Ma Ingalls Half-Granny Crocheted Shawl finally complete!

The half-granny crocheted shawl that I started recently is finally finished! I do believe Ma Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie would be pleased.

This was the perfect project to use up the leftover Bernat yarn from the Sweet Liberty afghan because it is such cozy yarn and I just love the colors.

Take a peek...


I had to get pictures this morning before the sun hit the back deck and all the ladybugs started swarming again! It's that time of year here in New England!


These dining room chairs are high backed so the length of this shawl is very generous.


I worked a little picot edge with the blue which consists of a single crochet in each double crochet, a single crochet in the next space, 3 chains, another single crochet in the same space. Continue that pattern all along the lower edges of the shawl. I actually ran out of blue about 10 inches from the end, so I ended the border right there. I was determined not to have even a scrap of this yarn leftover! It is still a lovely and cozy shawl without those last few inches of border.


I don't think there is a nicer color combination than red, white and blue!











A fun and easy stash busting project! Anyone want a nice shawl?

(Editor's note: Click HERE for a video tutorial on stitching this shawl!)

Happy Stitching!

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Crocheted Oddball Blanket Complete - Rainbow Connection

I have talked a lot about these Oddball Blankets that I work on every now and then, but I like to bring it up frequently just in case there is someone new out there reading Hooked On Needles who might not know about this great work.

If you are one of those Instant Gratification kind of people and the thought of making a whole blanket just doesn't appeal to you, check out the website for the Northeast US Oddball Baby Blanket to get an idea of how this whole Oddball thing works. You'll see updates on lots of different blankets that are being passed around the northeast and then gathered up again to be donated to a hospital. If this is something that interests you, then go over to the Charity Knitting Forum on Knittinghelp.com and find your own region of the country. See what blankets are in the works and looking for knitters or border crocheters and sign up. You'll be able to put your own little creative mark on a wonderful gift for a new baby and you won't break the bank doing it. It's a great opportunity to try new stitches or become proficient with basic stitches if you are new to knitting. You won't even have to purchase your own needles! They will come with the blanket! You use them, then send them along to the next knitter. This is also a fabulous way to use up your stash yarn by signing up for blankets requiring colors that you already have! It's really a win-win arrangement.

Would you like to see the blanket I just finished?


This one is made entirely in crochet stitches, just rows of double crochet so it is very simple. The name of it is Rainbow Connection. I worked the last section in purple, then the border in white. My son who is 6 years old informed me that it was ok to leave out the indigo and violet and use purple instead since most people don't like indigo anyway! Okie dokie! So glad I got his stamp of approval!


I worked the border by first doing 2 rounds of single crochet. This is a worsted weight blanket so I thought 3 rounds, which I do on the sport weight blankets, might have been a little too much. Then I worked one round of my favorite border stitch, reverse single crochet. If you would like to see how to work reverse single crochet, click HERE and watch my video. It's a very simple stitch once you get the hang of it and I just really like the way it looks.

How do you like to finish off your crocheted or knitted baby blankets or afghans? Is there a stitch you've wanted to learn but might be having trouble with? I'd love to help you figure it out and I'm always looking for material to add to Hooked On Needles. Perhaps I could make a video for you and see if we can figure it out together.

Leave a comment and let me know, but make sure I can respond to you somehow by making your email available on blogger or by including it in the comment.

Happy Stitching!

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Election Day Project -- Special Olympics Scarf #3 Complete

We all know that this past Tuesday in the United States was election day, but you might not know this little detail of my professional life. Whenever we have an election here in my precinct, whether it is The Big One like we just had or a local election, I get to spend the day at my local polling place as an Election Inspector. It is actually a fun day with lots of socializing since the precinct is really just a big neighborhood, so I get to visit with lots of people I know and spend the day doing something other than the usual. Not what I'd like to do every day of my life, that is for sure! But once or twice a year, it's different and fun.

It's a long day, from 6:30 in the morning until about 8:30 at night, and it is not always busy so I make sure I bring my own form of entertainment. Take a look at the project I worked on this time around...


