Victorian Lattice Square Afghan for Ally

Ally's loves her soft, comfy afghan.  I used the crochet square pattern, Victorian Lattice Square, in mushroom and lapis using Stylecraft DK and a size 4.0 mm F hook.

                                                                     Ally's Afghan

The squares are joined using a continuous join called Flat Braid Join. Each square is edged with SC in mushroom first with (2 sc, ch 3, 2 sc) in the corners.

Flat Braid Join Tutorial: https://www.crochet365knittoo.com/happily-ever-afghan-cro... and also at The Patchwork Heart. 

I love the decorative join.  You start crocheting 2 squares together, and keep adding squares and rows.  It's a beautiful join.

                                                                  Afghan Border


For the border,
Round 1:  2 sc in each loop of squares, 5 scs in corners, and 5 sc in joins (2 sc in first loop, 3 sc in second loop).
Round 2: Ch 2, 9 DC in first corner, skip 2 scs, sc in the next sc, skip 2 sc, 5 DC shell in next sc, and repeat to next corner. 

The border is crocheted in the Lapis Color.  I love this afghan--it turned out really pretty.

Chain Maille Bracelets

The Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival has lots of fun and unusual classes each September.  I really enjoyed the Chain Maille Bracelet class I took there.

The first bracelet I made was a Captured Bead Bracelet out of copper and Swarovski crystals.  It's an easy bracelet to make.

                                                     Captured Bead Copper Bracelet

The second bracelet was a Byzantine bracelet, which I've made before, and it is a fun pattern to weave.  I really love it in silver. It is also very pretty in bright aluminum.

                                                                    Byzantine Bracelet

My granddaughters love their bracelets in their School Colors. 

                                                              School Spirit Bracelets

My granddaughter loves the color purple, so I made a silver and purple bracelet for her, also in the Byzantine pattern.

There are lots of chain maille ring vendors online, and the colorful anodized aluminum rings and bright aluminum rings make beautiful fun bracelets.  I'm really enjoying making these beautiful gifts.

My notes:  16 gauge, 4.5 mm ID for some bracelets; 18 g. 3.5 mm ID for purple and silver bracelet, 65 color A, 128 color B.  K's wrist 6 1/4", her bracelet almost 7" then added two or three to make it adjustable and more room.  N's:  6 1/2" -7 1/4" finished.  A's: 7 1/4" to 7 3/4" finished.   Adjustable--use 3 to 5 extra rings.  Lobster clasp.  

Silver:  16 gauge,  4.5 mm ID, 2" = 3 full and 1/2 Byzantine sections.  2 color Byzantine:  connector rings are in one color, Byzantine 4 rings are in other color.

Phoenix Afghan Crochet Along

I am having fun crocheting the Phoenix afghan pattern by Hooked on Sunshine, which was a Crochet Along (CAL) but is now over.  My daughter and I started the CAL late--we had just found the pattern and decided to take part close to the end date.  It was fun seeing other crocheter's afghans in progress and finished--so inspirational.

The CAL was organized into 11 parts.  I probably won't crochet all 11 parts, because I want only a mid-sized afghan.

                                                            Phoenix through Round 12


The pattern is a challenge because each round is usually different from previous rounds, and you have to really pay attention to make sure you have the correct count of stitches on each side before progressing.  Each round builds upon the previous, so correct stitch count is imperative.  Since each round is different, it's fun to see how it looks as you go.  It's fun to pick out the colors, too--it's not easy to always know how the color will look next to the previous rounds and future rounds.

                                                                      Phoenix thru Part 2.


The stitches are fun, too--the pattern has popcorns, clusters, back loop stitches, front loop stitches, etc., so it's a challenge and a fun learning experience.

We decided to crochet our afghans on the spur of the moment, so I picked out some Red Heart yarns from our local Joann's store:  Super Saver and Red Heart with Love.  I'm using a size H Clover Amour Hook.

                                                                   Phoenix into Part 4.

I'm really enjoying crocheting this afghan!  It will be fun to see how it looks when it's finished.

