Label Complete on Sweet Liberty Crocheted Afghan

The label for Sweet Liberty, the crocheted afghan which will be a raffle prize at an upcoming memorial golf tournament, is finally complete and attached. I will be delivering it to the family tonight, a full 11 days ahead of schedule!


Here it is from the front...


...and here it is from the back, where you can see the label on the lower right hand corner.


To make the label, I used a piece of unbleached muslin and an extra fine point permanent marker. I printed out the words I wanted in a format and font that would be easy to trace, then I traced them onto the muslin, leaving enough fabric around the edges to turn them under for a finished edge. I pressed the muslin to set the ink, pressing the folded edges at the same time. Using off-white quilting thread, I stitched the label onto the afghan using the herringbone stitch.

The lucky person who wins this afghan will now always remember the reason it was crocheted and the sacrifice this family made.

Happy Stitching!

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Sweet Liberty - Complete! Happy July 4th!

Happy 4th of July to everyone! Sweet Liberty is an ideal that many people and countries have fought and died for, and one which a good number of us take for granted. When someone close to us gives the full measure of sacrifice to support and defend such an ideal, we are reminded at what great cost such a gift comes.

I am well aware that there is nothing I can do to ease the pain of a family who has lost a son. But I hope my contribution to their fund raising efforts for a memorial scholarship fund will, in some small way, help them to realize that their sacrifice and that of their son is indeed appreciated. This country would not be the great nation it is today were it not for families such as theirs, with brave sons and daughters willing to give it all.

So here it is, complete and ready to be delivered and offered as a raffle prize at the August 1st Jonathan Roberge Memorial Golf Tournament...Sweet Liberty Crocheted Afghan...


The sun actually came out today...


...so I just HAD to take advantage of it...


...by hanging Sweet Liberty over the back deck railing for these pictures. Of course, I had to wipe them down first to get all the rain drops off!


Here is a close-up of the reverse single crochet border in navy blue...my all-time favorite afghan edging!


And a close-up of the intersection where 4 blocks come together. I joined the blocks using single crochet in the same manner as I did on this pastel blocks baby blanket. I find it makes a very sturdy seam that looks great on both sides.


I just thought this was a cool shot, so I included it! You just can't beat the red, white and blue color combination for a striking piece of handwork. I am so pleased with how this afghan turned out, and so glad I did not break up the kit a long time ago and use the yarn for something else. I just knew a worthwhile cause would cross my path eventually, and this one is certainly worthwhile.

Happy July 4th once again, and remember to be thankful for the Sweet Liberty we all enjoy.

Happy Stitching!

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Sweet Liberty Crocheted Blocks Complete!

The golf tournament is just over a month away, and I am making great progress towards my goal! Just less than two weeks ago, I showed you a peek at the blocks for the Sweet Liberty Crocheted Afghan which I am making for a raffle to help raise money for the PFC Jonathan Roberge Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Here is another peek at my progress to date...


What you see here are two stacks of crocheted blocks, and in each stack there are 10 blocks! Yes, that's right! I finally finished all the blocks!


I was able to consistently complete at least one block a day, and on some days as many as 2 1/2. Of course it didn't hurt that the past two weeks have been unusually cold and rainy, so we spent lots of time indoors!


I threw this picture in just because I liked it!


This will be the arrangement of the blocks for the afghan. I will connect them to each other using the red yarn and my favorite method, which is single crochet, in a manner similar to strip quilting. HERE is a little tutorial showing that method.

After all the blocks are crocheted together, I will do several rounds of single crochet using the red and blue yarns, and then finish the afghan with a round of reverse single crochet in blue.

These crocheted star blocks have come together much faster than I had ever expected. This could be due to the fact that I found out the golf tournament was being held about 2 months earlier than I had thought! Nothing like working under pressure! But isn't it amazing how productive we can be when something really matters? I think this really matters.

Happy Stitching!

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Sneak Peek at Sweet Liberty Afghan for PFC Jonathan Roberge Memorial Golf Tournament Raffle

This past January was a sad time for the city of Leominster. For the first time since the Vietnam war, one of our own was killed in action. I knew the family of PFC Jonathan Roberge through my daughter's involvement in the high school band where Jonathan's younger sister plays the trumpet.

Later this summer, a golf tournament along with a raffle will be held to raise money for a memorial scholarship fund and I wanted to do something to help. Golf just isn't my Thing, but I do love to crochet! So I thought the afghan kit which I had been saving in my project closet for just the right occasion would be the perfect item to make and donate to the raffle.


The name of the afghan is Sweet Liberty and it is made up of 20 blocks, 10 with blue stars in the middle just like in the picture, and 10 with red stars in the middle. The yarn is Bernat worsted weight and a real pleasure to work with. After reformatting the pattern so that I could follow it easily, I started working on the blocks. So far I have 6 completed. 4 more blue star blocks and 10 red star blocks, then I will crochet the blocks together and do the red border around the whole thing. Hopefully it will all be finished before tee time on August 1st.

I'll keep you posted!

Happy Stitching!

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