The 25yr project

Have you ever had a box that you moved from here to there & back again for years & years? Well, I got sick of moving one and decided to make the unfinished project so I could clear up some space. I mean, this box has moved house with me 4 times, so I think it's time to get rid of it.

I bought a bunch of woollen blanket remnants at a sale many years ago and had a great plan to cut them up and make a patchwork blanket but I after cutting it all up, I was at a loss as to how to stitch them all back together again, so it got boxed up and forgotten.

25+ years on, I have an overlocker/serger, so guess what? No excuses to not finish this blanket! It was actually pretty easy to make, I even sewed up all the scraps together and made a smaller lap sized blanket for the car. I filmed the process, if you're interested then you can view it here: https://youtu.be/1Qcz7-HSFa8

Unfortunately, it's not my only long term project, I can think of at least 3 more ... so I guess there is no rush to finish them but it would be nice to clear up some space!

How are all your projects going? Do you have long, long, long term projects or do you like to finish each project that you start?

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I utilise affiliate (aff) links throughout my blog as a way to help me keep crafting. If you click on an aff link, I receive a very small amount from it at NO cost to you. So please help me to keep CraftyRie up and running by clicking on my aff links! Many thanks, Rie

Crochet Quilt

 

I just finished this long term crochet project. It was a project that I'd pick up every now & then when I needed a break or was in-between projects. I think I started this one over 5 years ago.

I tried to make it like a 'crochet quilt' as the yarn I was using was variegated (like this yarn...) and if you do the same thing over & over with this yarn the colours tend to pool in the same place. So I broke it up by doing large squares & smaller squares then joined them into a 3 square block before joining again to form the larger 'quilt top'.

Does it work as a crochet quilt?  I also had intended to make it a larger blanket but was vetoed by the rest of my family members as they stated it was perfect as it was. 

I still have one more 'long term' project in my cupboard but that is actually nearing completion too. I'm going to have to start thinking ahead for the next one after that is complete now! Do you have ongoing longterm 'in-between project' projects too?

I'd totally appreciate your support if you popped over to my YouTube channel & possibly subscribe to my channel or even liked some of my videos.

If you need more Crafty Inspo, then check out my shoppable lists here....

I utilise affiliate (aff) links throughout my blog as a way to help me keep crafting. If you click on an aff link, I receive a very small amount from it at NO cost to you. So please help me to keep CraftyRie up and running by clicking on my aff links! Many thanks, Rie

Updating the Princess!

 

A little time ago, I crocheted Laney a princess blanket (here) but after finishing it, I'd always thought that it needed a border. 

So, years later, I added a border! I think it really finishes it off and it makes it just a bit bigger and more useful too!

Pattern is this one...

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Crochet Pattern: Temperature Blanket ::: Corner Temperature Blanket

Ahh, I see you're thinking of making a Temperature Blanket! That is awesome, I'm so glad you've come here to me, to figure out how to make one! 

This blanket is called the Corner Temperature Blanket as it's worked two sides at a time, starting from a corner and working outwards, always forming/staying a square at the end of each row. #CornerTemperatureBlanket

For the first 6 months, 1 row a day = 2 sides then for the last 6 months of the year, 1 row a day = 1 side.

Size: 

If you make the blanket as stated for a full 12 months then it will be a king size blanket, at 6 months the blanket is queen size. If you use a smaller gauge yarn (like this..) then it will be a queen size for the full 12 months or if you're wanting a smaller blanket maybe for a double bed try this yarn or for a single bed, then you may like to try this yarn.

Firstly, you need to do a little bit of homework, sorry, but it makes things easier later on and it's the first step in planning your colours.

Homework: you need to determine what your average temperatures are. 

For me, here in Australia, I visited the Bureau of Meterology website to find out what the average cooler & warmer temperatures are. 

You need to find this out as these two colours will feature heavily in your blanket. 

If you look at the blanket below, you will note there is a lot of mint green & burnt orange as the (two) average temperatures use those colours.

Then you will need to come up with a guide for what your temperature ranges will be. This will vary from person to person, state to state, country to country.

We have a lot of cooler weather here, it rarely snows and the summer rarely gets too hot. So my temperature rangers were (in Celsius):

39c +

38c - 34c

33c - 29c

28c - 24c 

23c - 19c

18c - 14c  

13c - 08c

07c & under

Then you can play around with your colour choices, I browsed the site American Yarns to get a feel of the colours.

