My Universe is Complete

Hello my friends.  Do you like the title of my post?  Haha, a play on words.  My Sophie's Universe blanket is finally completed! It's new home will be in Turkey.

You may remember that I began this project back in July of 2017.  I diligently worked on it every day until I left for Turkey and when I returned home, it kind of sat in a bag in the closet.

But, like many of you, I hate to have unfinished projects.  So, since the middle of January I have been working to get this blanket completed.  I added my own design for the border (starts with the green leaves shown above), as I loved doing the red roses and wanted to incorporate it the edging. It's such an intricate designed blanket that I felt it needed a little more pizazz for a border.

Here's the little bag of yarn leftovers from this project.  I must say, this blanket is a yarn eater!  Originally, I purchased 15 shades of yarn but ended up using 13 skeins.  I had purchased this yarn to make another Attic24 coastal ripple blanket in a different color combination. But, after working on it awhile, I frogged it.  My inspiration for this blanket was Kate over at Kate's Adventures; look at her gorgeous blanket she made! Isn't it amazing with that additional border? I ran out of energy and yarn to make my blanket any larger. . .  

I completed my Vintage Fairy Lights socks.  This was a fun and easy knit from talented designer Helen Stewart.  I'm now awaiting to begin The Handmade Sock Society.  My new DPNs and sock yarn are ready! 

It's Saturday night here and my little grandchildren just left.  My dear children pictured above, took off for a short 3 day cruise.  So, I and my dear son-in-law along with my dear husband, took care of the little ones.  It was a fun time for all.  We will all be cruising together later in the summer.  

Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday and I know absolutely nothing about football.  But, we will celebrate on this day nonetheless.

Take care my dear friends and thank you again for all your great advice regarding my new bed.  The bed arrived a week ago, is all put together and now I'm waiting on the new mattress.  Patience. . .

With my best wishes,

Pat  

Crochet Rolled Edging on Attic 24 Coast Blanket!

Hello.  I can't believe how the holidays are here again.  Time goes by so so fast.  Lots has happened since I posted the pumpkin roll recipe from last week.  We were all sitting down to a wonderful Thanksgiving feast at my daughter and son-in-law's home when all of a sudden my husband passed out.  Long story short, the first responders arrived followed by the ambulance and the sheriff department!  He spent Thanksgiving night in the hospital under observance although thankfully all his tests came back fine.  He had what is called a vasovagal episode.  It was so scary to see.  We celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday and had a wonderful time.  Thank goodness my husband is doing great.

So, here is my completed Coast Ripple Blanket from Attic24.  It was such a delight to make!

I ordered the yarn kit from Wool Warehouse and received it around September 1st.  I can't believe I've been working on this for 3 fun filled months!

I followed the pattern from Attic24 and the color sequence.  But I decided to add my "rolled edging" as I do not like to weave in all those loose yarn ends!

Here's a close up of the rolled edging....

And here's another view.  Basically I did Row One of single crochet all around the blanket.  Then I started Row Two of single crochet, making 3 single crochets in each corner.  Row Three was a repeat of row two.  Row four was single crochet around but do a decrease in each corner by crocheting three together.  Row five was a repeat of row four.  If you have enough yarn left over, you can do Row six, single crochet in each stitch (no decrease, no increase).

Tie the yarn ends together and make sure they are secure.  Clip yarn ends to a length of about 1 1/2".  Turn edging over and with a yarn needle and yarn, stitch edging in place.  When you come to the edge with all the yarn ends, place yarn ends in channel of rolled edging as you are stitching each stitch.  

If my instruction are not clear, you can find an earlier post here with photos and instructions of the rolled edging.

NOTE

**I ordered one extra skein of yarn to do the rolled edging**

Here is the new home for my coast blanket.  It's on my Ikea couch in the family room.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that Lilly my cat doesn't mess it up!

I was a bit hesitant about the colors at first since there's lots of blue.  But I think it compliments my room since my walls are gold with green curtains and the blue highlights the blue water from the pool outside......

I'm going to be lost without working on the blanket.  It was such a fun project to do.  I've pulled out some yarn I bought in Turkey and I'm starting another blanket.....wish me well.

Until next time, have a great week and I'd love to hear from you and know what you've been working on.

Holiday wishes from,

Pat

 &
Lilly, too!

"Martha's Ripple Blanket" My Version Completed

Hello everyone.  I hope that you are enjoying your summer.  Down here in Southern California we are having a heat wave.  It's been in the high 80's and that's a bit too warm for me.  I sometimes long for the gray, cloudy skies and cooler weather but I shouldn't complain.

