366 Granny Squares for 2012

Well today is day 366 of 2012

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I have achieved the challenge that I set myself this time last year, which was to Crochet a Granny Square a day

I now have the most amazing blanket

Here are some of my favourite squares

Some which hold a special meaning and some which are simply lovely crochet squares

Some are Traditional Granny Squares and some are a variation on that theme....

Here are some "Traditional" Granny Squares

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below is a slight variation on the "Traditional"

My Blood Drop Square - I gave blood that day and my blood group is B +

A Flower square

And a Valentines Square (the heart is on it's side due to my poor photo editing - sorry)

Again poor photo editing for my Leap Year Square

A Sunny Flower, which I probably made in class & transformed into my square for that day

A couple of more unusual flower squares

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This is my Christmas Day Square

 The Dorset Flag Square commemorates the day I moved to Dorset

And this is my Wimbledon Tennis Square

I remember making this flower in a class that I was teaching that day.  I loved it so much that I had to "GAD" it

 Another class effort - Bavarian Crochet Square

And now for some squares with a difference....

And finally but unfortunately upside down.....

The Olympic Flame which passed through Blandford Forum

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The Olympic Flag

And these squares are the ones that my Crochet Days Students made in class in September

I love these squares

And here it is!

A Granny Square a Day for 2012

A Square A Day for 2013 starts tomorrow!

Free Tutorial for GAD 364 & 365

I have been asked to do a free tutorial by a few of you on my Crochet Case that I made the other day, so GAD 364 &365 is going to be exactly that!

The nice thing about this is that you can make it to your specifications with the left over yarns / wools that you have.

I made this Crochet Case using UK Half Trebles - so US Half Double Crochet & DK with a 4mm hook

For the foundation chain I used the Foundation Double Crochet - if you don't know how to replace a basic foundation chain with a FDC then please go to Crochet Spot  for a great photo tutorial.  Once you have learnt this way of making a foundation chain, you'll never look back!

I wanted a wide case, so I chained 47 + 2 = 49

So, with your foundation chain of 49, htr into the 3rd chain from the hook and htr to the end.

At this point you turn your work, chain 1 (if you chain 2 you'll get a gap) and htr to the end.

You can change colour here OR keep the same colour going - it's your choice.

I Crocheted 28 rows in total

Then I made the border using DC (US SC) all the way around - adding a chain space in each corner

I then folded it to the shape that I wanted - so in my case a deep pouch with a small flap

& I chose some material to line it with.

I simply cut the material to shape with pinking shears and machine stitched around the edge.

The next thing is to get that shape back - so pouch and a flap.

As you can see from the picture below, I double crocheted the pouch area edging in green up either side

I then changed to yellow to DC the border of the flap - adding a loop for the button

I sewed a button into place and

Ta - Dah

I now have a huge great crochet case that is deep enough for all my Crochet bits and bobs!

GAD 363 = A New Project

Whilst making sure my ends are sewn in and my borders are getting finished in time for the end of the year, I had a light bulb moment....

With all my leftover ends of wool / yarn that I have from my GAD project,

I decided to make a new Crochet Case

So starting with a Double Crochet Foundation Chain, which I have to admit that I went on You Tube to remind myself how to make one, as I haven't used this method for such a long time, I made several Half Treble Rows of various colours

And I edged it twice with a double crochet border

I wanted a nice DEEP case to replace my previous case which feels as it's now grown too small for my needs

As you can see - it's a lot wider and in real life it's much deeper too

And here it is!

Lined in a pretty pink gingham

with a green and yellow border in double crochet

And a lovely chunky green button bought from Hawthorn Crafts in Blandford, which is a godsend local shop

There is  more than plenty of room for all my bits and bobs

For now anyway!

 

Gad 362 - Thursday 27th Dec

Well it's not really a granny square day

Because as you know I have finished my GAD blanket

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I am now concentrating on the borders

& tidying up the loose ends etc. that I may have missed along the way

I am going to have a look through some of my many crochet books to see what inspires me for my next project

And of course my next challenge for 2013!

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & Boxing Day Granny A Day's

GAD 359 - Christmas Eve - is this unusual granny square that looks as though there are little sails going around it.  I was worried at one stage that I wouldn't be able to do a "join as you go" but it was so pretty that I made it work

I made this GAD in festive colours especially as it's Christmas Day  - Granny A Dy 360

There is a flower in the middle, which unfortunately does not show up in the photo that well

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And for Boxing Day today,  Granny a Day 361 - the last Granny Square I have made for this blanket, as it's now 19 by 19 squares big, is this rather nice "filet" square.

So 361 squares and 366 days this year for Granny A Day 2012

That means that I have 5 days left to go.

5 days to complete the borders as I have chosen to do four (why, because I love to crochet and it looks FAB) and tidy up any ends that I may have missed along the way.

I did have a little help today though - my Scrumpy dog was snoring away on my lap as I was adding the last square today.....