Granny Swirl

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Pinterest? I really do love it. Where else can I find so many new ideas and patterns and wish for more hours in the day to try them all?!

This is one such example. I found a pattern for a spiraling granny square, and I love granny squares which meant I had to try it. I dug through my yarn stash, found some colors I liked and got to work.

And MAN!! It was a pain in the backside!

Each color is worked continuously, there is no finishing at a corner and changing colors. That means, all five skeins of yarn had to be organized and kept straight throughout the process. That was a pain in and of itself.

I was wanting to try to make it big enough to cover at least a queen sized bed - and that didn't happen! I got kinda frustrated having to untangle yarn and fighting with the dogs to keep them out of the yarn.

It really didn't seem worth the hassle once I realized how quickly the spiral-swirly aspect of the pattern got lost.  The lower picture shows the center of the square and that is about the only place you can really see the swirl. That was a pretty big let down, and if it wasn't for my excitement to try something different, I probably would have realized that before even starting.

At any rate, I ended up with a new throw blanket and a lesson learned from the experience. Have I learned my lesson once and for all about not getting too excited about starting a new project? Especially one from Pinterest? Of course not!

The Orange Decor Challenge

 I am the first to say I'm not a big fan of orange. I like orange flavors and orange flowers, but when it comes to decor and clothing, it's really not for me. But I have to admit, when I was looking at wedding color schemes a while back, there was something about teal and orange that really struck me.
So I challenged myself.

I know I made the pink and orange blanket for a little girl a while back, I didn't mind that, but it wasn't for my home. I wanted to make something for myself, and the challenge was going to be incorporating orange. The teal and orange combination seemed perfect.

The decor of my family room has been moving slowly toward ocean tones - cool blues, greens and teals offset with warm browns and a hint of orange. Behind it all, I will (eventually) have neutral gray walls that would remind me of the fog covered shoreline of San Francisco.


What I was planning on being a throw blanket, a little splash of color for the family room, ended up being a blanket just about big enough for a twin sized bed! I'm ok with that though - it makes it easier to cuddle with someone else under it.

And as you can see, Mini, the Wonder Wiener, loves this blanket. She pretty much claimed it by curling up on it in my lap as I worked it up. However, once it was done, Molly was quick to claim it for herself. And they both give me "the look" when I tell them to get off of it!

Just Another Blanket...

Earlier this year, we had J's girlfriend and her daughter live with us for a little while. There was a turn of unfortunate events and she needed a place, so we opened our home. (Living together forced J and her to realize they weren't ready for anything serious and they have since broken up.)

Anyway, her daughter was about 2 at the time and every time I picked up my yarn and crochet hook, she asked what I was doing. When I told her I was making a blanket, her eyes would get huge and she'd ask, "You're making me a blankET!" (The emphasis on the last syllable was adorable!) And I'd always have to tell her no, it was for someone else. I finally asked if she really wanted one and what were her favorite colors. She lit up and told me pink and orange. Two weeks later, she had her blankie.

It turned out a little more "Dora the Explorer"-ish than I intended, but she was thrilled! Dora was her favorite cartoon and she cuddled this like crazy. It made me happy to make it and see her dragging it around with her.

I was able to get it done very quickly by using a simple twelve-square (three by four) pattern and alternating the pink and orange in each granny square. The white tied everything together and I added a simple faux-scallop border to finish it. Personally, I think the scallop finish makes it look a little more feminine.

I'm sure in time she will forget that I was the one who made, and me all together. But that is fine. She can use the blanket for many years to come and know that at some point, someone cared enough to make something just for her!

Little E Wants a Blanket

A couple of weeks ago I had my two granddaughters for the night. In the morning, as they were finishing their breakfast, E and A saw me working on my Black & White quilt. In no time, A was asking for a rainbow quilt and E asked for a red blanket with flowers.

Pretty much as soon as they went home, I scavenged through my fabric stash and found red material that I could pair with a fun floral print. The print is pink and orange flowers on a black background and livened up with a sparkly glittery finish.

