My Yarndale Mandala

If you're familiar with the internet world of crochet you probably know of Lucy and her blog, Attic 24. She crochets amazing, colorful, awesome things and is one of the organizers for Yarndale.

Yarndale appears to be an awesome festival of all things wool and yarn related. I wouldn't actually know since it's all the way in England and I'll probably never get to attend. Last year at Yarndale there was an amazing display when Lucy put out the call to fellow crocheters around the world to send in granny bunting. This was the jaw-dropping result:

Picture courtesy of Attic24

This year she put out a request for just one mandala and since I never actually sent my granny bunting triangle last year I really wanted to participate in making a mandala. So, the above pictures are my mandala. It's a little late so I don't know if it'll actually be included or not but it's possible!


Yarndale Mandala:

• Yarn: Leftover Simply Soft Yarns
• Hook Size: 4.00mm
• Time: One evening.
• Size: 7in diameter
• Fun: 9/10. I like pretty much anything that's quick and colorful.
• Pattern (ish): I started out by making this Little Spring Mandala by Made In K-Town then adding a couple rows of my own making to get the proper size.
• Help: There are links on the original Yarndale Mandala post by Attic24 for various tutorials.

So, there you have it! I can't wait to see updates after Yarndale to see all the amazing mandalas people have made. Hope you enjoyed seeing mine!

-Mrs. 246

Patchwork Granny Blanket

I'm not sure if you guys remember the Summer Garden Throw I made for Luna's first birthday last year, but I had a ton of yarn left over when I was done. I also immediately went into project withdrawal and needed something to work on right away. I got to work right away on making this beauty and a little over a year later, it's done!

I worked on it off and on (truthfully more "off" than "on") throughout the whole past year. Maybe TV shows were watched while making this blanket. Also, a lot of Harry Potter audio books. Hehe.

I love the end result though...88 Squares later, here it is in all its glory!

 

Of course once you finish a big project like this you must prance it about with you take pictures. How would it look in a chair? How about with a matching pillow? Folded up?

And for those who are curious...here are the stats:

Patchwork Granny Square Blanket:

• Yarn: Tons of leftover Simply Soft Yarns
• Hook Size: If you look closely you'll see I didn't use the same size hook for the whole thing. Ugh. I started off with my favorite 4.25mm hook but then around Christmas I got the awesome Clover Hook Set and switched to a 4.00mm hook. I didn't think it would make so much of a difference but you can kinda tell one side is skinnier.
• Time: One year off and on. If I worked on it consistently then it probably took about 2-3 months.
• Size: 42in x 58in
• Fun: 6/10. I tend to think of really large projects like this as not so much fun. It's super fun at first, then it becomes a battle of discipline, perseverance, and dedication.
• Pattern (ish): I used the Granny Patchwork Tutorial Lucy made from Attic24.
• Help: Click on the links above for help!

Bonus shot! Lucy is right...this blanket totally is reminiscent of Elmer, the Patchwork elephant:

I must have a problem because I just started another project (another copy cat version of Attic24's Granny Stripe Blanket) this past week. A queen sized granny stripe blanket. I may not be done for two years or so at the rate I work on things. Follow me on instagram (twofortysix) to watch the progress on my crochet projects. You can also click here to see some of the other crochet projects I've done.

I know the Attic24 designs are pretty darn popular so...how about you? Have you made one? Link to it in the comments, I'd love to see it!

-Mrs. 246

*Affiliate links used when possible. I do receive a (very) small amount of commission which will probably be used to buy more craft supplies. ;)

Feel free to pin!

Crocheted Shell Stitch Baby Blanket

I have a confession: Months and months and months ago I had such an urge to crochet a baby blanket. I don't like making things without a purpose so I thought about who I could make one for? Random coworker I don't really know too well? "Friend" from high school who just announced on Facebook that she was pregnant? No, no...that's just too weird ...

"Hey, I don't know you too well but here's this thing I spent hours and hours on for your baby I will probably never meet."

