with all the cold temperatures and snow we’ve been having this winter.  Each of the squares in the project will be seven inches square.

The basic pattern is as follows.  As a note for all my Grannies, I start them all out using the “magic ring.”  There is a good tutorial here if you need it.

Round 1: Sl st in a magic ring, ch 3, 2 dc in ring, ch 2, (3 dc, ch 2 in ring) 3 times, join with sl st in top ch of beg ch 3, pull tail of magic ring tight to close ring to complete round. Finish off.

Round 2: Join new color with sl st in any ch 2 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in same sp, ch 1, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc in next ch 2 sp, ch 1) 3 times, join with sl st in top of beg ch 3. Finish off.

Round 3: Join new color with sl st in any corner ch 2 sp, ch 3, 2 dc in same sp, ch 2, 3 dc in same sp, ch 1, (3 dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1) across to corner, *(3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in corner ch 2 sp, ch 1, (3 dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1) across to corner, repeat from * around and join with sl st in top of beg ch 3. Finish off.

Repeat round 3 until the desired size is reached. I also added a row of single crochet for edging with 3 sc being completed in each corner.  This is completely optional.

The nice thing about this is you can finish off on each round and add a new color, or you can continue in the same color.  Each square can look completely different, yet be completed from the same pattern.  You can also make it as large or as small as small as you like.  Usually the fewest rows completed is 3.  (See, I’m trying to appreciate the Granny here.)  January’s square two coming up shortly!

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September 24, 2013 · 3:29 pm

Ribbon Cross Christening Afghan (Style A)

Afghan 3The pattern for this afghan is now available for sale on Ravelry!  I’ve set the price for it at $5.00.  I would love to hear from anyone who purchases the pattern and see pictures of your completed afghan!  I may even post your picture on the site here!  Click on the picture to see the Ravelry listing, or just the “buy now” link.  Enjoy!


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August 27, 2011 · 10:45 am

Pattern – Ribbon and Pearls Christening Afghan

The pattern for this afghan is now available for sale on Ravelry!  I’ve set the price for it at $5.00.  I would love to hear from anyone who purchases the pattern and see pictures of your completed afghan!  I may even post your picture on the site here!  Click on the picture to see the Ravelry listing, or just the “buy now” link.  Enjoy!

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