I came up with the 'temperature gauge' below.

Now is the time to order your yarn, remembering that the amounts will vary for each person as it's hard to predicate the exact amounts as we can't predicate the weather! Hook size for this yarn is a recommended 5.5mm

Here as an approximate guide for the above gauge/colours: 

Temp            Colour            # of balls needed

39c +            Dark Orchid     x 1 ball

38c - 34c      Hot Red            x 1 ball

33c - 29c      Grenadine         x 1 ball

28c - 24c      Perfect Pink      x 1 ball

23c - 19c      Coral                 x 4 balls  (second most common average temp)

18c - 14c      Mint Green        x 7 balls  (most common average temp)

13c - 08c      Light Grey         x 3 balls 

7c & under   Aran                   x 1 ball 

Tip: as you may need to top up your yarn stash throughout the year, it's best to use a commonly made yarn/colourway.

Once you have ordered & received your yarn, it's time to create your swatch reference card. Trust me, you will use this lots, so it's best to make a decent one at the start.

It's a good idea to keep a notebook or a note on your phone to record the temperature each day as you may not always get a chance to crochet the row each day!

Time to crochet:

Day 1: First row is just a granny square!

Day 1 of the Corner Temperature Blanket

Day 2: We work on two sides of the granny square only. 

Day 2 of the Corner Temperature Blanket

Day 3: Starting the row above the start of row 2. 

As you can see from the image below, I started the row where the scissors are pointing and ended the row where the crochet hook is pointing.

Day 3 of the Corner Temperature Blanket

As you can see, you just keep starting back at the start of the previous row, working only two sides at a time.

Now after 6 months, check the size of the blanket. Is it just right or getting too big? If it's getting too big, then instead of working in granny stitch on two sides per day then switch to Single Crochet (SC) and work one side per day. 

Keep on crocheting, keep enjoying the crocheting but if you feel you need to take a short break, then just keep recording the daily temperatures and come back to it when you feel up to it. 

#CornerTemperatureBlanket   

Keep me posted, I'd love to see your #CornerTemperatureBlanket or tag me @CraftyRie on social media.

Check out American Yarns for a great selection of yarn to choose from, they have a great colour range, lots of stock and friendly service.

American Yarns helped me out with this project by supplying me with this gorgeous yarn, thank you!

Temperature Blanket 2020

 

Hey there!  It's March already, the year is flying by and it's no longer summer! Phew, it feels like I'm still only a few weeks into the new year.

I decided this year to do a Temperature Blanket, have you ever done one?

I made sure to check the local meteorology site before I started to find out what the most common average temperatures were (for where I live). As those colours/temps would feature most of in the blanket, you need to chose something that you want to see a lot of. So for those two averages, I chose mint green and orange. As you can tell from what I've done so far (last image), that I'll be using those colours a lot!

The picture above shows the very first week of January and the picture below is the first 18 days of the new year.

Big thanks to the lovelies over at AmericanYarns.com.au as they were super helpful picking out my colours.

Towards the end of this year, when I will have a bigger blanket, I will putting together a pattern for a Temperature blanket with a guide on choosing colours, how much yarn is needed etc.

If you want to see a more photos of my blanket as it progresses then keep an eye on either my Instagram or Facebook as I share more over there on a daily basis.

Once again, big hugs to AmericanYarns.com.au for the supporting my efforts in my #2020TemperatureBlanket

Big love, Rie.

I utilise affiliate links throughout my blog as a way to help me keep crafting. If you click on an aff link, I receive a very small amount from it at NO cost to you. 

So please help me to keep CraftyRie up and running by clicking on my aff links! Many thanks, Rie

The FOMO blanket

 

So last year when I finished a blanket for Laney, Joe got a little jealous .. he had a bit of FOMO going on (Fear Of Missing Out)! So I jumped online and ordered the cheapest yarn cakes that I could find to quickly make him a blanket too ... but big mistake, the yarn was crap, so it slowed me right down!

So I treated it as an 'Slow Project' - a project that I'd pick up every now & then to do. It finally got finished and my Joe is loving it!