A crochet blanket is a lot of work and anytime I set out to crochet something for someone I like to make sure it's for someone who will appreciate it. That being said, it was perfect timing for Cameron at Krug the Thinker to announce her pregnancy. Still a bit weird since I don't actually know her personally but I adore her blog and I knew she would totally appreciate it. And it was just so neat to read all her pregnancy updates. It was like I was along for the ride...definitely kept up my motivation to finish the blanket in time.

I've been meaning to post pictures of this blanket for a while but I'm just now getting around to it. Truthfully, it's perfect timing since the baby was born this past week! So, without further ado...

Apparently I lost all the photos I took and these are all I have left so these will have to do. I loved making this blanket. It was easy, it was gorgeous, I love how the yarn looks! (It was quite the yarn eater though since I used two strands to make it go quicker.)

Here's the stats:

Quick(ish) Shell Stitch Baby Blanket

• Yarn: Tons of  Simply Soft Paints in Spring Brook and a little bit of Simply Soft Medium Country Blue for the border. (I lost count on the # of skeins but it was seriously like 8-10 skeins.)
• Hook Size: Don't quote me, but I'm pretty sure it was a Boye Crochet Hook, Size K
  
• Time: 2-3 months. But honestly it was probably only about 1-2 weeks of daily crocheting. I would work on it in spurts.
• Size: 36in x 34in (ish.) I think that's about right. I don't remember exact measurements. I actually think it was a bit larger than that. I just know that it wasn't as long as anticipated but I had given up buying more yarn. Lol.
• Fun: 8/10. Would have been more fun had it hooked up a tad quicker but it went pretty quick for two strands. I think was really made it awesome was the yarn. If you see the blanket in real life it looks like your staring into an ocean of crochet. I think it's a very relaxing color palette and pattern to look at.
• Pattern (ish): I didn't really use a pattern. It's just a simple shell stitch with a couple rows of HDC border except I used two strands to make it thicker and quicker to work up.
• Help: Stitchin' Mommy has a similar blanket with tutorial. Also, here's a video if you like that sort of thing better.

Happy I could share with you! And super happy for Krug the Thinker's new bundle of joy. If you'd like to see more of my crochet projects click here.

-Mrs. 246

*Affiliate links used when possible. I do receive a (very) small amount of commission which will probably be used to buy more craft supplies. ;)

Feel free to Pin!

Easy Crochet Ribbed Scarf

This past week I finished up a quick little crochet project. I needed some new scenery in my crochet projects and I wanted to make my uncle something nice and cozy. He lives up north so I'm sure he can still use it for a couple weeks.

Every time I make a scarf length wise I swear to myself that it's the last time. The rows just take so long and I always like a tad of instant gratification. My uncle is well over six feet tall so I had to make the scarf extra long. With the ribbed look however, it kind of gives the scarf a knit look.



The yarn I used is kind of...eh. When I was picking out yarns I was going for three things: a color that was somewhat manly-ish, not super expensive, and not thin. (Remember, this was supposed to be a quick project!) This is terrible, but I can't remember exactly what yarn it was. After looking, I'm pretty sure it was Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Taupe. It doesn't feel too terrible to the touch, but close up it looks kind of fuzzy and ick. Like it's a scarf you've had around a while and loved it already. This issue with that, however, is that it's brand new. Maybe it doesn't bother some people, but it bothers me a bit.

Sorry for the lack of action pics. I've been waiting to send out this scarf because I really wanted to take pictures first and generally the only time I have to sit and take pictures is late after Luna goes to bed. I've worked all day (therefore I look like poo) and I decided I wouldn't force Mr. 246 into taking late night portraits on a work night so there you have it. You get the general idea, though. You all know what a scarf looks like.