This is another scarf for the Special Olympics which I have mentioned here a few times in recent months. I used a fun stitch that makes a wave pattern, the same stitch I demonstrated for Merryknitter from Knittinghelp.com.

I started out with the Red Heart Delft Blue and worked a chain of 230 stitches which was exactly double what Merryknitter's pattern called for. Since it was for a scarf, it had to be much wider than the baby blanket that the pattern was written for. Then I worked the first pattern row in blue, the second in white, and continued alternating until I had worked seven pattern rows.

I didn't even weave in the ends. Instead, I pulled them into the same color fringe at each end of the scarf. Now that's what I call an easy project!

This pattern is very easy to work once you get the first pattern row complete, but as with most crochet projects, the first row is the hardest. I have a hard time holding on to the chain while trying to follow a pattern and count stitches and work multiple stitches into one chain. But once that is done and I have verified that I did it correctly, then the subsequent rows are easy and fun to work.

Is anyone else out there making scarves for the Special Olympics? There is still time! The deadline for sending them in isn't until January 15th and what a nice thing to do for a special someone you don't even know!

Happy Stitching!

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Learn to Crochet -- Double Crochet Decrease from 3 stitches down to 1 stitch

Not too long ago I came upon a wonderful knitting forum that I started to read and eventually participate in. It's called KnittingHelp.com Forum and I've found some really nice people there. Some of them, like me, enjoy crocheting as well. I recently found one thread where Merryknitter, a new crocheter, was having difficulty understanding part of an instruction in a pattern she was trying out. So here is a video demonstrating the Double Crochet Decrease from 3 stitches to 1 stitch. The written directions are included after the video, just as Merryknitter provided them in her forum thread.




Here are the directions:

Row 1 ch 115, 2 dc in 4th ch from hook(first 3 chs count as first dc), *dc in each of next 3 chs, I understand up to this point.
[dc dec in next 3 chs] twice, dc in each of next 3 chs**, 3dc in each of next 2 chs, rep from * across, ending last rep at **, 3 dc in last ch, turn.

And this is the explanation of the "dc dec" which Merryknitter provided:

(YO, insert hook, yo, draw loop through, draw through 2 lps on hook) in each of the sts indicated, yo, draw through all lps on hook.

I think there is a missing YO between "draw loop through" and "draw through 2 lps on hook" which could make this explanation confusing for a beginner.

This is how the first row on my sample turned out. I really like it and I'm anxious to see how it comes out in the project that Merryknitter is doing called Noah's Ark Blanket. She says it's the water and the ark sits on it. It sounds so cute.

Merryknitter also provided the instructions for the next row which I found after I had finished the video, so I will include it here in case anyone else is interested in it. I certainly plan to play with this pattern and perhaps put it on my List of Stitches To Use In The Future.

Row 2 : Ch 3, 2 dc in same st, *dc in each of next 3 sts, [dc dec in next 3 sts] twice, dc in each of next 3 sts**, 3 dc in each of next 2 sts, rep from * around, ending last rep at **, 3 dc in last st, turn.

I hope this is helpful to Merryknitter and anyone else who might be having trouble with this instruction. I would love to see how your project turns out.

Happy Stitching!

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Learn to Crochet -- Close Scallops Stitch

The Close Scallops Crochet Stitch which I am going to show you in the following video is what I am using to make an afghan which will be a wedding gift for one of my nieces who is getting married in November. I chose this stitch for several reasons:

• It is a stitch I had not used before and I wanted to see if it would be a good one for an afghan.
• It is reversible and that has become a prerequisite for any stitch I use to make an afghan. I really do not like afghans or baby blankets that have a right and wrong side.
• It is a stitch pattern that is a simple repetition of one single crochet and four doubles so it does not require following a complicated pattern.
• It is a fairly flat stitch pattern, with just a little bit of texture to it, and it doesn't leave big holes in the fabric for fingers and toes to get stuck in.
  
