Finished granny square sampler crochet blanket

A few months ago I wrote about this granny square sampler afghan project I was working on. It was a crochet-along project which I did a few months after the actual crochet-along had finished. But I liked doing it in my own time and I liked following it as it made me sit down and try lots of new crochet ideas, some of which I would probably have steered away from.

Crochet Valentine hearts

It’s the week for making for Valentine hearts so I thought I’d crochet these cute little  hearts (you can find the pattern Teeny Tiny Hearts on Ravelry).

They’re really quick to make and aren’t for anyone in particular, I just thought I’d hang them somewhere in the house. As I’m writing this it’s snowing outside so these little hearts are brightening up my day.

And with a few more days to go until Valentine’s Day I have some time to make some more : )

Flower motif granny square

I came across this granny square and really liked its floral look, but I couldn’t find a pattern for it. So I pinned it on Pinterest and then tried to work out the pattern myself. I don’t know if what I’ve come up with is exactly the same but it looks similar to the picture I found so I’m happy.

Here’s the pattern if you’d like to give it a go. Looking at the square now, I wish I’d used a different colour for the first round – to create a flower centre. I’ll try that next time I make it. I think you could make a lovely afghan blanket with lots of these, maybe mixed in with some granny squares of different designs or sizes. I think subtle colours would look lovely too, I picked some very bold ones for mine.

Crochet hats

I’ve been wanting to crochet a hat for a while and when I saw this hat pattern on Attic24 I decided to give it a go. It coincided with a £10 loyalty voucher I earnt at my local yarn shop for spending lots of money there and that meant I could buy some decent yarn for the hat too.

I made my hat in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, olive colour.

Iris paper folding

I always love discovering a low cost craft. I did iris paper folding recently at a craft group: a few weeks ago I hadn’t even heard of it and now I’m hooked. My first attempt at iris paper folding was rubbish so I’m not even showing you the picture. But I’m quite pleased with this heart.

Iris paper folding involves folding small pieces of paper and sticking them into place to create a layered pattern. You need a bit of patience and lots of sellotape.

Crocheted Granny Square Sampler project

This is something I’ve been working on for the past month. It’s a brilliant project I found on the Wisecraft blog – the Granny Square Sampler Afghan project. It’s a crochet-along project which started much earlier in the year and I’m playing catch up.

I love this project because I have a slight obsession with granny squares at the moment, and following this makes you learn different ones as you go along. I’ve liked all of them so far and not found them too tricky. I’m currently on week 9 which is a gorgeous three dimensional flower square and it’s my favourite so far.

I’m purposefully not following any colour scheme but keeping it all as random as possible. So it’s a bit of a colour explosion and not very co-ordinated. I’m finding that not thinking about the colours too much is helping me find some surprise combinations which work well together.

These photos show the progress, I think I’m about halfway through now.

Crochet flowers

Along with granny squares, I find crochet flowers addictive to make. They’re also really quick to do. I first saw them on the Attic 24 blog where Lucy has written the pattern for them.

Granny square crochet cushion cover

I noticed this style of cushion cover earlier in the year and really wanted to make one myself. Then by complete chance I came across this brilliant tutorial on the Wisecraft blog. These granny squares are really simple to make and I like the way you make them as a circle but they become a square when joined together. Clever.

So over the summer I made my squares. I tried to pick colours from the same palette for each one and edged them all in cream which I decided would be the background colour (the same as the tutorial).

I find one of the most enjoyable part of crocheting granny squares is watching my collection grow: