Crochet: ZigZag Blanket

Well my lovely crochet friends, I know it is very satisfying when you finish a big project, like an afghan or sweater. Sadly, I am not there yet with my zigzag blanket! But I thought I’d update all of you on my progress!

It all started last winter before I left for Vietnam. My friend Stephen and I were hanging out and I happened to look up some different crochet patterns on YouTube (I’m not the best at reading patterns, so video tutorials are my favorite at the moment). We found that the classic crochet zigzag blanket really isn’t too difficult to make, so we gave it a shot! While studying abroad, I found out that my dear friend had started his zigzag blanket journey by using this video tutorial.

It is a beautiful blanket thus far, and I was so jealous! I kept saying I was going to steal the blanket once he finished. I figured that that wouldn’t be a good idea (all that work just for me to steal it, LOL!) so I decided to start my journey and make my own. I couldn’t really follow the previous tutorial from the beginning, so I found a different video tutorial that works just as well.

At first I was thinking of making the pattern to look like a sunset. But then I realized it looked a lot like my mom’s Vera Bradley “buttercup” patterned purse. Alas, I pulled the old thing out, and it was pretty much dead on! For a couple of days I couldn’t believe it, and as I worked on my blanket, the only thing I saw was Vera. Well, I hadn’t seen the blanket in a few days because of finals and the end of semester craziness, and once I started working again, I grew to love it even more—forgetting (almost!) about the Vera lookalike. I shall keep you updated on my progress, so far it is HUGE, and I am so excited!

Crochet: Slippers

During winter, Inoticed how cold my feet had been while walking around the house.Since I’m not one to wear socks, (I’m a flip flop lover during all times of theyear!) my mom had been bothering me to get some slippers. I had decided tojust make them instead! I followed this very easy tutorial that I found online,but made a few adjustments.

Since the yarn I used is a bit thick, I had to cutdown the amount of rows I crocheted. I basically followed the beginning of thispattern. Then, when it says “round 5-13” I only did 6 rounds. Then I startedthe body of the slippers by following the pattern again. I made 12 rows, usinga variety of the directions outlined in Zoom Yummy’s pattern. I did 20 dc,turning after each row, for 7 rows. Then I started adding on a dc at the end ofeach row near the end (rows 8-12). After, I assembled the slipper ends bystitching up the ends like Zoom Yummy. Make sure you knot it well and make itnice and sturdy! You wouldn’t want your slippers to fall apart. Finally, Iadded a strap to my slippers (this is where my pattern differs). I found wherethe strap would look best, and just crocheted it right onto my slipper. I did arow of 4 hd crochets, for about 13 rows, skipping the middle stitch and addinganother hd on the last row (for a button hole). I sewed on cute rhinestonebuttons and finished off my slippers.

I will admit that my slippers are a bit too big,although I omitted a few rows. I feel like the cotton yarn (I used Sugar’n’Cream,since it is 100% cotton) stretched a little as I wore them, so I probably would havetaken out the last row even. 

These make great gifts, so get going in the summer while there is some time to sit and crochet!

Happy Crocheting! 

Crochet: Birthday Shawl

For my 21^st birthday I had decided to make myself a shawl. I went into the city to see Chicago the Musical on Broadway and wanted to wear something special with my fancy dress. I had found this pattern a few months ago on a skein of Red Heart “With Love” yarn. I usually don’t buy Red Heart yarn, as I love Caron Simply Soft, but I could not pass up this great shawl/scarf pattern. (Except I never wore it on my birthday because it was too cold!)

            I first used the pattern to make a nice lavender scarf that didn’t take much time at all. I got a little confused with the pattern at first, but now that I have worked with it a few times, it is much easier to decipher. Red Heart gives it an “easy” grade, and once you get past the first few rows, you will be crocheting without even looking at your work!

            Since I got so many compliments on the initial lavender scarf, and since the pattern was so easy, I decided to use it to make a larger version and into a shawl. I chose black yarn since that would go with more outfits and always will look nice. I am pleased with the results and think I will receive many compliments.

You can find the pattern by Kathleen Sams on the Red Heart website here: http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/romantic-lacy-shawl