My notes:
Size H hook Crochet Amour, blue hook. Red Heart with Love Yarns and super saver red
Baby Pink super saver
Pink: Bubble Gum with love
Hot Pink: with Love
Bright Yellow: Daffodil with love
Dark purple: Aubergine with love
Light purple: Lilac with love
Medium blue: Bluebell with love
White: with love
Pale plum: super saver light purple
Medium purple: super saver
dusty grape with love
Peacock with love: blue
Boysenberry (wine color) with love
Lemon: light yellow super saver
Gold: Red Heart super saver
yellow/gold: cornsilk with love
July 13--through round 19 with rose.
July 23, through part 2.
Round 84 correction: (3dc-cl into the ch2-sp, ch1) 3 times. (last 3dc cluster in the instructions before the corner.)
July 30: Finished Part 3

Ally's Afghan: Victorian Lattice Squares

I'm finally getting back to finishing Ally's afghan; life gets so busy. 

I love the pattern, Victorian Lattice Squares by Destany Wymore.  I'm using Stylecraft Special DK acrylic yarn in mushroom and lapis.  The yarns are slightly different in thickness, which makes it a challenge to crochet the squares to the same size, so I blocked them to about 7" and changed to a size F 4.0 hook.  The yarn is so soft.

                                                              Victorian Lattice Squares


It's always hard to decide how to sew or crochet squares together.  I decided to try the Flat Braid Join, and I really love the look.  It's pretty easy to do, and it is a continuous join, which reduces ends to weave in.  So, you can start with joining two squares and keep adding squares without cutting the yarn.

I followed a wonderful tutorial by Crochet 365 Knit Too, available here:  https://www.crochet365knittoo.com/happily-ever-afghan-crochet-flat-braid-join/ .  

                                                                    Flat Braid Join


It's helpful to single crochet around each square before joining.  So, I ended up using Round 9 in the mushroom color around each square as my Single Crochet round, and crocheted the flat braid join using Lapis.  The reason I crocheted around each square in mushroom is so the join would show up more--if some squares were finished in Lapis, the join would blend in too much with the blue squares. 

                                                Victorian Lattice Squares and Flat Braid Join

I think I'll do a shell border around the afghan.  My granddaughter loves the blue color, but I think the shell edging would look really pretty in the mushroom color because it would stand out a bit more.  Ally loves her afghan and can't wait for it to be finished! 

                                                              Ally's Afghan in Progress

My notes: 
 

I’m using Stylecraft DK yarn in Lapis blue and Mushroom and a size 4.0 mm F hook. The squares are about 7” before borders and joining.
I am using the sc, ch1 as the first DC where the pattern says it. It makes a smaller DC which blends in well with the join each round. Round 9 is SC around in mushroom. This is 14 sc, ch1 in space, 14 sc, then the corner of (2sc, ch3, 2 sc).   I’m going to join with the blue with the flat braid join.

I am blocking each square before joining. For the flat braid join, always go into the stitch for the sc from the right side of the block. Always go into the chains from the right side of the block, so go down into the chain to join. Make sure the blocks are facing the right side when joining. 17 chains along each side of each block.
Each join is SC in new block, chain 1, take loop off, go into chain 3 of opposite square and pull thru, chain 2, then skip one sc on new block and sc in next sc.
Corners: SC in corner space, ch 2, take off hook, pull through diagonal corner, chain 3, sc in corner of new square again.
Starting a square: chain 5 from last corner of last square, sc into corner space of new square.

Ideas for border: there will be loops along each side of the blanket from the flat braid join.
I could do a shell into each: sc, hdc, 2 or 3 dc, hdc, sc into each loop.  I will sc in each loop first to add some structure.
I could do 3 sc into each loop with 5 in the corners. Then do the basic shell border: sc, skip one or two sc, 5 double crochets in the next stitch, skip one or 2 sc.. repeat.
Or a wave shell border is pretty. Or round of sc. 2nd round, sc skip one or two sc, then a shell of dc, ch1 (5 dcs with chain 1 between) or can use TC instead of dc.

 

Tape Loom: Getting Ready for Colonial Day

I'm getting my tape loom ready for Colonial Day, which is a once-a year-event for 2nd graders at my grandkids' school.  The kids learn about living in Colonial times.