This week I finished my version of Martha's Ripple Blanket.  This was such a fun blanket to make.  I found this lovely blanket here on Mrs. Brown Makes.  Here is her tutorial on how to do this beautiful ripple stitch.

I used Stylecraft Special DK yarn which I bought from Deramores.  I originally bought this package of 17 skeins and used 12 skeins for my Grandson's stripey blanket.  I saved 5 skeins of the pink/purple colors and used an additional 5 skeins of white to complete this blanket.

As you can see, it turned out quite large.  It will easily fit a single bed and allow for it to hang over the sides.  It's such a fun pattern to crochet and is easily memorized since it's a repeat of one row.

I made the bobbly edging and I think it added an extra design element to the finished blanket.  (As you can see, each edge of the blanket has a different color for the bobbly edging since I didn't have enough yarn to do it in one color)

I'm a bit sad that it's done since I had such a great time making it.  I am putting it away for now and will probably give it away as a baby gift.  I want to thank Claire at Mrs Brown Makes for creating such a wonderful blanket pattern.  Please visit her blog to see some great ideas.

Lastly, I will leave you with this adorable picture of Lilly.  I had set this "large" basket on the floor and she decided that it would make a good place for her afternoon nap!  I love that cat so much.....

Have a wonderful week and please remember to stop over at Handmade Harbour where you will meet lots of talented crafters.  I'd love to hear your comments and know what you have been creating.  Feel free to comment and/or sign up on my blog. :)

Happy Summer,
Pat

Crochet Along As We Go Stripey Blanket - Finished at Last!

 I am so excited to share this post with you.  I have had so much fun making this blanket for my little grandson, that I was a bit sad when I finished it because it was such a joy to make.

Here is my grandson with his finished blanket.  He was so excited to receive this gift from Grandma!

Maybe you remember a few weeks past when I ordered this package of yarn from Deramores, which is my favorite online yarn store.  I received 17 skeins of 100 grams each, in assorted colors.  When you go to Deramores website, you can choose which country you would like for your preference.  Their shipping prices are extremely low ($6.95 to the US for 17 skeins).

I found this fun blanket on Love, Lucie, a wonderful blog that I follow.  The original pattern can be found here as it is a pattern created by Hannah Davis of notyouraveragecrochet.com.

Here's my additional notes to the original pattern:
1.  I used 12 skeins of yarn; 11 for the body of the blanket and 1 for the border
2.  I had a total of 193 working stitches across each row
3.  I crocheted a total of 142 rows
4.  I used a size H crochet hook
5.  For row 8, Catharine Wheel, I skipped "two stitches" instead of 3 stitches, thus eliminating the need to crochet this row loosely as stated.  This worked out perfect.  The only glitch is that you will have to skip "three stitches" one time only in the row.
6.  For row12, Catharine Wheel, I did the following:  With new color, ch 3, turn.  Make 2 dc around the chain below, make 1 dc in the "eye of the wheel below, make 2 dc in chain, 1 dc in sc, repeat. DC at end.
7.  For row 27, Bobble row, I did a hdc in  2 sts instead of 8 sts, and then continued the hdc over 5 sts instead of 8 sts.  I ended the row with 3 hdc.  This way you will have more "bobbles".
8.  I used stitch markers every 32 stitches, with the last group of stitches being 33 stitches.  This helped me tremendously as you will attain straight edges while keeping the stitch count constant.

Now for the fun part of finishing off the blanket and making the border.  I tied the ends of each two pieces of yarn twice.  Then I left the ends hanging and started single crocheting around the entire blanket.  I crocheted a total of six rows for the border: Row 1, sc with 3 sc in each corner; Row 2, sc with 3 sc in each corner; Row 3, sc with 3 sc in each corner; Row 4, sc and decrease* in each corner; Row 5, sc even; Row 6, sc and decrease* in each corner.

*To decrease in each corner, sc three stitches together as follows; sc in first stitch, sc in 2nd stitch but leave loop on hook (you will have two loops on hook), sc in 3rd stitch and leave loop on hook (you will have 3 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through all three loops on hook.

You can see how the corner turns by itself after doing the decrease in each corner.

As you can see, this made a "rolled" edge.  I found this idea at Little Woolie blog, who was the original inspiration for this pattern.  Anyway, as you fold over the edges, you tuck in all the loose strands of yarn and then stitch the edging closed.  I used one complete skein for the edging and ran short of some yarn to stitch it closed.  I used the other blue color in the afghan that blended in quite well.

Here's a photo of the edging after it has been completed.