• It is a pattern that works up quickly because of the double crochets, and combined with the bulky weight yarn I am using and the size K crochet hook, this afghan is coming along pretty quickly. It might even arrive before the wedding!
  

So here's the video showing how to work the Close Scallops Stitch in Crochet.




If you are interested in trying this stitch, here is the pattern for it:

Chain multiple of 6 plus 1.

Row 1: Sk first 3 ch, 2 dc in next ch, * sk 2 ch, sc in next ch, sk 2 ch, 4 dc.* Repeat from * to * until 3 ch remain. Sk 2 ch, sc in last chain.

Row 2: Ch 3, turn. 2 dc in first sc, * sc between posts of 2nd and 3rd dc, 4 dc in sc.* Repeat from * to * until last half scallop remains. Sc in space between turning chain and dc.

Repeat Row 2 to desired size.

This is the sample piece I made while doing the video. You can see the small holes that are made from stitching the 4 double crochet stitches into the single crochet from the previous row. This is happening on the sample because, for demonstration purposes, I am using a crochet hook that is two sizes larger than what is recommended for this yarn. In the pictures of the afghan I am making with this stitch which I will show you tomorrow, you will see that the holes all but disappear. Some people don't have a hang-up about holes in afghans, but I do!

One other note on this video: I mention towards the end that this stitch pattern does not require stitching into the top of any stitches, only in the spaces between stitches. This is not accurate because the scallops themselves are stitched into the single crochet stitch between the scallops of the previous row. It is the single crochet that is stitched between the posts of the doubles and into the space made by the turning chain. I just thought I should clarify that in case it caused any confusion.

If you're looking for a quick-to-stitch project, pick up some chunky or bulky weight yarn and a big hook and give Close Scallops a try. Let me know if you like it.

Happy Stitching!

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Crocheted Basketweave Afghan Finished

Early in the spring, I started crocheting an afghan which I had hoped to finish before the warm weather arrived. That was not to be though, and it sat there all through the warm summer months, only getting a few minutes attention now and then when the evening temperatures dropped enough to make it tolerable to have all that coziness sitting on my lap. Finally the cool weather returned here to beautiful New England and just the other night I finished the afghan. Hip hip hooray!

This afghan is crocheted entirely in Basketweave Stitch with a simple single crochet border around the edge to finish it off.

Here are a few pictures of it before I wrapped it up to send off to my old friend out in Kansas City, Missouri:

Here you can see what an interesting design and texture the Basketweave stitch gives to the afghan. It is entirely double crochet, stitched around the post from the front three times and then from the back three times, which gives it the Basketweave effect, so it was easy to crochet. I like projects where, once I have the pattern established, I don't have to look at the instructions. This is that type of pattern.

I also insist on using a stitch for an afghan that is the same on the front and the back. The Basketweave Stitch in crochet is reversible so the front and back are the same.


Here you can see the very simple Single Crochet border that I put around this afghan. This gives the border a nicely finished look and also provides an easy way to catch in all those loose ends on the edge from where the new skeins were added on. The process of adding a new skein is described in my article on how to change colors, but adding a new skein of the same color uses the same method. By doing this border and crocheting over the loose ends at the same time, I only had the final tail of yarn to weave in when I was finished. That's my kind of finish work!


And here it is, crocheted with love and ready to be wrapped up and mailed to an old friend.

In making this afghan, I used eight 7-ounce skeins of Red Heart Super Saver yarn in Ranch Red.

I have already started working on an afghan, using Red Heart Easy Tweed in Pistachio green, which will be a wedding gift to my niece who is getting married in November. I have chosen a new stitch called Close Scallops that I really like and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you in a video tutorial very soon.

Don't forget to enter my fall giveaway by October 14th for a chance to win a very nice pincushion bag and other fall goodies. Good luck!

Happy Stitching!

