The first thing I ever learned to crochet was a blanket.
Despite that, I have never actually finished a blanket. I get bored easily.
Well, I started a blanket. And, I may have told my kids that they'd each get one. There's no going back on the plan now. I told them that I will try to get them done by Christmas. Almost a year sounds reasonable, right? This one is for my 6yr old. Her favorite colours are turquoise, purple and green.
I found a great tutorial for this ripple pattern
HERE. This pattern is actually really simple, you only need to know two stitches. It is also quick to memorize, so this is an easy blanket to put down and pick up where you left off without using much brain power.
So, I need to make three blankets, and I plan to make each one different. Suggestions on the next one? You know, because this one probably won't be done for months and months!
Also...while we're talking yarn...
I bought this yarn a few months ago to make
this cowl for myself. The cowl pattern is easy. This yarn however, is not easy to work with.
Tips on working with yarn like this? I find it so hard to see my stitches and get so confused. I have started, and restarted this cowl over and over determined I am not going to let the yarn get the best of me. I think it might be time to switch to different yarn though because so far I've gotten nowhere.
Anybody else working on any crochet or knit projects?
Last day to enter the
Tie Dye Diva Pattern Giveaway! If you haven't entered yet, go check it out! :)
I love love love the basketweave pattern...got a baby blanket for our daughter (10+ years ago) in this pattern and thought it was knitted, it wasn't and it was beautiful...
ReplyDeleteand it's also an easy one, I think it just uses the double crochet stitch....
you can google 'basket weave crochet pattern' and get a ton of them...here is one that shows a few good images of what it looks like...
http://www.craftpassion.com/2010/11/crochet-basket-weave-afghan-baby-blanket-pattern-tutorial.html?pid=416#picgallery
I love your blanket. I had a chuckle because I made the exact same mistake with my girls. I took a crochet class a couple of months ago and started a blanket in some nice fall colors. My girls said that they would each like one in shades of pink and I said, "Sure, no problem". OOps! I have purchased the yarn and it is still sitting in a bag in the closet. Ughh!
ReplyDeletenumber one tip for crocheting with yarn like that.... learn to swear like a sailor.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I may have to make that blanket. Or at least make 3/4 of it very quickly and enthusiastically, and then let it sit there for a long time, and then forget which hook I was using and accidentally size up, and then do the last quarter in a different size, noticing halfways through the last bit that something went wonky. Then I would finish the blanket and hope that blocking would fix it. Blocking won't fix it, so I will swear like a sailor and throw it in a closet. Then my three year old will find it and declare it the most amazing thing ever and love on it SO MUCH and I will feel marginally better even if my husband laughs at me whenever he sees it.
I LOVE MAKING BLANKETS. RIGHT?
Okay, I love making blankets in *theory*.
I'm the same way I've started crocheting several blankets over the years, but havent finished any of them. Thanks for the link to the tutorial, I might have to start over w/ one of mine and do a ripple pattern instead.
ReplyDeleteI find it impossible to crochet with yarns like that. I reserve those for knitting...
ReplyDeleteI call that yarn, knitting yarn because it knits up WAY easier than crocheting!! You should find yourself some other yarn or learn to knit so you can use that yarn! I too hace a rough time finishing a blanket I like little things like hats, scarves, flowers and stuff that I can finish within a day or two! Good luch with the crocheting!!
ReplyDeleteI just picked up crocheting last November. I've made a few gifts since then, as well as a ton of scarfes for party favors for a snow themed birthday party. I get bored easily too, so I;m sticking to smaller projects, the next one will be a purse, hopefully. A blanket would have me giving up 10 rows in, I admire your commitment! The colors look awesome together.
ReplyDeleteWhat a bad combination - dark and bobbly yarn. And let me guess, you only crochet at night in bad light. No tips here - I think you're stuffed!
ReplyDeleteWhen making blankets, I'd stick with baby blankets - I can finish one of them just as boredom sets in...Your kids aren't babies - looks like you're stuffed again.
Wow, I'm being helpful today, aren't I? Sorry, I'm a little cranky from my husband being away and my two kids tag-teaming to make sure I don't get any sleep.
Sometimes if you pair a yarn like that with a "regular" yarn it makes it a bit easier to see the stitches. Not sure that will work for your application though. It can be done, but crocheting with yarn like that is very difficult. Like someone else said...it's easier to knit with.
ReplyDeleteLove the colours of that snuggly ripple blanket. Once you tell the kids you are definately committed, I did the same thing with my 3 kids and I'm up to blanket number 2. Although I still need to put a boarder on the 1st one!
ReplyDeleteMaybe try using a larger hook with your difficult yarn or like Lorie said try using "Regular" yarn with it. Good luck!
Ha ha, I have bins of partial knit and crochet projects...some have been there so long I forget what they were supposed to become!
ReplyDeleteAnd as for that yarn, I used it to crochet a ruffle scarf at Christmas. It was awful stuff, but if it's any consolation, the finished project looked great (despite many errors from not being able to see my stitches) and it was super soft.
Purl Bee has a pattern for a giant granny square blanket. You could also double or triple strand the yarn with a big ol' hook and just do a simple double crochet. That would work up quickly. And I agree with Brittney about the dark yarn: Knit it!
ReplyDeleteHere's a few thoughts/tips. I tend to pick fun yarns like that because they are often very soft but a pain to work with... If you use the basic cheep yarn that isn't so soft, after you've finished your peice, throw it in the washing machine with hair conditioner only (nothing else, soap, etc). If will make it so much softer.
ReplyDeleteSecond thought... I easily grow board of a blanket, particularly a large one. The last one I did I didn't really get tired of because it was formed of two different motifs. Once all the motifs were done in all the different colors, I stitched them together which was the longest part but really not hard. It was a great project because I could keep a ball of yarn in my bag when I was out and had a few minutes and never had to deal with dragging a huge blanket in progress around with me.
If you are interested, I can find the pattern I used so you can see. domesticdeadline.blogspot.com
There are really good suggestions above! I often say that if ADHD had been a "thing" when I was a kid, I'd have had it (meet my boys, and you'd be sure it's genetic too :0), ANYway... I find that when I'm making a larger project like a blanket, especially one with very little differentiation in pattern, I need to keep small 1 hr-2 day projects going along with it so I can switch it up a little and go back refreshed. so, crochet thread bookmarks, a quick hat or two, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the yucky to work with, can't see your stitches, pretty yarn, I have found that teaching myself to "feel" my stitches works. You can feel a definite break between each stitch that you can count and identify, even when the yarn looks like a big jumble of fuzz.
Your blanket colors are the exact ones my oldest daughter is using for her room makeover!
ReplyDeleteSorry I don't have any helpful tips for the yarn (although the other comments are cracking me up). I made the mistake of the choosing some homespun yarn for a project when I was rather new to crochet. I ended up using it for knitting something instead because I couldn't keep track of my stitches at all. Good luck!