sunburst granny square blanket w.i.p.

I am almost done joining the my sunburst granny squares. I am excited to see what the finished project will be. I love the sweet, feminine feel of sunburst grannies. I think they make a wonderful baby blanket for little girls.
God blessed!
hannaH

Sunburst grannies

Photo via: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kasaa/4318940214/

As I mentioned in my last post, I am working on a sunburst blanket. I though I would post a couple of links of the pattern and a tutorial for anyone reading that is interested in trying this lovely pattern. 

Here is the written pattern by Priscilla Hewitt for the sunburst granny square. I have been using this pattern for the first three rows of the squares I have been crocheting for the past week.

 I will be using the join-as-you-go method to connect all my grannies, & will only be adding a fourth, maybe fifth row. The finished project should resemble this blanket tutorial from Nittybits blog.

I hope you all have a wonderful & blessed weekend, & enjoy what little time we have of the summer 2013!

hannaH 

Mom's finished granny square afghan

 

I am so happy with how my mom's afghan turned out! I love the colors. I think the gray does a wonderful job of contrasting each color. I started this project the beginning of February and finished it on April 24. It is the largest crochet project I have ever completed. The best thing about the afghan is that my mom loves it!

 

I connected all the squares using the join-as-you-go method. There are tons of tutorials on the method all over the web. Here is the joining granny squares as-you-go tutorial from Attic24.

I knew that I wanted to add a single crochet boarder to the afghan, but wasn't sure how I was going to execute it. I finally decided on using a moss stitch (a.k.a. tweed stitch)  for the colorful boarder. I am now in love with this stitch and plan on using it on other projects. Here is a video tutorial of how to crochet the moss stitch. Of course you can see that I changed the yarn color for each row compared to using one color. This gives the boarded the tweed look.

 

For any readers interested in creating a granny square, check the Purl Bee's tutorial of how to crochet a granny square. Their instructions and photos are very easy to follow. 

 

Thanks for reading & have a wonderful day!

God bless,

hannaH



four rows

While I was trying to photograph mom's afghan, Amos, the cat decided that he should be in the shot. I finished the 4th row, leaving only 3 more to go.
I hope you are having a wonderful week!
God bless,
hannaH

p i n s p i r a t i o n // crochet squares

Since I have finished the granny squares for mom's afghan, I have been looking at the many different & beautiful options of crochet squares on, where else, Pinterest!

Source: ravelry.com viaHannah on Pinterest

 

 

 

 

Source: mooglyblog.com viaHannah on Pinterest

Source: ravelry.com viaHannah on Pinterest

Source: amelieandatticus.blogspot.com.au viaHannah on Pinterest

Source: purlbee.com viaHannah on Pinterest

I have fallen in love with the many patterns of granny squares out there. There are so many possibilities with these beauties. I will defiantly keep these in mind for future crochet plans.
Check out my other inspirations on Pinterest.
I hope you are having a wonderful week!
God bless,
hannaH

The final square

This is not the best picture, but I just wanted to quickly document the last square needed for mom's afghan. I started this project in February & have until April 10th to join the squares. I started weaving in the ends last night, getting about 40% of them done!  

I guess I will start joining the squares this weekend. Also on the books for this weekend, we are going out with my parents at somepoint to celebrate thier 26th wedding aniverary. Yea, mom & dad!

Do you have any plans this weekend? I hope you have a wonderful Friday!

God bless,

hannaH

Only 3 more squares!

I had a moment this evening when I thought I had finished my 48th square, which is the amount I was hoping would be enough for mom's afghan.
As I laid them all  out on the dinning room table, I found only 45 squares. Big fat bummer. But I was so happy to see that 6x8 squares will work wonderfully for an afghan!
I have gone back and forth on this project. When I went with my mom to pick out the yarn, I loved the colors & had no doubt in my mind that they would look fabulous together. Fast forward to when I had crochet the first 10, or so, squares I started to question my initial enthusiasm. The colors were not wowing my like they did in the skeins. That is when I tried adding the row of gray you see on the bottom squares. Once I saw the gray border I fell in love again!
Each square will have two outer rows of the gray yarn. I will crochet the second row gray using the joining as-you-go method. This will be my first attempt at joining a afghan together this way. We will see how it goes.
I hope you have had great so far! Have any of you crocheted a granny square afghan? If so, what joining method did you use?
God bless!

hannaH

Mom's afghan

 

I counted it is less than four weeks until my mom's birthday. I have 20 partial squares to finish to be a total of 50 squares. I am hoping to finish the last 20 in the next couple of days. I might want to add some squares, but I am waiting to see how large it will be when I lay them all out together before I decide if I need to add anymore. Then comes the joining. I know I will be able to finish in time. My only problem will be staying focused.   

I find myself thinking about borders for the finished afghan. There are many beautiful ideas I have seen recently including the one on Sophie Slim's Granny Circle Blanket.

I am exciting to see how it will turn out! Do you have any granny square afghan border ideas?

Have a wonderful day & God bless!

hannaH



afghan & animals

Mom's afghan is coming along & I am getting excited. I am really falling in love with the colors. I am afraid I will need to buy more grey yarn. Don't you hate when you miscalculate? I hope my AC Moore is well stocked.

~~~

While I had the camera to photograph the granny squares I took some other snap shots.

 

Sweet little Owen (a.k.a. Owie, Oh Bo, Bo Bo, or just Bo); this is my buddy & cuddle bear.

 

Amos (a.k.a. CRAZY CAT!). I can not believe this is the same little, sick baby I found in November. He has made my laugh so many times in the past few months. 

 

 

 

 Sweet Ms. Molly Mae. What more can I say? :)

I am amazed how the furry, four legged creatures find such a special place in my heart.

Are there any sweet animals keeping you company?

I hope you all are having a wonderful week!

God bless,
hannaH

.:spring, spring, spring:.

Goodbye February. Hello March!
I am getting so excited for spring! I feel like jumping up and down. I can go outside and hear the birds singing, as if they are ushering in the change of season. This winter has been relatively mild, but I am so ready for a change. Ready for warmer weather, pastel colors, deep green lawns, & spending more time outside without the cold (I really just want to start wearing sun dresses again).
I do love the pansies my dad planted. They bloom during a chilling day, and can perk-up your spirits.

 

 

 

But,while it is still cool outside, I am content to stay inside and crochet.

 

 

 The doctor of the small office I work for was out sick today. That being the case, there were no patients schedule which left me with some free time to crochet. I was happy with progress I made on mom's afghan. I am trying to stay in a high gear with this project. If I don't stay focused, my ADD type personality can be distracted, and put it on the back burner.

Let's see if I can finish the afghan before April.

Have a great day!

God bless!

 

hannaH





Mom's afghan & contradicting personality

These are some of the finished squares for mom's afghan. It is hard for me to believe how much I enjoy making granny squares. It is soothing for me. I look forward to changing into my p.j.s, fixing a hot cup of tea, covering up in a blanket, & crocheting away. I don't feel like talking. I just want to create. I like it when the animals come up to cuddle. They don't want to talk, they just want to be near you.
I am a social person. I am loud and crazy at times. One of my most treasured aspects of life is spending time with loved ones. But as I have gotten older I really enjoy having quiet time to myself. Recently my family tested our personalities. Some of them started to bet if I would be introverted or extroverted. When my scores were tallied, out of ten I scored 5 for introverted and 6 for extroverted. I think that is a perfect representation of me. When I feel social, I am VERY social, but when I feel  introverted, please just leave me alone while I watch Downton Abby and make granny squares.

Have a wonderful & blessed weekend!
hannaH

My Humpday Happenings

 

Here is a quick post regarding my Wednesday:

1) I started my day with A Woman's Heart; God's Dwelling Place devotional by Beth Moore. It was a blessing looking at Psalm 91:4, dwelling on my LORD's love, protection, & forgiveness towards his children. 

2) After walking the dogs laundry, etc., I met a dear friend for a sushi lunch date. I counted that we have been friends for 16, going on 17 years. We do not see each other as often as we should, but we have a wonderful ability to catch up and goof off like there has been hardly anytime separating us.

3) Before bed, I spent time on some granny square for momma's afghan. I am hoping to make some more progress this evening after work.

I hope you week is going well!

God bless!

hannaH

Handmade memories

Lately I have been thinking of the importance of personal gifts.
My brother's finace' was telling how wonderful it was for her sister to receive a crochet afghan from her now deceased grandmother as a wedding gift. I saw an interview the other day explaining the importance of a handwritten letter. My grandmother was so thrilled to find a stash of checks her mother had written. How much more wonderful would it have been if it hand be a letter address to her.
I guess this is one reason why I love to crochet. There is something special about an item that was created by hand for someone else.

These photos are of the starter squares for my mom's afghan.

I have been thing about when I have children. One thing I am hoping to do is keep a hand written journal for them until they are 18 or so. Maybe they will appreciate a handwritten document of love to them.

God bless!
hannaH

Birthday plan for momma

My mom has a milestone birthday this year. She turns 50 in April. I thought that this is a perfect occasion for my to get around to making her an afghan. I asked if she wanted to go with me to pick out the yarn and she agreed.
We picked some Vanna's Choice.

I am going to plan this project better that I usually do (at lest I hope I will). Let see if I can do it.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
God Bless!
hannaH

25 squares down.. 77 to go?

Slowly, but surely, there has been some progress made on my afghan. If I stick to my original plan, I am a third of the way finish. But I will play it by ear.
Have a wonderful and blessed weekend!
hannaH

Granny Square Afghan Progress

I am getting excited! I am planning on making the afghan 11x7 squares.  I still haven't decided whether I will try and sell this or keep it for myself :)