They learn to weave on a 4 shaft loom and a tape loom.  They also learn about quilting, making a cloth doll or wooden toy, making butter, cornbread, and lemonade, and using an ink well and a slate and more.  They also have a Colonial school session and learn about manners in Colonial times.

They all dress up in Colonial outfits for the school day, and the teachers and many of the helpers also dress up.

I bring my reproduction tape loom by Jonathan Siedel for the kids to each weave on.  They learn that people in Colonial times use the tapes (or bands or straps) in many ways.  The Colonists used tapes to tie something closed, such as a cloth feed or seed sack.  They were used to tie aprons and bonnets.  They could be used to hold up stockings or pants.  They could be used as a strap for a powder horn or a leather bag.  They could be used as trim for clothing.  They had many uses.

I wove a bookmark for each 2nd grader using my inkle loom so they would have a piece of weaving to take home.

I designed this inkle loom pattern for the flag design.  Feel free to use it if you'd like to make one.  I also made a guitar strap using my flag design, and it is in an earlier post.

Colonial Day is such a fun experience for the kids.  We helpers and the teachers really enjoy it, too. 

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival 2018

I had a great time at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson, Wisconsin.  The festival is put on by about 150 volunteers, and they do a fantastic job.  It had stopped raining, and the weather turned out to be perfect. 

There's so much to see at the festival.  They have sheep dog trials, sheep shows, fleece judging, auctions, a display of hooked rugs and demonstrations, a sheep to shawl competition, lots of vendors, and lots of classes to take and more.  One of my favorites is the Hall of Breeds, where sheep breeds from all over the world are brought in for everyone to see.  Another favorite is seeing the lambs that are born at the festival. 

I took 2 classes, and I enjoyed both of them.  The first class was Intermediate Brioche taught by Javier Jara.  We knit a sample of 2-color brioche and used increases and decreases to create a design in the brioche.  Brioche is reversible, and it usually has a light side and a dark side. 

                                                 My Sample of Brioche, Light Side

And the dark side of the same sample.
 
The 2nd class I took was on Sami Mitten Techniques, taught by Laura Ricketts.   Laura brought lots of samples of mittens to show us and they were all based on her research of the historical Sami mitten knitting techniques.

Sami Mittens usually have a braided cord at the cuff, often with a tassel.  Some of them have knitted braids near the cuff that are similar to Latvian braids.  They have a pointed top and pointed thumb top, and the mittens have a "peasant thumb," which is a straight thumb without a thumb gore.

We knit a little sample minus the thumb, which has the same decreases as the top of the mitten.

There were lots of different sheep at the festival and also some baby lambs that were born at the festival. 

The festival provides so much opportunity to learn spinning, knitting, felting, dyeing, and other fiber crafts.  It really is a wonderful festival. 

Parakeet Bead Loom Bracelet for my Granddaughter

My granddaughter has a parakeet named Chip, so I made her a bracelet with a parakeet that looks like Chip.  She helped weave a row of the bracelet, and her brother also wove a few rows.

I added an adjustable closure with a lobster claw.

My notes:  Light blue above beak.  Wrist size 5 1/4" for N.  Clasp adds about 1 1/4" so beads should be about 4 1/2".  Parakeet is 21 rows divided by 9 rows per inch, so 2 1/3".  4 1/2"= 4 x 9 = 36 + 4 =40 rows.  Decrease each side: 11-9-7-5 each side.  6 rows + 21 = 27.  40-27 = 13 rows so add 6 more rows per side before and after pattern.  Clasp: lobster and beads.  New thread, weave in well and come out center bead.  Make a chain of jump rings for one side.  Size 8 beads make a circle of 8 or 9 beads and add closed jump ring which chain is attached to. Other side: also about 8 or 9 beads with a jump ring attached to the lobster claw.  I used heavy duty jump rings from Hobby Lobby.  One G thread. When weaving in threads, I added a knot after weaving in about 10 rows and then went through a few more beads and cut thread.  Add a charm onto the last jump ring.  4 rings and a charm.