Isn't this always the way? I'm here to report on afghan progress-- but not the afghan that you're probably thinking about. No, the Cheerful Afghan is still snoozing away in a corner, somewhere, undisturbed for weeks. Meanwhile, I've been working on two other afghans. (And I won't even pretend to be ashamed of myself. It's my hobby, and I'll have a million WIP if I want to! ;o))
Mysteryghan:
I'm keeping up, so far. Earlier this week, I finished weaving the ends of the squares for the second clue-- and the next one is due out tomorrow (though Julie released both the other clues a day early, so I'll be checking this afternoon, just in case).
Here's a photo of the completed first clue, "Little Bitties":
Aren't they cute? They were fun to make, too. I won't post photos of the second set on the blog, yet, but if you're curious, you can see them on the project page.
I'm liking how the colors are working together, but I suspect I may have to buy another ball of Pound of Love in "antique white" before I'm done. If I can find it locally, that is... If not, meh, I'll find something to use as a substitution. Any "thin worsted" in cream will probably work fine.
It's not too late to join, by the way. There have been new people joining in this week, so you won't be the only one coming "fashionably late" to the party.
Old-Fashioned Sampler:
I have Pammy Sue to thank for the inspiration for this one. She blogged about Sandra/CherryHeart's Sampler Blankie a while back, and it was so beautiful that I wanted to make a version of my own. (It didn't hurt that Donald gave me that 200 Crochet Blocks book for my birthday... and that I had a few stashed yarns already in mind for an afghan.) Mine won't use as many different hues-- and I may use more different motifs than she did-- but I was definitely inspired by her blanket.
I'm planning to use a variety of greens, blues, and blue-greens for the squares, which I will then join with another color. Probably a cream or "linen" color... Possibly gray...
Here are the squares I've photographed so far:
1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. Framed Flower, 4. Victorian Lace, 5. Arcadia, 6. Fudge
I'm not sure why the first two links say the photos are untitled, because they're not... The first one is Daisy Chain, and the second is Sunshine Lace.
They look terribly wonky in the photos, but I know from experience that they'll straighten out when they're joined and washed. I don't see the sense in wasting time blocking them before then. Because I'm lazy. :o)
It's been fun, so far, making just a square at a time. I went through the book and jotted down the squares I liked most, so now I'm referring to the list (which I use as a bookmark to keep it handy), flipping through until I see one I want to make, selecting a color, and hooking. As much as I love the scrappy, bright, joyous look of multi-colored motifs, it has been an absolute blast to make these using one color per square. It's so fast! And you only have a couple of ends to weave, per block! (Yeah, that's nice.)
What hasn't always been so much fun is trying to get the squares to come out roughly the same size. I'm probably being too much of a perfectionist, but I want it to look good when it's done, darn it! ;o) Even though these squares are supposed to come out the same size (if worked with the same yarn and hook), they don't. Well, some do, but others don't, and there's no way to know for sure except to measure as you go. Also, it would be really, really nice if these mix-and-match squares had the same stitch counts. But they don't. So joining them promises to be even more fun. Oh well. I'm used to that. Samplers just aren't the easiest things to join. It's still doable.
These two projects have been filling my craft-time nicely!
Mysteryghan:
I'm keeping up, so far. Earlier this week, I finished weaving the ends of the squares for the second clue-- and the next one is due out tomorrow (though Julie released both the other clues a day early, so I'll be checking this afternoon, just in case).
Here's a photo of the completed first clue, "Little Bitties":
Aren't they cute? They were fun to make, too. I won't post photos of the second set on the blog, yet, but if you're curious, you can see them on the project page.
I'm liking how the colors are working together, but I suspect I may have to buy another ball of Pound of Love in "antique white" before I'm done. If I can find it locally, that is... If not, meh, I'll find something to use as a substitution. Any "thin worsted" in cream will probably work fine.
It's not too late to join, by the way. There have been new people joining in this week, so you won't be the only one coming "fashionably late" to the party.
Old-Fashioned Sampler:
I have Pammy Sue to thank for the inspiration for this one. She blogged about Sandra/CherryHeart's Sampler Blankie a while back, and it was so beautiful that I wanted to make a version of my own. (It didn't hurt that Donald gave me that 200 Crochet Blocks book for my birthday... and that I had a few stashed yarns already in mind for an afghan.) Mine won't use as many different hues-- and I may use more different motifs than she did-- but I was definitely inspired by her blanket.
I'm planning to use a variety of greens, blues, and blue-greens for the squares, which I will then join with another color. Probably a cream or "linen" color... Possibly gray...
Here are the squares I've photographed so far:
1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. Framed Flower, 4. Victorian Lace, 5. Arcadia, 6. Fudge
I'm not sure why the first two links say the photos are untitled, because they're not... The first one is Daisy Chain, and the second is Sunshine Lace.
They look terribly wonky in the photos, but I know from experience that they'll straighten out when they're joined and washed. I don't see the sense in wasting time blocking them before then. Because I'm lazy. :o)
It's been fun, so far, making just a square at a time. I went through the book and jotted down the squares I liked most, so now I'm referring to the list (which I use as a bookmark to keep it handy), flipping through until I see one I want to make, selecting a color, and hooking. As much as I love the scrappy, bright, joyous look of multi-colored motifs, it has been an absolute blast to make these using one color per square. It's so fast! And you only have a couple of ends to weave, per block! (Yeah, that's nice.)
What hasn't always been so much fun is trying to get the squares to come out roughly the same size. I'm probably being too much of a perfectionist, but I want it to look good when it's done, darn it! ;o) Even though these squares are supposed to come out the same size (if worked with the same yarn and hook), they don't. Well, some do, but others don't, and there's no way to know for sure except to measure as you go. Also, it would be really, really nice if these mix-and-match squares had the same stitch counts. But they don't. So joining them promises to be even more fun. Oh well. I'm used to that. Samplers just aren't the easiest things to join. It's still doable.
These two projects have been filling my craft-time nicely!