Last September, we were invited to stay in a cabin in Island Park, Idaho, which is just outside Yellowstone National Park. I was excited to go! I had only been once, and it was about 15 years ago. It would be so fun to return as a family and enjoy Mother Nature together. However, 3 days before our trip my son had his accident.
We were invited to stay in the cabin again this year and we were excited to make plans to go. The cabin sits up in the mountains, surrounded by trees and the smell of wet dirt and pine. The trip was a kind of renewal for us. We are finally done with all the “firsts” after his accident and it feels like the whole ordeal is truly behind us. The trip was the final sentence in this chapter of our lives, and we are ready to move onto the next one!
Pixel Heart Afghan Square
Hello everyone! Have you been joining in on Moogly’s Afghan crochet along? I was honored to be asked to write up a square for the project. I admit, I am not very great with blanket and afghan squares. When I sit down to write the pattern, my heart wants me to make something unique, and not a rehashing of the same granny square. But I am not great with designing them. If you guys saw the design process of this pretty Pixel Heart Afghan square, you would laugh. I am absolutely terrible with math (maybe I should say that I never had a good teacher), so even simple math, like figuring out the length of the sides while factoring in the increases on the corner, trips me up. Tamara graciously accepted my “unique” square and I truly hope it’s something you will enjoy making.
Pixel Heart Afghan Square
What you need:
–I Hook
-Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice in Scarlet, Silver Heather and Black
Gauge: 7 sts = 2″
Begin with Gray.
Ch 31
1. Sc in 2ch ch from hook. Sc in each remaining chain. (30 sts) Turn
2. Ch 1. Sc in each st across. Turn. (30 sts)
3. Ch 2. You will now be working tapestry crochet in dc stitches. When you change colors, yarn over with the next color and finish the stitch, so the color changes are clean. To keep things clean, it’s easier to use bobbins (instead of carrying the yarn) So you will have one gray and one black on either side, and one red in the middle. At times, you will need to pull yarn over from your last finishing point to your next starting point. Simple work back over the yarn tail and you won’t be able to see it.
Dc 14 with gray. Dc 2 with back. Dc 14 with gray. Turn. (30 sts)
I have included a graph, and you can make the heart shape without the written pattern, if you prefer. It looks distorted here, but it won’t be as tall when it’s finished.
4. Ch 2. Dc 12 with gray. dc 2 with black. Dc 2 with red. Dc 2 with black. Dc 12 with gray. Turn. (30 sts)
5. Ch 2. Dc 10 with gray. Dc 2 with black. Dc 6 with Red. Dc 2 with black. Dc 10 with gray. Turn. (30 sts)
6. Ch 2. Dc 8 with gray. Dc 2 with back. Dc 10 with red. Dc 2 with black. Dc 8 with gray. Turn. (30 sts)
7. Ch 2. Dc 6 with gray. Dc 2 with back. Dc 14 with red. Dc 2 with black. Dc 6 with gray. Turn. (30 sts)
8. Ch 2. Dc 4 with gray. Dc 2 with back. Dc 18 with red. Dc 2 with black. Dc 4 with gray. Turn. (30 sts)
9. – 15. Ch 2. Dc 2 with gray. Dc 2 with black. Dc 22 with red. Dc 2 with black. Dc 2 with with gray. Turn. (30 sts)
16. Ch 2. Dc 2 with gray. Dc 2 with black. Dc 10 with red. (It gets a bit hairy here, but bear with me). Join a third black bobbin here. Dc 2 with black, carrying the red. Dc 10 with red. Dc 2 with back. Dc 2 with gray. Turn. (30 sts).
17. Ch 2. Dc 4 with gray. Dc 2 with black. Dc 6 with red. Dc 2 with black (carrying the red). Join a third gray bobbin (you only need it for 8 sts). Dc 2 with gray, carrying black and red. Dc 2 with black (still carrying red). Dc 6 with red. Dc 2 with black. Dc 4 with gray. Turn. (30 sts)
18. Ch 2. Dc 6 with gray. Dc 6 with black. Dc 6 with gray. Dc 6 with black. Dc 6 with gray. (30 sts)
19. Ch 1. Sc in each st across. Turn. (30 sts)
20. Ch 2. Dc in each across. (30 st)
21. Ch 1. Sc in each st across. (30 sts)
DO NOT TURN.
Border:
1. Continuing exactly where you left off after working the last sc of row 21, work an additional 2 sc in the last st (totaling 3 sts in last st of row 21).
Sc 28 more down the side. Work 3 sc in first foundation ch. Sc 28 across the bottom. Sc 3 in last st. Sc 28 up the side. 2 sc in the first st of row 21 and join with a sl st. (94 sts)
2. Sl st into next 2 sts, joining black. Ch 2, work a 3-dc cluster (a dc3tog in same st).
*Ch 1. Sk next st. Work a 3-dc cluster in next st.* work 13 times. Dc in next st. In the corner, work a 3-dc cluster, ch 2, work another 3-d cluster. Dc in next st. [Work from * to * 14 times down next side. Dc in next st. In the corner, work a 3-dc cluster, ch 2, work another 3-d cluster. Dc in next st. ] work entire contents 3 more times. Ch 1. Sk 1 st. Join with first 3-dc cluster, using gray.
3. Ch 1. Sc all around working the ch-1 spaces and 3-dc clusters. Work 3 sc in each ch-2 corner. (140 sts)
Break yarn, tie off.
Do you like my blocking square? It’s an awesome little gadget by Chetnanigans. The BlocksAll comes in several sizes. Get yours here.
I hope you are enjoying the CAL! The finished blanket is really cool looking, with all the different squares. You can see the Moogly CAL 2016 squares here and make sure you catch up on the 2017 squares here.
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Happy crocheting!
Crochet Fox Slippers
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Last week, I released an article about some tried and tested methods for making slippers non-slip.
As I was doing research and trying each method out, I made some slippers to test out the methods. I used mostly my own crochet slipper patterns, because I had finished pairs on hand, but there were a few I made that weren’t mine. These Crochet Fox Slippers are a pattern by Mamachee that I have been eyeing for a while. I seized the opportunity to make them. I had the perfect color yarn (Paprika) and got to work.
I absolutely love them. In fact, The Boy has asked for his own pair. I think I will make his in gray.
Schoolyard Striped Hat
Septembers here are pretty darn unpredictable. They could be chilly. They could be like a second August. They could start out like August and end like November. So we need to be prepared!
A couple of years ago, I had a friend reach out to me about some crochet hats. She was making some for an elementary school class and wanted to make sure each child in the class had one. I decided to whip up a pattern that was perfect for chilly school morning and fast to make. This simple Schoolyard hat is perfect for both girls and boys and is an easy pattern for when you need a hat fast.
How to Make Knit and Crochet Slippers Non-Slip – 7 Tried and Tested Ways
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I get asked this question quite often, crocheters wondering how to make make crochet slippers non-slip. Unfortunately, until writing this post, I wasn’t really sure. Fortunately, I decided to figure it out! I had heard of a few methods in crochet groups and Facebook comments but hadn’t tried any of them myself. I decided it’s time to gather up all the ideas I can find and put them to the test.
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