Crochet
- Thread starter Mel
- Start date
Your titanic efforts have paid off! 
GingerFoxx
No effin' whey!
Here is my latest project. I found a YouTube video with instructions for a classic granny square pattern, done with a log cabin design. I started this one last Sunday and it's still a work in progress. I am amazing at how much faster I am progressing as compared to my previous afghan. Just over a week into it and already it's maybe 1/3 the size of my bed. I attribute that to using a larger size hook and a pattern that has a lot of holes in it by design
The colors are a little hard to differentiate in this picture but the middle has grey, a peach/orange color and a pastel rainbow color.
Then in the outer rows, I swapped the orange for a pastel green/aqua color and I ran out of the rainbow color so I replaced that in the rotation with a cream color. My next row I am swapping the green back to the orange color for a bit.
The colors are a little hard to differentiate in this picture but the middle has grey, a peach/orange color and a pastel rainbow color.
Then in the outer rows, I swapped the orange for a pastel green/aqua color and I ran out of the rainbow color so I replaced that in the rotation with a cream color. My next row I am swapping the green back to the orange color for a bit.
Val
Forum Legend
GingerFoxx
No effin' whey!
Thank you, all! I will post pictures again when it's completed.
GingerFoxx
No effin' whey!
On a side note - My boyfriend does woodburning as a hobby and he has been getting bored of it lately. I told him the same fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination needed to burn designs into wood with a heated tool would probably lend themselves well to crocheting. So this weekend I am going to watch some beginner videos with him and try to guide him along through some of the basics, since I am still memorizing a lot of the finer points myself. Hopefully he will enjoy it well enough to give him an alternative activity.
GingerFoxx
No effin' whey!
A friend of mine on Facebook saw my latest afghan and expressed an interest in learning crochet. I was prepared to send her the series I used when she mentioned she is left handed. I remembered the challenges you had trying to learn from a right handed video. I searched a bit just now and, lo and behold, the same lady teaches the same 8 lesson series in a left-handed version too!Yes, I ended up doing just that.
I’m trying not to be too negative. I just feel like some people have a knack for certain things and others do not. But obviously I haven’t given it enough time. I can’t seem to get the hang of the one-handed-thing with slipping the yarn over and into the loop. So I end up using my right hand to manually pick up the stitch and pull it over! It’s quite comical but ive actually developed quite a knack for that and can go pretty quick...go figure!
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GingerFoxx
No effin' whey!
Back in January or February, when I was first learning, I started on a bunch of solid granny squares to make a throw blanket for my boyfriend. Then I got sidetracked with my other projects. I finally almost finished the last square shortly after taking this photo, but I ran out of one of the yarns I was using. I hope to buy another skein and finish that up in the next week or so. I want to have it ready for his birthday on August 10.
A couple challenges I foresee are that some of my earlier squares when I was still brand new at it were crocheted more tightly and are smaller in dimension than the later ones. I may need to redo those so the afghan won't be lop-sided. The other challenge is finding a joining technique that will result in a nice, smooth, even product when it's complete. I have never joined squares before. Any recommendations for joining granny squares would be appreciated from you experienced crocheters, before I consult YouTube.
A couple challenges I foresee are that some of my earlier squares when I was still brand new at it were crocheted more tightly and are smaller in dimension than the later ones. I may need to redo those so the afghan won't be lop-sided. The other challenge is finding a joining technique that will result in a nice, smooth, even product when it's complete. I have never joined squares before. Any recommendations for joining granny squares would be appreciated from you experienced crocheters, before I consult YouTube.
GingerFoxx
No effin' whey!
I found this pattern on Saturday afternoon. On sight, I assumed it would be too advanced for me, but it only uses 3 basic stitches and it's chrocheted in the round. I started the project that day, with the intent of having a suitable sized afghan completed in time for my mum's birthday on August 12. I will take a picture of how far I got by Sunday night and post it later:
GingerFoxx
No effin' whey!
Here is my work in progress since Saturday. My boyfriend and I spent most of the weekend on the couch, watching Netflix. On days like that, I spend most the time crocheting. It offsets the guilt associated with a lot of TV watching when I have a nicely progressed craft project to show for it:
GingerFoxx
No effin' whey!
Haha, thank you. Actually, that's the carpet in my office. I was at work when I took that photo. I guess in this case the two complement one another.
I love the pattern as well. It reminds me of lace doilies, so it has a bit of an old fashioned feel. One you make the center of the square, the rest of the pattern is the same 4 rows repeated. It took me 1 time watching the video through, followed by a 2nd time where I crocheted along with her and paused at each step before my brain unlocked the repetition of the pattern. Now I can just look at my work and know what comes next without needing outside instruction. As a result I am able to go pretty fast, since it's basically just making chains and then building arches.
I am impressed with how fancy it looks, given the simplicity. The yarn came from a couple large bagfuls my boss gave me, now that her hands are too arthritic for crochet. I only had 2 skeins of each of those 3 colors, but a whole bunch of the white. I really like how they stand out in combination with each other. This might be my favorite project yet.
GingerFoxx
No effin' whey!
Maybe by then I will feel experienced enough to offer you some pointers/troubleshooting tips if needed. I would love to get proficient enough to teach someone else, but I hardly think I am ever destined for YouTube fame with all the competition out there, haha. I wish my boyfriend's tendonitis wasn't a prohibitive factor for him. He was really disappointed.
Val
Forum Legend
Ouch! Tendonitis...
It hurts.
Sorry to hear that your boyfriend has to deal with it. 
@GingerFoxx, I have three methods I use depending on the finish I want. I like whipstitching or the mattress stitch (sometimes called an invisible seam) for a flatter finish. I single-crochet if I want a raised stitch throughout the afghan. I find that after a few years, the single-crochet stitching flattens out. It makes a nice trim, though.
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