Alright, let's do some stats:

Easy Ribbed Crochet Scarf

• Yarn: Two skeins of Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Taupe. 
• Hook Size: My trusty 5.0 mm Clover crochet hook (I have the whole set of Clovers and they're so nice! My hands don't get nearly as crampy. Special thanks to my MIL!)
• Time: 2-4 nights of TV watching (the last couple episodes of Firefly :( I'm late to jump on the bandwagon but believe me, I'm now just as outraged that they would cancel such an awesome show.)
• Size: A little over six and a half feet long. 6-7 inches wide.
• Fun: 6/10. Repetitive, very plan. I do like the end look of the ribs and also that I only went through the back loop only on the foundation chain. I hate crocheting out of the foundation chain and on such a long foundation I was glad not to be too fiddly about it. 
• Pattern (ish): Crochet a chain as long as you want your scarf. (A good rule of thumb for a winter scarf is to make it as long as the wearer is tall.) Single crochet along foundation chain working in back loop only. Chain 2, turn, double crochet along length in back loop only. Chain 1, turn, single crochet along length in back loop only. Repeat rows single crochet row, then double crochet row until your scarf is as wide as you like it or until you run out of yarn. Tie off. Weave/sew in ends.
• Help: Click here for a tutorial video on chain stitch, single crochet, double crochet. Click here for a tutorial video of working through the back loop only. Also, feel free to comment or email me if you have any questions. Especially about the "pattern." I realized it's not really a pattern. One day I'll get the hang of writing them up properly.

Anyone else have new crochet in your life? What've you been making?

- Mrs. 246 

Granny Square Toy Blanket!

So, during my cleaning spree last week I came across some granny squares I had put aside two or so  years ago. They were my first granny squares and I was going to make an epic blanket. Being my first granny squares and out of crochet practice, they were all a bit wonky.

I decided instead of throwing them away I needed to do something with them. I decided to sew them all together and make Luna a "play blanket" that she could carry around and/or tuck her stuffed animals into bed with.

Luna was napping as I did the finishing touches so I laid it out in the middle of the floor to see if she'd notice once she came into the living room.

This is the first thing she did:

She ran up to it, squatted/sat on it and pet it. Then she picked it up, toddled about the house, and showed daddy.

She is practically a blur in all my shots of her 'cause she's running around like crazy these days. (Oh, and do you like her shirt? She picked it out at Wal-Mart and is in love with it. I think it's adorable on her and the dinosaur looks Reptar from Rugrats.) I took the blanket and showed Luna how she could tuck in her animals. Here's "Frankie Bear" enjoying the first use:

 

So, a cute little toy blanket for Luna out of something I was going to throw out. Lovely!

Project Stats: 

•  Measures: 24 inches x 20 inches
• Yarn: Impeccable (After using this yarn I don't care for it much. It's kind of thick and not very soft. They do have a somewhat decent selection of colors for being a major store chain.)
• Pattern: I don't recall the exact granny square pattern, but I found this instruction and it is pretty much the same thing. The border is two rows of double crochet - nothing special.
• Joining: I usually join-as-you-go but since I had a bunch of squares I had my first delight of sewing them all together. I have realized I like join as you go a lot better, but I do like the look of sewing them together. I followed the instructions here from the blog Do You Mind if I Knit and it worked out beautifully. Mr. 246 likes how flat all the squares lay when you're done.
• Extra: Since the granny squares were so wonky, the blanket was a bit wonky as well when all was said and done. I followed Lucy's instructions on steam blocking here (at the end of the post) and it ended up laying pretty flat. I love steaming certain projects afterward. I think it makes the whole blanket softer and more user-friendly. It's amazing!
• Likeablity Factor: Would do again if I had more spare squares (ooo...a rhyme!). It was completely worth it once Luna was smiling and running around the house with it. 

That's about it! If you want to check out more crochet goodness, feel free to peruse my Crochet Board on Pinterest: Hooking Makes Me Happy.

Alright, I'm off to enjoy the evening. Thanks for stopping by!
-Mrs. 246

The Amazing Bean!

I didn't make jam tonight. I think the combination of work and the afternoon lack of energy put me in quite a funk. Oh yea, and the letter from the county clerk saying our marriage license wasn't put through. It didn't say why, it just gave a #. I called and left a message but I knew it was probably too late to actually get a hold of someone. Sigh.