So as the yarn I used was crap (unevenly spun, horrible texture, terrible dye job), I'm not going to recommend it, so instead here's a link to some nicer yarn that is similar that will be much better to use.

I crocheted each yarn cake into a rectangle = 6 yarn cakes
Then used an additional 3 yarn cakes to join the rectangles and edge it to hang over his bed.

I utilise affiliate links throughout my blog as a way to help me keep crafting. If you click on an aff link, I receive a very small amount from it at NO cost to you. 

So please help me to keep CraftyRie up and running by clicking on my aff links! Many thanks, Rie

  

      

The Bright & Cheery Blanket

Now that Laney is a 'big girl' now, she needed a new bed and of course, I took that opportunity to also crochet a blanket.

So, here it is, a big bright colourful blanket. 
Do you like it? 
Laney loves it and it has all her favourite colours, yellow, orange and of course pink.

I made this blanket with a 'new to me' yarn called Bernat Pop which I got from the super helpful shop called  American Yarns. 

I hadn't crocheted anything in acrylic for ages and was super pleased by this yarn. Yes it is acrylic but gosh, it's lovely & soft, working up like a dream.  I also loved how the colourful yarn cakes are. I didn't plan any colour changes in this blanket, the balls of yarn decided that for me!

To make the blanket, I crocheted 4 big granny squares of 8 rows each in the colourway Pop Art. I joined the 4 squares and made 8 rows to form the bed width & length. I then used the soothing creamy colourway Snow Queen to add depth the blanket (for the sides & top & bottom). 
In total, I used 14 balls of Bernat Pop, 8 for main body of it in Pop Art and 6 for the edges in Snow Queen.

Would I use this yarn again? Big fat YES!

Would I grab the yarn from American Yarns again?  Big fat YES, they were lovely to chat too with super quick postage.

Something to stop my twiddling thumbs!

I have this weird thing going on where I just can't sit there & NOT have a crochet blanket on the go. I don't know why, it's not like I need another blanket as I have a trunk full of them!

Taa daa... The Crochet Mood Blanket!

Woo hoo!  A year of my life has gone into this blanket, it first started here and now it is finished.

Catching up on my mood!

So, did you think that I'd forgotten about my crochet mood blanket?  Sometimes I had... sometimes I do a square or two and sometimes I catch up!

18 years & a blanket

Would you believe that this year, my hubby & I celebrate 18yrs together!

Well, actually we didn't.

You see, apparently (according to him), it's no big deal.

Hmph, it didn't stop him from accepting his present though did it! 

What did I get?

Nothing.

 I waited patiently all day, in case he bought something home from work but nope, nothing. So the very next day, I jumped online & purchased some yarn for blanket that I've been wanting to make - a present to myself.

adding 52 to 365

I'm a sucker for crochet, yes.I.am.
So to add to my 'workload' (yeah, crochet is work!), I've decided to not only do 365 squares for the Mood blanket (as seen here) but to also do an additional 52 squares,1 for every week. 

A moody blanket

Ever wanted to track your moods throughout the year? I'm talking 365 days to track, sound good or bad?  Well, there is thing that started over on Instagram called the Crochet Mood Blanket 2014, it's where every day you crochet a square/piece for your blanket depending on your mood. Yep you heard me...Every.Single.Day. (or you could do 52 if you wanted, one for every week) Me, what did I choose..... 365 of course!

A boys blanket

With everything nowadays focusing on the baby, I wanted to make something for bubba Joe (I didn't want him to start resenting the baby before it was even born!)
So I picked out a stash of colours and started...

I don't want to show you the pattern yet, I want to tease you for a little bit because I am quite excited by this pattern & can't wait to see it come together!

Granny memory for a Granny!

I picked up this blanket to add to it on the weekend, but UGH, I'd forgotten how I had done it!
So after about 10minutes of trying to find the start of each round and then figuring out how to join them to others, I have decided to make myself a quick image/instructions on how to do them... for any future 'granny' moments!

So, I hope that helps future me!

My Creative Space

The blanket is growing (slowly) and my belly is growing (big!!!).

I've been crocheting the ends in as I go, the only end sticking out is from the very first row.
Do you crochet in as you go or do you leave them until you finish then sew them in?

Are you joining in with Kootoyoo's My Creative Space?

Looking better

Ahh, I've undone & redone and now it's flat.

Definitely better!