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Monday 31 December 2012

366 Granny Squares for 2012

Well today is day 366 of 2012

&

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

&
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

&

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
&
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!



Sunday 30 December 2012

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!




Friday 28 December 2012

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
&
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!

Wednesday 26 December 2012

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

&



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.....