Choosing to keep the whole simple, I cut both fabrics in to strips that were then sewn together to make a roughly 44"x 56" quilt top. (You can still see the selvages on the edges of the quilt, right next my pup who was checking it out.)

I need to do the quilting still, and plan to add some pink and orange ric-rac to the red stripes just to liven them up. This will be a cuddly blankie for a little girl and a nice throw for her to keep as she grows. The rainbow quilt is going to be a bit more challenging but the design I have in mind will be worth it!

A UFO is spotted...

I will admit it - sometimes I jump two feet in to a project without really thinking about how much time it will actually take. Or whether or not I will want to finish it. That is the case with this scrap yarn blanket.

The idea was simple: use up a bunch of my very small balls of yarn by making yo-yos then connect them in to  a decent sized blanket to throw on the couch or scrunch up and let the dogs lay on. FOUR HUNDRED yo-yos later, I've gotten right around a quarter of them connected and I'm just sick of it.

It's not that it's difficult to do, it's just tedious and mind numbing. I'm sure I will get it done at some point, I just need to figure out a better way of attacking it so it won't seem so soul-draining.

Does anyone out there have a craft like this one? Something you are excited about until you get in to the middle of it? If so, let me know!

New Swedish Weave

I may have taken some time off here recently, but that doesn't mean I wasn't doing anything. One thing I've done (that I'm particularly proud of) is complete another swedish weave blanket. This is only the second one I've done and I have to say it's not 100% done. All the stitching is finished, but I want to line the back of it with a lightweight fleece.

The fleece made the first one I finished was so snuggly and warm that my hubby requisitioned it for the winter. The monk's cloth is just not very soft so the fleece adds an inviting and warm feel that makes you just want to cuddle up.

The pattern of this one features an open diamond pattern which made the stitching go that much faster. In fact, this one took me about a month to complete working on it just a few hours a day. It was so much quicker that I'm actually considering making a couple more to give out as Christmas gifts. But I'll have to wait and see. With Spring here, there is a whole new list of things to get done.

Sweet Baby Gifts (pt 1)

 I love being crafty  when it comes to baby gifts. There are so many things that can be made for little ones that are not that difficult or expensive to make, but still loved by the new mommy and baby alike.

One of our cousins is expecting their first baby girl any day now. Her actual due date isn't until February 9th, but the mommy is so petite that there is no way she will make it that long. She is really fun and girly so I knew I would be able to make a super fun gift to give her.

Because I was limited on time, I was only able to really do a receiving blanket and quilt, but both were still very much appreciated.

Here is the receiving blanket. I love making these because they literally take an hour from start to finish. I chose a cute strawberry print to match the quilt and the flower/ladybug print to match the rest of the nursery. Both flannels were on clearance so this was a nice cheap project.

I got one yard of each, trimmed them to equal size, and pinned with right sides together. I sewed around the material, leaving an opening just large enough to pull the blanket right side out) after snipping the corners to reduce on bulk). Once flipped right side out, I sewed another hem all the way around which closed the opening and gave it a nice finished look.

Just imagine how easy it would be to turn out a bunch of these just to have on hand for last minute gifts. It makes me think that when my budget allows, I'm going to stock up on cute flannels and do just that!

The Cozy Gift

There is always that one person you have a hard time shopping for. For me, it's my brother-in-law and his wife. They live about 100 miles away and much different interests than the family that is closer. They are always the most difficult to shop for.

This year, after much thought, and hair pulling-out and stress and asking the hubby "what do get them?" I decided on a simple personalized gift. I purchased a warm fleece throw while they were on sale. Next I found a coordinating piece of felt and cut out their initials and appliqued it to the blanket. And PRESTO! A personalized gift that shows thought, care and sentiment and is useful to boot.

It takes only a little bit of sewing knowledge - and I hand stitched it.This is something that can be done in a night. If you want to personalize it further, make a no sew blanket from fleece or a minimal sew blanket with fleece and flannel sewn together with a applique personalization.

Sorry the picture isn't the greatest. It was taken on my phone before I went on a gift wrapping rampage and couldn't get a better picture!