Tag: vickyshandcrafteddesigns

When you finally get there……..

A few months ago, I actually cannot remember when! I started a gorgeous crochet sunflower blanket designed by Amy Solovay. I had searched the internet to find a sunflower blanket pattern for my daughter. Amy’s pattern was perfect. It was simplistic yet detailed. The 3D effect gave the square an additional element of intrigue. I had many questions of “how did you make the square like that”.

Though many patterns came close, they lacked the design style that Amy’s pattern had. They had too many steps or to complicated to achieve the flower look. The beauty about Amy’s pattern is that you could crochet as many or as little squares that you wanted. You could make a blanket, a pillow, a handbag or even place mats or coasters. The pattern is centered on making one square so that you can adapt it to what ever you want. I will be making some place mats and coasters as well to go along with this housewarming gift for my daughter.

And now finally I am at the stage or joining the squares and watching the blanket take shape! I can’t wait to finish this blanket, its going to be so beautiful. A field of sunflowers set in a beautiful crisp white cotton. I used Four seasons Brighton for this blanket as I found it was the perfect combination of softness and sturdy enough to hold the stitches.

I will put the link to Amy’s pattern below as I have been asked many times for the pattern. Thank you for following along on this journey with me. Catch up with you all next time.

Vicky

3D Sunflower Blanket Pattern Designed by: Amy Solovay
work in progress .............

Pattern designed by: Amy Solovay available at: http://knittingandcrochet.net

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Work in progress Wednesday 12 July 2023

Hope you all are doing well. This will be a short post but I wanted to put up some work in progress. I am up to square 165 in the #365daysofgrannysquareschallenge and also making slow progress in the 3d granny square blanket.

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Quietly crocheting behind the scenes…..take a look at my progress so far

Time can sometimes be a friend and sometimes a foe. The last few months have been hectic and time has gotten away from me. It’s been a long time since I have been able to get back to my blog. Though having this time away has allowed me to complete more granny squares and keep working on the sunflower blanket.

Crochet sunflower squares in progress

The 3D Sunflower Crochet Granny Square blanket by Amy Solovay has been fun to make. I researched a lot of patterns and this one was my favorite. The squares are easy to make and the 3d effect looks outstanding in a blanket. I am half way through in crocheting the squares and will hopefully be ready to join them soon.

I have also been working on the #365daysofgrannysquareschallenge by Yarnuptopia. I started the challenge on January 1. I originally commenced the challenge back in 2016 and got to March. I had to let it go as other things came up. I was so happy to pick it up again and so far have made 90 squares. This challenge is amazing. I have learnt so many new stitches and techniques and have learnt to put colours together I normally wouldn’t have thought to. Below are some of the squares I have made so far.

June
May
April
March
February
January

I will be sewing these squares into blankets once I finish the challenge.

Thank you for reading this post. I hope it’s inspired you to crochet.

Catch up with you all soon

Vicky

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It’s been a while…..work in progress Wednesday…take a look at my latest projects

It’s been a while since I have been able to write in my blog it’s been a busy year so far and I just haven’t had a chance. This year I decided to finish a challenge I started way back in 2016. It’s the 365 days of granny squares challenge by Yarnuptopia. https://yarnutopia.com/365-days-of-granny-squares/

It’s a fantastic challenge if you are learning how to crochet want to brush up on your crochet skills. Each day a new square is made using patterns from designers around the world. Each pattern is unique in it’s combination of stitches but they also have common themes such as floral patterns or texture squares. The challenge is divided into months with a new square for every day of that month.

I recommenced the challenge starting on the April square as I had finished all of January to March. Most of the patterns are available on Raverly.com or by following the link above.

If I get time each week I will add more information about each square. Here is a gallery of the squares I have made so far this year.

As you can see each square has its own individual flair. Nadia has put together the colour combinations and each square I think suits it’s chosen color quite well.

I hope you can join in with me on this challenge and I look forward to updating you all soon on the latest squares I am making.

Enjoy your day everyone

Vicky

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Work in progress Wednesday…….. continuing projects from last week…take a look

I am still working on the stash buster granny square blanket and the Tunisian crochet block sample blanket.

Granny squares are a great way to use up left over yarn or odd colours. You can put whatever combination you like. YouTube and Tiktok or Pinterest have a vast array of ideas and patterns to choose from.

I have gone with a combination of granny squares and more solid squares. A mix of small and large squares. This gives the project an interesting look and vibrance. Also the mini squares work perfectly for small amounts of yarn you have left.

The Tunisian crochet blanket is coming along well. I have finished block 5 and commenced block 6.