Mr. 246 did his best to ease my irritability: He made dinner. He made breakfast for me tomorrow. He made lunch for me tomorrow. He even cleaned up the kitchen when all was done. He really is the best, isn't he? I think marrying him again wouldn't be too shabby if I had to. ;)

The thing that brought my mood around though, was the little Bean. She is at that age where she is learning and doing SO MUCH. She's really turning into quite the little person. Here are some things she's done in the past couple of days:

1. The other day we were getting ready to go to the store and she brought me my flip flops (from the front door to the bedroom) then nudged them at my feet.
2. This evening she picked up one of Boo's toys (she knows the difference between his and her which amazes me), held it up, then kept calling out to him, "Puppo! Puppo!" trying to entice him to play with her.
3. We got her new fridge magnets (animals!) and we had a couple in the living room. I tested her and said, "Luna, will you go put this on the fridge?" I didn't point or anything, but she understood! She took the magnet, walked into the kitchen and put it on the fridge! I figured she understood me before, but now we have proof!
4. We had a bunch of books out before bed in the living room and we needed to get ready for bed and I handed her a book and asked her to put it back and she went over to the shelf and tried her hardest to put the book back. Then we worked out a deal where she would hand me the books off the floor and I'd put them back. Success!
5. Oh yea...she will fetch toys like a dog now. The dog didn't want to play, but she was more than happy to frolic down the hallway to retrieve them.

Yea, so I'm being one of those mom's that just talks about their kid, but that's okay. I just find it amazing how much she knows at such a young age! I've never been around kids in my life so I don't really know much about them (I make a great school nurse, right?) so it's neat to witness all the different changes and how much they really know and understand.

Anyways, she changed my mood around so I decided for my crafting for the night I'd work on something for her to have now (I'm making her a Christmas blanket right now). I have a bunch of spare granny squares from my first attempt. They're a bit wonky and the colors are terrible, but I couldn't just throw them away. I'm sewing them together so she can have a little blanket for her stuffed animals. You just wait...it'll be adorable.

Anyways, I really must get to bed. This whole waking-up-for-work business is terrible. (Although I wake up at the same time, it feels so much earlier when you have to go somewhere.) What have your little ones been up to lately?

-Mrs. (maybe?) 246

Crocheted Rose Brooches!

Hey there! The past couple days I've been working on these lovely crocheted rose brooches...

I'm working on all the wedding stuff recently (since I'm off work for the summer!) and instead of ordering flowers for all the family members to wear, I crocheted them.

I gathered the most "citrus" like scraps I had and went at it. See how lovely they look in a little pile!

They're a couple inches in diameter. I kind of based the rose pattern I found here on Ravelry by Ravelry user Elizabeth Ham. (It's a video tutorial...I prefer written, but the video is good! Makes me feel like I have a friend and she's teaching me to crochet something.)

She does 12 "petals" in her pattern. Once I crocheted the first one up, however, I didn't think it looked quite right so I increased the chain from 50 to 55 and added another petal. I kind of just made up the leaf pattern. It's probably about the same as any other leaf pattern. See the end of the post and I'll write up a quick pattern for them.

On the back I used 1.5 inch pin back thingys. (Yea...so I don't remember the proper name for these.) I sewed the "thingy" onto a small piece of regular ole' craft felt then sewed the felt right onto the rose back with embroidery floss. The first couple of ones I did, I had the pin back centered in the back of the rose. Once I tried on the rose, however, it flopped down a tad. Simple remedy though: put the pin back up higher! Now they hang quite lovely!

Here's an action shot: (And yes, my head is cut off, I am no where near photo ready today. Haha.)

 

Be prepared for some more wedding crafts! I've got a couple things planned. The wedding is 07.26.2013 and I have a ton of stuff to do still. I put everything off until I had the summer off. It'll be small so I'm not too concerned. As long as we get married, right?

Thanks for looking!

-Ms. 246

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Crocheted Rose Leaf Pattern: (Any similarities between this and other patterns are coincidence. A lot of leaf patterns are very similar. I don't really claim any rights to this pattern.)

•  Chain 10.
• Work through top loops: slip stitch in first stitch from hook. 
• Then, working back along chain: sc in next stitch, hdc in next stitch, dc in next stitch, 2 treble crochet stitches in next stitch, dc in next stitch, hdc in next stitch, sc in next stitch, slip stitch in next stitch. This should be your last stitch.
• Ch 2, rotate work so you're on the other side of the "leaf" and repeat what you did on the first side. Through top loops only: slip stitch, sc, hdc, dc, 2 treble crochet, dc, hdc, sc, slip stitch. Tie the end off with a generous tail, about 15 inches or so. (You should be at the "point" of your leaf). 
• Use a tapestry needle, sew through the point of your leaf, then weave through the backside of the leaf.
• I then used the rest of the tail to sew the leaf onto the rose.

Hopefully that's not too confusing. I've never really written up anything for anyone else before. Let me know if you have any questions.

The Big Ta-Dah! (Summer Garden Throw)

For the past year or two I've been somewhat obsessed with the blog Attic24. It is owned by a lovely lady named Lucy and includes many beautiful pictures of her life and crafts (mostly crochet) in England. Sometimes I like to read old blog posts of hers and daydream of what it would be like to have her life and to visit the quaint little villages in her area and just be jealous in general.

I love all of her crochet and especially her use of color. Whenever she does a big project and it's finished she likes to have a "Ta-Dah" to show off so people can "Ooooo" and "Ahhhh." If you've never done a large crafting project you may not know the feeling of finally finishing it...part of your soul goes into it. And at least for me, when your project makes people smile and makes them happy and inspires them, your heart feels like it could burst.

I envied a certain project of hers and I just had to have my own: The Summer Garden Throw . If you click on the link you can see her "Ta-Dah" Moment and like a lot of her stuff, it has links to her very own tutorials which are just fabulous. (Can you tell she's my craft crush yet?)

Anyway, without further ado.....here is my version of the Summer Garden Throw:

Includes: 144 squares of pure awesomeness, 8 rows of granny stripe edging, 1 "of-my-own-creation" granny scalloping edging.
Measures: 108cm x 108cm 
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft (wish I would have chosen wiser and more high quality, but I was as informed about my yarn choices as I could have been at the time)

Oh, but that's not all folks! I kind of went through withdrawals as soon as I finished the blanket so the very next time I started on a matching throw pillow. Here you go:

See how pretty they look together!! Of course then I had to have a photoshoot. (Sorry about the picture quality. I never realized how hard it is to photograph a blanket, let alone in our super dark apartment. Maybe I'll take things outside next time. I'll get better, I promise!)

 Look how cute and quaint and colorful they are on the chair! I am in love. Oh, okay...let's see how the blanket looks all nice and folded up...

...exactly what I thought: gorgeous! And last but not least bonus Boo Radley shot:

I kept trying to get a cute picture of Luna with it, but I haven't been able too yet. Let me tell you, she is in love with this blanket. I've been keeping it up on a low shelf (so Boo doesn't decide to try to make one of his blanket nests out of it) and when Luna notices it she gets super excited, crawls over to the shelf, stands up, then pulls the blanket down. It then falls into a heap on the floor and she kind of dives into it, happy as can be. She loves all the colors and just looking at it and loving it.

Half way through the blanket I was thinking I'd give it to Luna for her birthday. Is it wrong that I don't know if I want to do that now? Haha. I most likely will (She turns one in less than a month! Can you believe it?!)

Anyway...I've got another project I'm working on right now for the wedding so expect another reveal in a day or two. Luna's with her friends at daycare today so I have some *gasp* alone time today so I should get a lot done.

Hope you enjoyed seeing my blanket extraordinaire! Hope you're all well. Thanks for reading!

