Blanket 1 of 13 complete! Dotted Granny Blanket (Blanket #1)

I finished the first  of 13 blankets for my challenge.  I call it the Dotted Granny because of the colorful dots that are part of the granny pattern in this blanket.

I used 6 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver Economy size (7oz) yarn in : Soft White, Carrot, Gold, Burgundy and Paddy Green.

Dotted Granny Blanket:

Update: Chocolate (Shades of Brown) Afghan

I received my Chocolate squares from the Friendship Afghans group swap on Facebook. I decided to begin preparing them for joining by adding a few rows to them to get them to measure 10".  I will be joining them in Burgundy (Red Heart With Love yarn in Berry Red).

Here are the squares I made and kept for this blanket:


 These four are shown with the additional rows added.

Here are some of the squares I received back in the swap:

Blogging update

After a few weeks of not blogging, because of being sick, I have begun working on my blanket challenge again.  I have moved my original posts from my tumblr blog (cripiana.tumblr.com) back to my Blogger account (http://cripianasenchantments.blogspot.com/). I didn't like how my pictures looked on tumblr even after checking out other layouts. I feel that Blogger has better layouts that help show your photos better.  I will still keep tumblr but will use it primarily for reviews as well as other subjects like tv shows, movies and more.  This blog will be for all my crafting adventures.

I also have decided to work on my blankets without worrying about how many days I have to work on them, etc.  Doing this in the beginning just stressed me out and made me begin to get discouraged.  Working on them without a daily, monthly deadline allows me to get more done.

As of today, April 7th, 2013, I already have 1 blanket done and have a second almost complete and have begun preparing the motifs for the third blanket as well.

I'll be taking photos of the completed blanket in the morning and will update the progress, too.

Stay Tuned! :)

Update: Assorted Shades of Brown (Chocolate) afghan

I finally completed the first 18 of 36 squares for this blanket.  I would have completed all 36 if there wasn’t a family emergency earlier this week.  Thank goodness, everything turned out okay.   I am a bit behind for this blanket. I am 18 motifs behind. I wanted to spend no more than 8 days or less to complete the 36 motifs.

I have added this pattern to my Ravelry store on Ravelry.com. Here’s the link:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tawny-chrysanthemum-square
Progress so far:
Day 1 of 28: (Jan 5) Make sample motifs. If they turn out okay, begin making 18 of each design.
Day 2 of 28: (Jan 6) Began making squares after obtaining gauge and coming up with an adapted version of the original vintage pattern.
Day 3-6 of 28: (Jan 7 - 10) Had a family emergency come up and was only able to work on these squares for about 1 hour before bedtime each night.
Day 7 of 28: (Jan 11) Finally finished the first 18 squares and weaved in the ends.

 Motif before: (Vintage pattern) 

 Adapted design : After

Assorted Shades of Brown Afghan

Today I begin working on my Assorted Shades of Brown blanket.  I had started some squares at the end of 2012, but don’t really like how they look.  So, I looked through one of my vintage crochet books and found two motifs that I will be adapting into 7 inch squares.

The motifs I will be adapting are:

These motifs will also be swapped at the end of January.
Swap requirements :
Must be made to measure 7 inches / approx. 18 cm
Made using 4 ply worsted weight acrylic yarn
Color: shades of brown (all shades welcome)
Day 1 of 28: (Jan 5) Make sample motifs. If they turn out okay, begin making 18 of each design.

Hexagon Happiness Update

My Hexagons are ready to swap. I finished weaving in the ends of all 48 motifs. It’s taken me 4 days of the 28 set aside for this blanket to complete the last of the motifs, weave in ends and set them aside in plastic food storage bags (to keep them clean and odor free) until the end of this month when they will be sent to their destination for swapping out.  I may have to add one or two more hexagons depending on the final count of people participating in this swap.

Honestly, when I saw the picture of the finished blanket on the pattern cover, I wasn’t so sure I’d love making the motifs.  The colors didn’t do the pattern justice. Boy, was I so wrong! I can now say that this is one of my favorite motifs to work on to date.  It looks like it takes a lot of time, but it really works up quickly.
I began making them in groups of 12, starting all the centers first and then adding each consecutive row to for each of them at the same time rather than working a complete motif at one time. I think that’s what helped me work them quicker.
Day 4 of 28: (Jan 5) Weave in ends, set aside for swap at the end of January.

Hexagon Happiness Blanket

(48 Hexagons made using redheart.com pattern Crochet Hexagon Throw # LW1646. Photo shown above is of hexagons before weaving in ends.
This blanket is in progress of being swapped shortly through Friendship Afghans on Facebook. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friendship-Afghans/157744857608624?ref=ts&fref=ts)
These motifs measure: 5 1/2 inches / 14 cm
Hook used: H hook
Each round is worked in a different color
Day 1-2 of 28(Jan 2-3)  I completed the last 24 of my hexagon motifs
Day 3 of 28: (Jan 4) Weaving in ends