Granny Square CAL (Week 8)

I am using a 5.00 mm hook throughout with dk yarn. If you want more information about this CAL please see week 1

22nd Granny Square

http://olavas.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/flower-pattern-in-english-o.html

Looking at the picture of the flower the first round of the pattern is wrong and should be:

Ch 3, dc into the circle, ch 2 * 2 dc, ch 2* Repeat 6 more times for a total of 8 sets. Join to top of ch 3 with a sl st and finish off.

Make a basic 8 inch granny square then sew flower into the middle. Pattern for the square can be found here 

23rd Granny Square

http://madebydo.blogspot.nl/2013/02/large-circles-in-square-tutorial.html

I did 6 rounds and the border as follows:

Round 7: Join yarn in any stitch, Ch 6 (counts as first dbtr and ch 1) dbtr in same stitch. *tr in next 2 st, dc in next 2 st, hdc in next 2 st, sc in next 5, hdc in next 2, dc in next 2, tr in next 2. [dbtr, ch 1, dbtr] in next st.* Repeat 3 more times leaving out between the [] in the last round. Join to 5th ch of ch 6.

Round 8: *(dc, ch 2, dc) in ch 1 sp, dc in each st till you reach next ch 1 sp* repeat 3 more times and join to top of first dc with a sl st.

24th Granny Square

http://bananamoonstudio.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/happy-national-crochet-month.html

To get 8 inches instead of doing sc in round 5 I used dc and continued until piece measured 8 inches.

Granny Square CAL (Week 7)

I used a 5.0mm crochet hook throughout with DK yarn. If you wish to catch up on previous weeks you can find all of them linked to in Week 1.

I noticed a few people worried about the squares being slightly different in size. This is where blocking can come in handy or you can add a row of sc to the smaller ones. Also your joining method can help here. I am using the chain join. You can find a few different joining methods here.

The patterns for 20 and 21 were coming out too big for me so if you know that you are a loose crocheter I would suggest going down a hook size so you can make the entire square 8 inches without having to adjust the rows like me. 

19th Granny Square

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/modern-mitered-granny-square

20th Granny Square

http://kardiomuffelchen.blogspot.ie/2012/06/1-diamond-flower-granny-pattern.html?m=1#axzz2SKMzB8TN

Instead of doing dc for the last row I used sc to get an 8 inch square

21st Granny Square

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/moroccan-tile-coaster

To make mine 8 inches on row 9 I changed the stitches as follows:


Ch 3, dc in next 4 st, *hdc in next 4, dc in next 2 st, hdc in next 8, dc in next 2 st, hdc in next 4, dc in next 6,* repeat around. Hdc in next 4, dc in next 2.

Mother's Day Promotion

Do you need a quick gift for your mother this Mother's Day? Then Craftsy has the deal for you. A whooping 50% off selected classes from the 11th to the 12th of May. So get in quick and spoil your mother this Mother's Day

You can find all the classes here. Enjoy :)

Granny Square CAL (Week 6)

Yay for week 6, you should have 2 rows of your blanket done after this if you are making a queen size following this chart. If you want to start joining them please see this post linking to a few joining techniques. You can also see week 1 for the links to each week if you would like to join in and catch up with us.

Free Mini-Courses on Craftsy

Did you know I am a Craftsy Affiliate? So I get to inform you of all the great things that go on over there like Free Mini Courses. Who doesn't like free? They also offer longer courses for a fee.

Here are a couple of the Craftsy mini-courses I have watched so far:

1. Know Your Wool 

This short course run by Deborah Robson teaches you all you need to know about the different wools and how to use them. It will enable you to make more informed decisions on what fiber to use for what project. This will come in handy when you are yarn shopping and hopefully you won't come home with the wrong yarn for your project.

I wish I had of found this course earlier. And if this is what they offer for free (86 minutes of educational video) You can imagine how much work goes into the course you pay for.  But hey don't take my word for it. This one is a FREE course. So you have no reason not to go and have a look for yourself. Take the time out to learn something new. 

2. Sewing Machine 911

This was actually one of the first courses I watched through Craftsy when I was just learning how to use my sewing machine. I definitely recommend this one. Did you know you can sew fabric and crochet/knit fabric together? So a sewing machine can come in handy for lots of crochet projects. So far I have used mine when I lined my Crochet Fat Bag, a dress for my daughter and another lining for a bag. Who wants to be stuck hand sewing a lining into a bag when you can pull out that old sewing machine (or borrow you mothers/grandmothers), dust it off and learn how to use and maintain it.

If none of these courses interest you, you can check out all of the other free Craftsy mini-courses by clicking here.

How I Block my Acrylic Granny Squares

I thought I would give you an idea of how I block my acrylic granny squares. I did a bit of research on how to block acrylic squares and most of the answers I found said you can't or just to place a wet cloth over them or spray them with a bit of cold water.  This method seems to be working for me. It sort of stretches them to exactly 8 inches and after a week they tend to stay the same shape they have been placed in.

If you are using wool or another fiber I found this information quite informative. http://blairpeter.typepad.com/weblog/2012/08/granny-square-sampler-afghan-week-15-blocking-your-squares.html

NOTE: if you decide to combine my method with the wet cloth/cold water spray method make sure you use rust proof nails. Rust stains on your pretty granny squares would not look very nice.

Materials Needed:

• A block of wood slightly bigger than the squares you wish to block. Mine is just over 8 inches.
• A handful of nails. 
• Hammer
• Tape measure
• Marker pen
• Granny Squares to block

Step 1: Measure out a 8 inch square (or the size of your granny 6", 12" etc) in your block of wood. Mark each corner.

Step 2: Place a nail in each corner. Now you will notice I have left the heads of my nails up. I have kids so this is a safer option for me although it does make it a pain to get the granny squares on and off. If you would prefer you can hammer your nails right the way through to make it easier and have the pointy end sticking out the block of wood.

Step 3: Evenly place nails in between your corners. I used 3 in between but you may need more or less depending on the size you are blocking.

Step 4: Place your granny square over the nails and leave for a week. I leave my 3 squares from the Granny Square CAL until I have to make room for the next weeks squares.

Here are a few links I found in my research about blocking:

http://blog.bernat.com/2010/11/17/mystery-afghan-crochet-along-assembly/
http://www.littletinbird.co.uk/2011/04/23/blocking/
http://www.crochetme.com/blogs/kim_werker/archive/2007/04/14/how-to-spray-block-crochet-or-knit-squares.aspx

Granny Square CAL (Week 5)

Yay week 5 is here! Time for more beautiful granny squares. If you are new here you can find all the information about this crochet along in week 1.