You can see the finished blanket here - it turned out huge!  It's about 72" long and 54" wide.  The yarn I used is machine washable and tumble dry so it should be hassle free.

I hope you have enjoyed this little foray into my crocheting project.  Until next time, have a great week and don't forget to stop by Handmade Harbour where you will meet lots of gifted crafters!

Have a great week,
Pat

P.S.  I will leave you with a photo of my lovely lily bouquet. I found these flowers at Walmart, of all places!! (Oops, can you see Lilly in the background, on the carpet?)

Round Ripple Afghan

It's good to be home again.  I was away last weekend attending my brother's 70th birthday party.  It was a fun time to see family and friends.  But, it's always good to get home :)

I finished my round ripple afghan.  I had run out of yarn and the yarn finally arrived and I finished it in a couple of hours.  Here's a photo of my round ripple afghan:

It was a fun project and it was very fast to make.  I used Red Heart Super Saver yarn which I ordered from Herrschners.  This is the same company that my Grandma used to order yarn from way back in the early 1960's!  Your local craft store probably carries Red Heart but Herrschners has an amazing range of colors to choose from.

Here's the pattern link which I found online from a very talented fiber arts artist named Doris.  Her designs on truly amazing.  As you can see, I changed the schemetics of the colors.  I did two rows of each color, followed by three rows of each color, followed by four rows of each color and ending with three rows of dark green (the white was added as needed for highlight).

I

I made a rose motif for the center of the pattern.  It is a six petal rose motif. After making the motif, I started with row three of the pattern.  

I also made 12 smaller rose motifs (five petals) and attached them to the points as I was crocheting the last three rows.

The final design turned out fine but I wish my yarn colors were more subdued.  They look a little too bright (and old style).  I used the following Red Heart Super Saver skeins: 1 skein light raspberry, 1 skein baby pink, 1 skein light sage, 2 skeins dark sage, 2 skeins soft white.

As to to the "two" skeins of dark sage and soft white, I had to buy these extra skeins although I needed only a little bit of each of the second skein.

Anyway, I would love to hear your comments.  And, I would love to hear what you have been working on.  I will leave you with this picture of Lilly (who sends her love to each of you), sitting next to my stripey blanket I am currently working on.

 

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Happy crafting,

Pat

P.S.  If you have time, stop by Handmade Harbour where you will finds lots of lovely things!

Knit Zigzag Afghan and Chilly Nights

Hello my dear friends.  Finally, here is a post about my passion; knitting.  For those of you who visited last week, you will remember that there was a memorial about my dear mother-in-law who passed away on Thanksgiving day.  We wanted to remember her and let extended family here in the US and Egypt know about her legacy.  I felt the best venue to do this was my blog.  So, thank you for your patience since I know it was an unusual place to publish this memorial.

We are having a cold spell down here in Southern California.  I'm not going to complain since we don't have snow or ice but the thermometer has dipped into the 40's and it's suppose to be even colder the next couple of nights.  I look back now at all the years I spent shoveling snow, scraping ice and getting bundled up to go outside.  My children and I grew up in this kind of weather and I didn't know any different.  That was until I moved to western Washington where we had rain and now to California where we have sun almost year round.  I still laugh when I see my  neighbors decked out in Ugg boots and down jackets.  It's still not that cold around here!!

Drum Roll.............Here is my finished afghan that I have been working on (and off) since July!  I finally finished it last night since it's a Christmas gift for my daughter and her husband.  I ordered the yarn from LoveKnitting.com.  It an Aran weight yarn with 25% wool.  The wool really gives this yarn a wonderful drape and feel and yet it's still machine washable.

Here is a link to the  pattern.   It's called Knit Zigzag Ease Throw and it's by Coats and Clark.

 

(Sorry for the poor photo).  As you can see, the pattern calls for three different colored yarns.  I used one color throughout my afghan and I think it shows off the pattern much better.

On a side note, I absolutely love LoveKnitting.com.  They have a great selection of yarns and if you sign up for their e-mails, you will receive notice of sales that many times include free shipping.  Another favorite online yarn shop of mine is Paradise Fibers.  They are located in Spokane, Washington and last year I had the opportunity to visit this shop.  They offer great online specials; one special was a $60.00 skein of yarn with a special price of $15.00!  They too offer free shipping now and then. You just need to check their website.

Back in the day when I started to crochet and knit, I would buy my yarn at the local dime store (do kids today even know that that is?).  There was no Michaels of Joanns back then.  Then, one day I had a pattern that called for a special type of yarn.  My son told me to go online and check it out.  I placed my first online order  and I received this beautiful, spun wool from a family owned farm in New England.  I still have some of this wool.