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Stitch Chart for Crochet -- Another Handy Helper

Continuing the Crochet theme, below you will see a handy reference chart which should help you in working the different crochet stitches properly. When I haven't crocheted in a while, sometimes I forget how many stitches to add to the beginning chain for the stitch I want to use, or how many chains to work before turning, or if I am supposed to start the next row in the first or second stitch. If you are making up a design as you go along instead of working from a pattern which would give you this information, sometimes it's hard to remember the details of each stitch. So here is all that information and more in a handy reference chart.

	# times to wrap yarn	YO, pull thru # loops, # of times	Chain plus #	Insert hook in # chain from hook	Chain # to turn	Insert hook in this stitch to start new row	Use turning chain as stitch?
Single	0	2, 1x	1	2nd	1	1st	no
Half Double	1	3, 1x	2	3rd	2	1st	no
Double	1	2, 2x	3	4th	3	2nd	yes
Triple	2	2, 3x	4	5th	4	2nd	yes
DoubleTriple	3	2, 4x	5	6th	5	2nd	yes
Triple Triple	4	2, 5x	6	7th	6	2nd	yes

The first column -- # times to wrap yarn -- tells the number of times to wrap the yarn around the hook when beginning the stitch and before putting the hook into the stitch or chain below.

The second column -- YO, pull thru # loops # times -- refers to the number of times you need to Yarn Over and pull the yarn through the number of loops to form the stitch. This is after you initially Yarn Over and pull the yarn through the stitch or chain below.

The third column -- chain plus # -- gives you the number of chain stitches you have to add to the beginning chain in order to work that particular stitch. For example, if you want to work a piece in double crochet that will be 30 stitches wide, you would chain 30 then add 3 more chains before turning and working the first row of double crochet stitches.

The fourth column -- insert hook in # chain from hook -- refers to which chain stitch you insert your hook into after working the beginning chain and turning to begin the first row of stitches. In the example above, you would insert your hook in the 4th chain from your hook.

The fifth column -- chain # to turn -- gives you the number of chain stitches to work at the end of a row before you turn to begin the next row of the particular stitch. For example, if you are going to work triple crochet for your next row, you would chain 4 before turning.

The sixth column -- insert hook in this stitch to start new row -- tells you which stitch to put your hook into when you start a new row of the particular stitch. For example, if you are working a row of half double crochet stitches, you would first chain 2 to turn then insert your hook in the 1st stitch to begin the next row.

The last column -- use turning chain as stitch? -- tells you whether or not the turning chain will be considered a stitch. If you notice that for both single crochet and half double crochet stitches, the first stitch in a row is worked into the first stitch of the row below and the turning chain is not counted as a stitch, but in all others the first stitch is worked in the second stitch of the row below and the turning chain is counted as a stitch. This keeps the stitch count consistent throughout your work. This is the rule, but some patterns will indicate not to use the turning chain as a stitch in which case you simply follow the directions as given for the pattern.

I hope you will find this chart helpful when working your crochet projects. You might want to bookmark this page so you can find it quickly.

Happy Stitching!

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Learn to Crochet -- Double Crochet Stitch Video Tutorial

After mastering the Chain Stitch, Single Crochet and Half Double Crochet, it's time to move on to the next stitch.

Here is a Video Tutorial on the Double Crochet Stitch, which is a very easy and versatile stitch in crochet. It is the base for quite a lot of other pattern stitches and techniques such as Filet Crochet and the Square Block.

Take a look...



If you want to practice this stitch and make something practical at the same time, a simple lap blanket or baby blanket would work up quickly in double crochet. Just pick up a few skeins of your favorite yarn and the size hook suggested for that yarn (or go a size bigger for a softer and quicker finish!). Work a chain as wide as you want and work your first double crochet into the third chain from the hook. Double crochet into each chain all the way across, work three chain stitches before turning your work. Work your first double crochet of the next row into the second stitch and continue working every row in this manner until the piece is as big as you want it. Don't forget to work a double crochet into the third chain of the turning chain from the previous row at the end of each row or you will end up with a triangle instead of a square!

I'd love to see what you come up with!

Don't forget to sign up for my 100th post give-away before Wednesday, September 17th!

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