I got this yarn (along with 19 other skeins) at Michael's during their black Friday sale--and the reason I got 20 skeins of yarn all at once was because they were only 83 or 76 or 86 or something cents each. Oh yeah! Go me! (and when I finished the blanket, this is all the yarn I had left of the one skein I used!) Per my New Year's "resolutions", I fashioned this one skein of pretty girly yarn into a blanket to give to Her Choice, our local pro-life alternative to Planned Parenthood. I have this book that has a bunch of different stitches in it, and I tried out a new one for this blanket. It's called "Lattice", and it was pretty easy. I have a feeling it took more yarn and made my blanket smaller, but I like the stitch, and the blanket's for a baby anyway, not like I needed it to cover a bed or anything. To make it, chain a bunch for your base stitch. It has to be an odd number that you stitch, so I chose 101. I was going to do 99, but I thought 101 was better. Then you "yarn over" (the book says YO), like this: and in the second chain (skip one), put your hook in it and yarn over and pull it through: then yarn over and pull through all three on the hook: Then chain one, and start all over! This stitch is called a Half Double Crochet. The ends are tricky, and my first attempt was sadly lacking. I had crocheted about two thirds of the blanket when I realized that I was doing the ends wrong and my blanket was shaping up to be a trapezoid instead of a square. So I took it out and spent about ten minutes examining the ends to figure out how to do it properly. As you can see in the first pic up there, every other row has a gap right next to the edge. In the second pic, you can see that the gaps are every other stitch, and each row is misaligned by one. The first time I made this blanket, my gaps lined up, meaning I was dropping a stitch every row. Once I figured out this secret, it was so much more peaceful to make! To make the gap at the end, you have to chain three instead of doing a half DC stitch in the last hole, then do a half DC as the start of the next row. To make no gap, you have to NOT chain one after the second to last half DC and make another half DC in the last hole (so you have 2 right next to each other), then chain--oh man, it's just as confusing to explain as it is to make! Because then, you have to do other stuff to make the gap/no gap if you're stitching on top. Well, if you want to do this pattern, just ask me and I can show you in real life (or a video if you are far away). Or you could always do what I did and make a lot of mistakes until you just figure it out on your own. That always works, too. Anyway, here is a close-up of the stitch. I think it's kinda pretty. And, the blanket it all its glory: When I finished it, the middle part looked narrower than the top and bottom, but I checked and I have the same number of stitches the entire way through. My gauge must have changed for a few minutes there. Also, I like the way the variegated-ness of the yarn made waves with this stitch. Most of the time, it gets off and there is no wave. At first, I didn't like that the colors lined up like this, but it's grown on me. Now to get down to Her Choice. Oh man, I totally just realized that if they give this blanket to a girl who was contemplating abortion, she probably won't know if it's a boy or girl yet. And I have 3 more skeins of this yarn! Hm, what to do, what to do...
6 Comments
Mom
1/4/2013 10:30:57 am
I LOVE this blanket!! I love the way the colors turned out--it's beautiful! Does Her Choice give ultrasounds? Maybe that will help the rescued-baby's mom know that this would be perfect for her little girl! :)
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jo
1/4/2013 10:31:38 am
Buy more yarn while it's cheap!! =) This post is completely a foreign language to me except that I love that you are making for Her Choice. You should include a little card with a verse on it for the recipient!
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Jess
1/4/2013 10:38:05 am
日本ので書いた場合、それは良いでしょうか?
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jo
1/4/2013 10:42:37 am
Oh, yeah...wayyyyy better. Thanks. lol
jo
1/4/2013 10:45:50 am
Apparently we have an understanding that transcends all language. lol =)
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Sarah Majewski
1/6/2013 12:31:44 pm
Personally, I'd use it for a boy or a girl! Isaac got some blankets like this when he was born, and I didn't mind using them. Now that he's a little older I try to stick to "boy colors," but not really when he was a baby.
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In 2006 I had a stroke, and every day my husband encourages me to use my remaining brain cells to the best of my ability. I love to organize, make crafts, and go on adventures (safe ones). I hope that through my blog posts, you will be encouraged to accept and make the best of challenges God throws at your life. Categories
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