Since then (13 years +), I find patterns that call for special yarns and I go online (to my favorite yarn shops) and shop for the yarn.  There are great bargains to be had online since many times they have discounted the yarn since it was last seasons colors, etc.  As you know, once you knit with nice yarn you don't want to knit with your Grandma's Red Heart.  Please don't take my wrong, I love the Red Heart afghans my dear Grandmother made for me.  But part of the fun for me is finding the pattern, finding the yarn at a great bargain and making the item.

So, my knitting basket is literally empty now.  I am going to tweek a pattern I have for a knitted scarf.  I plan to add some beads to the pattern and see how it comes out.  I will let you know.

In the meantime, I hope each of you have a wonderful week.  Keep warm, be safe and remember to stop by Handmade Monday to see some wonderful crafts.  And, please don't be shy to comment on this post.  I would love to hear from you.

blessings,
Pat

P.S.  Do you like the new look of my blog?  My daughter Heidi created it for me and the picture of the Eiffel Tower was taken by Heidi during our night time walk back to our hotel!

Vintage Style Lacey Crochet Baby Blanket

Greetings everyone.  I hope each of you had a great week.  Our weather has returned to normal and the evenings are once again cool and pleasant.

This week I will share with you a baby blanket I have been working on for the past 10 days.  It has been so much fun that I couldn't put it down once I started on it.

As you may recall, I crochet and knit with a group that makes items for charity.  We recently received a large donation of yarn and there was two new packages (with 10 skeins each) of this yarn.  I took one of the packages and my friend took the other.

 

 As you can see, this is a woven ribbon type yarn.  I didn't know how it would knit up but it was great to work with.

I wanted to find a crochet pattern that wouldn't be boring to do and yet not too complicated.  I looked online and through my stash of old patterns.  I found this pattern tucked away in my pattern stash.  I've had it for almost 30 years and thought it would be a fun pattern to crochet.

Here's the finished product.  I think it came out cute although someone has already asked me "how will a baby use a round blanket".  Well, that's up to the Mom - I just had fun making it!

Before I end this post, I want to share with you my great "find" of the week.  I stopped by my local World Market; I love that store with all the goodies they offer from around the world.  They had some of their African items on sale and I purchased this basket for 1/2 price for a total of $19.99!  I had wanted one for a long time and it will be perfect for my large knitting projects like the afghan I am currently working on.

I would love to hear about what you are working on.  Also, feel free to e-mail me if you would like a copy of this pattern.   Please come back again and visit Lilly My Cat and stop over at   Handmade Harbour for some great crafting ideas and also check out this blog for additional creative gifts.

take care,
Pat

Mayfield Afghan and Fun at Laguna Beach

It has been a good week here at Lilly My Cat.  I'm almost finished with my income tax preparation (too many forms to send to the accountant), I finished my afghan and I received my order from The Planet Penny Cotton Club!

It was 80 degrees here on Friday and the family headed off to the beach.  Laguna Beach is about 14 miles from my home.  It was a perfect day to relax and soak up the sun and the sounds of the ocean.

It was such a clear day that we could see Catalina Island across the water.  My little grandson enjoyed playing in the sand.

We brought our favorite lunch food from Trader Joe's along with water and chips and had a perfect lunch sitting in our beach chairs.  And it's always fun to see the seagulls who love to scavenge for any food you may have...

As I mentioned, I am celebrating today since I finally (after two months) finished the afghan I made for my little grandson.  The pattern is called Mayfield and you can find the pattern here.

I tweaked the pattern a bit - it calls for thick yarn and size 11 needles.  I used an Aran type yarn and size 8 needles.  I casted on 167 stitches so because of the difference in needle size and yarn, it took me a long time to finish this pattern.  The stitch pattern is a 12 stitch repeat +1 and 10 stitches for the  border.

As a safeguard to my forgetfulness, I placed markers for each 12 stitch repeat and counted each 12 stitch section along the way to make sure I didn't forget any yarn overs.  It worked great.  There is just one glitch:  when you come to row 19 you will have to remove the markers as this row makes the markers 1 stitch off.  You can replace the markers when you do row 20.

Also this week my order arrived from Planet Penny Cotton Club.  Here's a sample of what I created with my new cotton yarn.  I couldn't find a pattern that I liked so I kind of made this up as I went along.

 

I hope you each have a wonderful week and don't forget to check out Handmade Harbour  where you will find great links to lots of crafty ideas.

P.S.  My daughter will be taking me to London in November.  If you have any recommendations for good hotels in London, I would love to hear from you.