Block 5 and Block 6

Block 5 is a diagonal texture stitch made up of a knit stitch and Purl stitch in alternating blocks to give a texture affect. Block 6 shows you how to add a second colour and introduces the slip stitch into the body of the crochet item instead of just casting off at the end.

I found this block difficult to start with as I couldn’t find how to do the slip stitch. I was lucky to find a tutorial on YouTube which helped and I was able to continue with the pattern.

So far this is my favourite block. The pattern is from a book called Tunisian crochet from absolute beginners to advanced, written by Dijana Warrender. It’s available on Amazon

Well that’s it for this week. Thank you for reading my posts as always. For those who celebrate I wish you all a merry Christmas and to everyone a happy new year.

Vicky

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Work in Progress Wednesday……Take a look at my latest projects this week.

Recently I made the decision to stop taking custom orders and business to business orders and turn my crochet business back to what it originally was, a fun hobby. Since I have done that I have been able to finish old projects and work on some new ones.

I am onto block 5 of the Tunisian crochet blanket I am making. There are 16 blocks in total so I will be working on this for a while. The pattern is from the book Tunisian Crochet from absolute beginners to advanced written by Dijana Warrender. The book is available on Amazon. Its a wonderful book which takes you through all the main stitches used in Tunisian Crochet as well as fun projects to make and also, a sample blanket to brush up on your skills. I have yet to attempt any of the projects in the book apart from the blanket, but my plan is to be able to make each one.

Block 5

Above is block 5. It is a mixture of Tunisian Purl stitch and Tunisian Knit stitch. with the purl stitch you bring the yarn in front of the project and the knit stitch you insert the hook in the space between the stitches. This gives the project a beautiful textured affect.

The second project I am working on is a simple granny square blanket using yarn I have in my yarn stash. It’s a bit more colourful than my usual choices of yarn but I am loving how the colours work together and they definitely brighten up the room. The yarn is an 8ply acrylic and I am using a 4.5mm crochet hook and making mini granny squares and joining them together in a formation of 4 x 4 squares to make a larger square. This is a great project if you have bits of yarn you want to use up or just want to crochet without having to think to much about the stitches. Its simply a series of treble crochet stitches (UK terms). I love how versatile granny squares can be and the colour combinations are endless.

I am slowly getting through these projects. There are many more for me to finish but I will leave them for another time. Thank you as always for reading my posts and happy crocheting to you all.

Vicky

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Work in progress Wednesday…..Working on Block 4 of the crochet blanket I am making.

Block 4 – Tunisian Crochet Blanket

I am very excited to start Block 4 of the sample blanket from a book called Tunisian Crochet from Absolute beginners to Advanced written by Dijana Warrender. The book is available on Amazon. It is a really good book if you are just starting out learning about Tunisian crochet. It details the stitches in this craft and how to make them and also has a pattern for a beautiful sample blanket which details the stitches in the book.

I am up to Block 4 of the blanket. It is a neutral colour comprising of two different stitches. One being the Tunisian Pearl stitch (TPS) where you leave the yarn at the front of your work and insert your hook behind the front post. Bring a loop through and then yarn over and pull loop through again which remains on your hook. Then you will do the Tunisian Knit Stitch (TKS) with this stitch you place the hook in the space between 2 stitches and yarn over and pull through a loop which remains on your hook. This stitch combination brings a beautiful texture to the pattern. It especially looks good when using one colour only.

With the completion of Block 4, I can then sew the first four squares of the blanket together. Stay tuned next week for more updates. This blanket has been fun to make and I have learnt so many different stitches so far.

Thank you as always for reading my posts. Take care and catch up with you all next week!

Vicky

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Tools of the Trade….. Take a look at what I use to block my crochet squares

With any type of trade or craft, the tools you use make all the difference in your finished work. With crochet getting that perfect finish is not always easy, but lucky for us there are many gadgets on the market that can help.

I found this amazing blocking square on Amazon. It is cheap and effective and you can move the pegs to suit your size square. Best of all you can layer squares one on top of the other to save space. The pegs hold the squares tight into place and once you remove them they keep their shape. I leave mine on the block for a few days so that they keep their shape. To give them an extra boost. Spritz each square with water so that they dry into shape as well.

There are many more blocking tools on the market. Including large foam blocking squares and pins for blankets and larger items. I have found Amazon to be a treasure trove of many tools and gadgets for crocheting and other crafts. I definitely will be looking there in the future for more items I need.

What is your favourite place to shop for your tools and gadgets? Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post. I will keep you updated on more items I have found on amazon.

Vicky

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