-Ms. 246

Saturday Night!

Here's a sneak peek of one of the things I've been working on. Once the Bean goes to sleep there will be much crafting, moonshine, and barbequing.

I'm going to have a little photo shoot tomorrow of all the things I've been making recently so get excited. :)

Fever Bean

 

The poor Bean has been sick for the past day and a half. Luckily she's on the mend. She inspires me to suck it up about a lot of things. Hits her head really hard or falls really hard? Thinks about it for a second, then continues playing. 102 degree fever? Eh...I'm sleepy and cuddly, but I'm still going to laugh, and play, and share my toys and act like everything's okay.

Side note: Expect a crafty update sometime this weekend. I have a BIG REVEAL. Also, I'm done with work for the summer so expect alot more crafty updates. :)

Happy Friday!
-Ms. 246

What We've Been Up To As of Late

Hello again. 246 news update for this past week:

• Mr. 246 has started training his mustache to be a curly cue type mustache. (I don't know the proper term for it.) He's been growing out his hair since October. When your employer is a 6 month old baby, they don't really get picky about what kind of crazy you look like. Haha.
• I've been letting Boo Radley sleep in our bed again the past couple nights. We trained him to sleep on the couch in the living room before Luna was born because we knew she'd be in the bed from time to time in the middle of the night and Boo can get snappy when he's tired. Luna's been very good about sleeping through the night though and Boo is just so gosh darn cuddly. It's been so cold lately it's been nice to cuddle up with him. He sleeps with me like a little teddy bear.
• This happened about a week ago, but I think it's really neat -- Luna can work a zipper! What kind of 6 month old does that?! Whenever I'm wearing my zip-up hoodie she will take her little pointer finger, put it in the hole of the zipper pull and pull it down. Repeatedly. So neat. She's amazing.
• I've been quite busy crafting but I don't have too many finished results. I've been working on a couple large projects that will take a little while. I did manage to finish two things, though:

Matching hats for Luna and I! I just loved the yarn and I didn't know what to do with it so I decided on the old stand-by: ear flap hat. My ear flaps are a little mismatched. That's what I get for no actual pattern, and no counting. Haha. Luna's was made with this pattern. I just kind of adapted it for big people size.

One of our Christmas boxes came this past week (We got so much stuff in Ohio over Christmas we had to ship a lot of our gifts home.) Included in this Christmas box was a bunch of yarn that Mr. 246's sister had gotten me: (I noticed that I have red, pink, and white in there and I have plans to make Luna a Valentine's Hat)

Had to make something with it, didn't I? I came across this pattern for crocheted glove mittens and decided to give it a try. (Go here if you're on Ravelry for better pictures.)

I think I'd like to tweak the pattern and use a smaller gauge yarn. I don't know if I want to finish the glove or not. It fits snug, but crochet always stretches after a bit anyways. At least I think so. I don't know if I want to finish it because I think I could make it better. I think the fingers need to be longer and I need to pay better attention to counting my stitches.

And, for my crafting crowning joy this week. Here's what I've got so far on the quilt I'm making. 5 rows done! I had done the rows done and I couldn't wait to sew them together to see what they'd look like.

I decided against the "random" pattern of colors. I started laying it out and it didn't look quite right. I started laying it out with diagonals and loved it instantly. So there we go!  Granted, lots of the corners don't match up, but they're pretty darn close. And a lot of them are surprisingly spot on.

I don't know if I'll finish it in quite a while though. There is a Mini Art Quilt Swap I joined and send out is by 2/22/13. I have a pretty good idea what I'm going to do, but I think I need to practice some techniques first so it might take me a while and some of my crafting time. I can't exactly say what I'm up to since this is a public blog, she may be reading this and I'd like it to be a surprise!

Anyways, that's about it for now. I'm off to have a lazy Sunday afternoon. My favorite! Can't decide whether to nap, crochet and watch something, or read. Hmmm...decisions.

- Ms. 246