Fancy Granny Scarf

I found this lovely scarf and decided I wanted to try and make my own.  And this is what I came up with.

 A little different but still (in my opinion, lol) very pretty.

The Squares.
The first step was to find a pattern for a granny square that I liked.  The original pattern was for a blanket but I am using it for my scarf. 
 I used hook H/8-5mm and some Red Heart Super Soft yarn.  (I'm guessing I used about 7 oz.  I don't know the exact amount since I was working with a skein that I had already used yarn out of.  I also definitely recommend using a soft yarn for this project.)  The pattern for the square said that it would make a 7"x7" square but mine ended up being only 6"x6".  Since I was going for a scarf that measured at least 60" that meant I needed 10 squares.  If your squares are bigger you can adjust how many you will need.
You can find the square pattern here- Get pattern here.

Joining the Squares.
Once you have your squares made you will need to join them.  I joined mine by putting 2 squares wrong sides together and inserting hook front to back through inside loop of top square and back to front through inside loop of bottom square.  Yarn over and draw through all three loops on hook. At the corners I worked one joining stitch in each chain 3.  If this makes no sense feel free to use whatever joining method you prefer.

The Border.
For round one work 1 sc in every stitch.  At each join work 1 sc in chain 3 space, 1 sc in join stitch, and 1 sc in chain 3 space.  At every corner work 2 sc, chain 1, 2 sc in each chain 3 corner.  Join with slip stitch to beginning sc stitch.
Round 2- slip stitch in next 2 stitches, chain 4, 1 dc in same stitch, chain 1, * (1 dc, 1 ch, 1 dc) in fourth stitch, ch 1* around, working (1 dc, chain 3, 1 dc) at each corner.  (It may be necessary to "fudge" the pattern a little to get the corners to work out properly.)  Slip stitch in chain 3 of beginning chain 4.  Fasten off.  Weave in ends.  Wear.

Oh So Warm Crocheted Blanket

Sometimes necessity truly is the mother of invention.  And such was the case with this blanket.  I had enough of the green yarn to make it a fairly decent size but considering the thickness of this blanket I wanted it to be a bit larger than what I had the yarn for.  And so I experimented with adding a border in a totally different weight of yarn and....it worked!  As a side note I don't recommend trying this one until winter-boy did I get hot with all that blanket in my lap while I worked on it!
In other news this is my first crocheted blanket ever.  Yay me, lol.

The yarn I used was (8) 6 oz./170g skeins of super bulky Red Heart Grande in dk thyme and approx. 5 oz. of  Caron One Pound in lace.

Hook used was N/9.00mm.

Part One:  the 45" by 52" piece in green
chain 133.
Work the pattern found at this link-  v/shell stitch afghan
Repeat rows until piece measures 45".  Finish off.

Part Two: the border in cream
Continue working with the N/9.00mm hook.
R1:  Slip stitch to corner of blanket.  Working down the side of the blanket (end of the rows), chain 3 for beginning dc, work 2 dc in end of each stitch.  Chain 2 at corner and working down beginning chain row of blanket, dc 1 in each single stitch place and dc 2 in each chain space.  Here is a picture to help explain what I mean.

(You will have an alternating repeat of 1 dc, then 2 dc.)  Chain 2 at corner and work 2 dc in each end of stitch down side of blanket.  Chain 2 at corner and work 1 dc in first stitch, skip next st, then *2 dc in center of shell, 1 dc in next stitch, skip one stitch and work 2 dc in center of v, 1 dc in next stitch, skip one stitch, repeat from * until end of row.  2 dc in center of last shell stitch, then ch 2 at corner and slip stitch to beginning chain 3.

R2:  Chain 3, dc in each dc, working (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in each corner.  Slip stitch to beginning ch 3.

R3:  Beginning with a skip stitch, 1 sc, work a pattern of skip one stitch, 1 sc, skip one, 5 dc in next stitch around, making sure to work a 5 dc in ch 1 corners from previous row.  You may have to adjust the skip stitch and 1 sc close to the corners to make the corners work out properly.  Slip stitch to join scallop row and finish off.

Weave in all your ends and you are done!  Finished measurements are 49" by 55"
Here is a nice shot with a photo-bombing dog.

And some more pictures just because I can.

 Picture of the border.

 Up close of the texture.

My Basic Granny Square

The other day I wanted to make some basic granny squares.  I had an idea of what I wanted to do but wasn't completely sure.  I went searching online and to my surprise, had a hard time coming up with some decent instructions.  So I threw a few ideas I did find into a bag, added what I thought I  wanted to do, shook it all up, and this is what came out.

 I used some worsted weight wool yarn and an I/5.5 mm hook which gave me a 4 inch square.  Different fibers, weights of yarn and hook size will, of course, affect the size of your finished square.

Ch 4, join w/sl st to first ch.

 R1.  Ch 3, 2 dc into ch 4 ring, ch 1. * 3 dc into ring, ch 1*  Repeat between * 2 more times.  Join w/sl st to top of beginning ch 3.  Fasten off.

R2.  Join w/sl st to a ch 1 space from previous row.  Ch 3, 2 dc in same space.  *Ch1, 3 dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1, 3 dc in same space. *  Repeat between * 2 more times.  Ch 1, 3 dc in same ch 1 space as beginning ch3.  Ch 1, join w/sl st to top of beginning ch 3.  Fasten off.

R3.  Join w/sl st to a ch 1 space from previous row.  Ch 3, 2 dc in same space.  *Ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 1 sp, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 1 space, ch1, 3 dc in same space.*   Repeat between * 2 more times.  Ch 1, 3 dc in next ch 1 space.  Ch 1, 3 dc in same ch 1 space as beginning ch 3.  Ch 1, join w/sl st to top of beginning ch 3.  Fasten off.

R4.  Join w/sl st to a ch 1 space from previous row.  Ch 3. * Dc in next 3 dc, dc in ch 1 space, dc in next 3 dc, dc in ch 1 space, dc in next 3 dc, 3 dc in ch 1 space.*  Repeat between * two more times.  Dc in next 3 dc, dc in ch 1 space, 3 dc in next 3 dc, dc in ch 1 space, dc in next 3 dc, 2 dc in same ch 1 space as beginning ch3.  Join w/sl st to top of beginning ch 3.  Fasten off.

To finish, weave in ends and trim.

A whole bunch of pretty grannies waiting to be trimmed and used.

*Update:  Go here to see what I did with all these squares.

Coming up Roses Pillow

 I found this lovely doily at a flea market and couldn't resist.  Especially since it only set me back a dollar.  When I picked it up it said, "I want to be a pillow."  I said "okay."  (In other news I also got that adorable chair at an auction for a dollar.  Can't wait until I have time to refinish it.  Future post maybe?)

 I wanted to contrast it onto a more rugged fabric and luckily enough I had this burlap style fabric in my stash.  I lined it with a matching solid fabric so the stuffing wouldn't escape.  Burlap is kinda holey.   Then I just hand sewed the doily on wherever I felt like it needed to be stitched down.  I think I may have gone a little overboard but better safe than sorry.  I went around all the leaves and flowers, the very center, and a few laps around the middle.  I also changed my thread to match what I was sewing down to help hide my stitching.

 Construction was pretty basic.  Sewed the two sides right side together, leaving an opening to turn.  Trimmed corners, turned right side out, stuffed, and then to close opening plus add a finish detail I just top stitched all around the outside.