cherishables: April 2012

Friday, April 20, 2012

Lion Brand Yarn sale

FYI -- All Lion Brand yarn is 20% off through April 27th. Go to the Lion Brand website to order. No coupon code needed, the discount is applied automatically.

Happy crafting!

Cherish

Thursday, April 19, 2012

I went a little crazy with the granny squares. I made one of every color combo I had in this type of yarn. When I was done I had about 50 squares. More than enough to make a purse. So many, in fact, that I decided I would make a "proper" purse. Meaning, instead of lining up the front & back & sewing them together like a sack, I would use some of the squares to add a gusset along the sides & bottom. Here's what that looks like:

Side view

I used the same method to join the squares for the gusset as I did to join the squares together. I matched up the squares with the right side together & then slip stitched through the outer loop of the crochet stitch.

I took this while trying to make the stitch. Sorry it didn't come out better. Let me know if you have questions on how to do this & I'll try to explain better and/or take more pictures.

By crocheting through 2 loops only (instead of all 4) the bag lays flat. You also want to slip stitch through the two outer loops so that you have a nice even pattern on the front. I'm sure there are other, more technical, reasons but I don't know them. I just know it looks nice and the bag lays really flat. No bubbling squares.

See those two lines? Those are the inside loops I didn't use to join the squares together.

So, after I made the front & back panels (and wove in all the ends!) I joined the squares set aside for the bottom gusset. I attached the squares to the purse first & then went back & attached them to each other. After that was done, I decided it was easier to attach the squares in a strip. So for the side gussets, I first attached the squares to each other & made a set of three in a strip. I attached that strip to one side of the purse (right sides facing) and then did the same for the gusset on the other side.

After the side & bottom gussets were added, I added the back purse panel and attached it by slip stitching all the way around -- attaching the gussets to the panel. I did this by matching up the right sides & slip stitching through the 2 outer loops for each stitch. When that is done, you'll have a purse that is the same all the way around.

View standing up

View laying flat

The purse is 5 squares across and three high, so any other squares you see are the gussets. When this is lined, the purse will stand in a very traditional shape.

Can you find my mistake? I don't know why, but my granny squares aren't so square at the top. They're rounded, which gives the bag a, sort of, scalloped look at the top. I'm okay with that, because it still looks pretty. If someone can tell me what I did wrong, that would be great because I would like to try this purse again. I did try to block it (the purse is drying now) but that doesn't seem to make a difference. Oh well! We'll pretend I'm some sort of genius who purposely wanted the top to be scalloped. I won't tell if you won't!

Next up, lining the purse and figuring out the handle(s.) I haven't decided on purchased handles or created handles yet. If you have an opinion, please share in the comments.

Thanks & Happy Crafting!
Cherish

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Summer Granny Square Purse 2

I confess. I hate weaving in ends. Oh I know. No one likes to weave in ends, but I really hate weaving in ends. I've been known to pick projects based on how many ends I'll have to weave in at the end. I've also figured out ways to incorporate ends into what I'm crocheting. I'll crochet them into the next row or into my magic circle. Maybe you're not, technically, supposed to do it but as long as they don't show -- who cares? Right?

Then thing is, there are LOTS of ends to weave in when you make granny squares. Specially if you change colors for each round, like I did. Then you have two tails for each round. So that's:

3 rounds per square x # of squares = WAY TOO MANY TAILS

So I did them in batches. I would make one batch with a single center color, weave in all the tails & then move to the next color. 7 squares at a time. That is how I stayed sane.

But these are grannies. I wasn't done after weaving in the tails from each square. Then you have to put the squares together. More tails!

So many tails!

Crochet the squares together into strips. Weave in tails. Crochet the rows together. Weave in tails. Repeat for other side of purse. Crochet the squares together for the gussets. Weave in tails. Crochet to purse. Weave in tails. For someone who doesn't like to weave in tails, I'm doing an awful lot of weaving. It will be worth it when the purse is all together and beautiful. I'll forget all about those pesky tails.

I may, however, have nightmares about the process of lining up the squares. OMG! Trying to make it so one row and column does not have the same center color or outside color. What a nightmare! I didn't even want the same combo together, but I see (in the pic above) that I missed one. Oh well. I never was good a Sudoku.

In the next post, we'll join the squares and add the gussets. It's coming along now!

Happy crafting!

Cherish

Monday, April 16, 2012

Summer Granny Square Purse

Grannies...as far as the eye can see...

I confessed my obsession with granny squares and granny stripes in a previous post. I got to thinking that a granny square purse would be fun for the summer. So I went through my stash to find summery yarn. Then I spent the weekend making granny squares.

Piles and piles of granny squares. I've not made them before, so I used the tutorial at Attic24, except I used white for the last round for every single square. I was going for a burst of color surrounded by white.

Now to join them into a purse shape. If I finish this before Memorial Day, it will be a miracle!

Are you working on summer projects yet? If so, please share in the comments.

Happy crafting!
Cherish

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Hippity Hoppity....and a Free Pattern

You're never too old for an Easter basket. Specially when they're cute mini baskets!

**WARNING** Cuteness overload ahead. These baskets are so adorable, your teeth will hurt!

Told you!

You can fit more than you would think.

Can't say I didn't warn you...

If you've got a ridiculous amount of different colors of Easter grass hanging around your house, <ahem!> you can even make them tone on tone.

Cute or OCD? I can't decide....Cute!

If you can fpdb and bpdc, it's not too late to make these. Each one only takes under 1 hour to make. The pattern is created by the brilliant mind behind Many Creative Gifts and is FREE on Ravelry.

Enjoy and Happy Crafting!
Cherish