Granny Square Blanket

My Finished blanket.

Granny squares. I love granny squares, basic ones are repetitive and easy to learn and there are so many variations ranging into the very complex! I tried to learn to crochet from books but this did not go very well and the most I achieved was a well-constructed knot of wool! But a couple of years ago a lovely lady at a craft group spent some time teaching me and it just clicked! Having her watching what I was doing and pointing out where I was going wrong and helping correct me was the key to teaching me. After that I crocheted more than knitted.

I did attempt a crochet-along but found the complex patterns too much for a beginner, although it did help me create my first (small) blanket and some of the more complex patterns are beautiful and I will revisit them at some point. I have a pattern that looked like a sweet which is awesome! Anyway this led to my love of the simple granny square blanket so I did the math and figured I needed 120 squares to make a double bed sized blanket and I got down to it. My squares were as basic as they come, one colour 6 rounds. It took AGES. 120 squares is no small feat for one lady! It is well worth it and I can now do a basic granny square in my sleep. However while making my blanket I did make a few mistakes and I feel if I tell you them here maybe you can avoid making the same ones:

Not tying in the ends as I did the squares – I got to about 90 squares and realised that I was going to have to go back over all 90 squares and tie in all the ends. This was very disheartening and set me back about a week. Lesson learned!

Thinking about the finish line – At about 100 squares I was so happy because I was thinking ‘I only have 20 squares left to go’. Getting the squares is only the beginning.

Not thinking about how I was going to put it all together at the end – So going back to the last mistake, I started to think if I’m so close to the end I need to think about how it’s all going to come together. My smaller blanket has the traditional connection but this leaves a bit of a ridge and I didn’t want that so I searched the internet for a flat binding method. I found the perfect method but I needed to edge all my squares in my binding colour so I had to go back and edge all 100 squares in one round of black. This again set me back and disheartened me further.

Making the squares the same size rather than the same amount of rounds – This was stupid and I don’t think anyone else would make this mistake but I had a slightly finer wool for about 10 of my squares and when making them I laid them on top of the other squares and decided they could do with another round. This wasn’t going to work with my joining method so I had to unpick around the edge it in black again. I will not do that again!

So there you go, just a couple of things to keep in mind when creating your granny square blanket. It sounds a bit negative but I love the results of my blanket and I am very glad I made it and all the bumps along the way are learning curves that I am grateful for! Maybe I’m just impatient!

My friends and family love this blanket. It is massive and warm and my favourite thing is to cuddle up under it and watch TV.

So what has prompted me to write this post is another friend of mine is moving into her own place and wants one of these blankets for her settee. I wouldn’t have been able to make the blanket myself in time for her move but really wanted to do it so I taught her to crochet and thought we could split the task. She went home and taught her mum to crochet and now there are 3 of us working on the blanket. I figured between 3 people we only have to do 40 squares each, that’s only 3 a day for 13 days and one each on the last day (much quicker that when I made mine!). So here is my stash so far:

Crochet is good for the soul and I would encourage everyone to learn, maybe get together as a group and have fun.

I’ll keep you posted on our shared project!

Baby Sampler.

 My friends baby has entered the world healthy and beautiful! Congratulations to her and her family on such a beautiful little guy! Now as promised here is a picture of the sampler (I have blurred the name).

Now considering I only had 2 months to finish it and I didn’t have a cross stitch chart I think I did well! The hardest part was getting the lettering right so let me talk you through it. It may take a little time but it isn’t too difficult and it’s worth it!

You will need some graph paper or make a graph of your own. I used graph paper. I counted how many cross stitch squares across and down I had to play with for the name and drew this onto my graph paper. I then figured out what font I was going to use and practiced underneath the box I’d drawn, like so:

Then I transferred the text into the box I’d drawn, finding the middle of the space and the middle of the text to centralise it. Nice and easy. Obviously the more text the more difficult and as you can see from the blur the name was quite long!

You could also use this technique for pictures by transferring the picture onto a grid, which means you can make your own custom cross stitches!

Anyway I am very happy for my friend and her family.

Sewing Machine Bag

I didn’t realise how many nice bits of fabric I had accumulated over time! You know, when you see a really nice print or just like the feel of the fabric and it would be rude not to buy it! So, yeah, I have lots of fat quarts and no idea what to do with them. Then I looked at my sewing machine, sat sad and covered in the horrible off-white plastic dust cover it came with when I bought it and it occurred to me that it’s the old two birds one stone situation. I really wanted to try patchwork and making a cover for the machine as a means of showing off some of the selection I have built up.

I measured the machine to figure out what I’d need and 5cm squares would mean I needed 180 squares. Seen as this is my first patchwork project the thought of having to get 180 squares exact was a lot of pressure! So I changed from squares to strips. I needed 8 long strips for the wide sides and bottom of the machine and 3 strips for the shorter sides of the machine. So I measured it all up, cut out my strips and sewed them together. Then ironed all the seams flat.

From here all I was going to do was add side panels and lining and open part of the seam on the top for the sewing machine handle to pop through, maybe add some piping et voila. One dust cover for the sewing machine. But wait what if I made a bag? Having a padded bag would be good and if\when I move it will protect it. Decision made.

I already had the body and side panels plus the lining but I wanted it padded so I bought some wadding and cut out 2 short side panels, 2 big side panels and a base.

I stitched the padding together with the lining but left one of the corners open to turn everything though at the end (like the drawstring bag and protective case posts). I was hoping the wadding would add structure but also help take the weight of the sewing machine. There would be no point in a bag if when lifted, it bottomed out and my sewing machine lay in bits on the floor! So in a panic I asked Mr TimeForCrafts to buy some bag handle cord stuff, heavy duty and either black or white! He made the best choice, it was the strongest stuff I’ve ever seen and the colour choice was perfect he found some that was grey with a cream trim that really suited the patchwork! I had 3 metres which I stitched together to make a loop and stitched it under the bag and up the sides, this way the bag strap also holds a lot of the weight of the sewing machine.

I would have liked to add a zip to the top but at this point I had struggled with the wadding, confused myself on how it would be put together, snapped a needle on the hard core handle and spent over a week on the project that should have only taken a couple of days! So next time I make a bag I’ll add a zip!

At this point it’s pretty simple. Stitch the patchwork layer together, place it inside the padded layer (right sides facing) stitch round the top and pull through the bottom. Ladder stitch the hole and push the inner layer inside the patchwork layer.

I ironed everything to make it all nice, the only thing I found was where I turned the bag right side round there was a little lip on the bag handles but I ironed them down and it’s not a problem.

So I have made a bag! It is padded and reinforced to withstand the weight of a sewing machine. I will add a patchwork panel and zip on the inside to act as a dust cover soon but for now I think I am happy!