Wisconsin Badgers graph

I haven't made this one myself, it was a special request graph and I'm hoping to get a finished photo of it when the customer finishes it. If you'd like a copy of the graph send an email to kendrascrochet@gmail.com with your request.


Update: The photo below was made using this graph.  Thanks for the picture, Kathy!  It looks great!

Detroit Lions graph

Please email kendrascrochet@gmail.com for your pdf, no charge!

 Completed project not made by me.  Thanks for the photo, Elaine!

Pattern tester wanted

Forgive me the camera phone photo! I made this for my niece's birthday in November and would like to post the pattern for sale but need a few people to test the pattern for me before I do. Any takers?

Oklahoma Sooners graph

This is a graph made by special request to be a 3 x 4 ft throw.  Using a J hook and 1 sc per square, this should be quick to work up!  Let me know if you try it, and I'd love to see a finished photo if you do.


If you would like the pdf of the graph, send an email to kendrascrochet@gmail.com with your request and I'll get it to you! The photo here is shrunk so it won't print out properly (blogger does that to photos, not me!).

*Tip: work this graph from the long size to avoid all the color changes in the lettering at the bottom occurring in the same few rows.  Lettering like this makes lots of tangles when you do it all at once.  Much more user friendly to work it from the side and finish the S before starting the O, etc.

Good luck and have fun!

Pac Man game board graph pattern for sale

I'm not sure if I'll have time to make this before Christmas, but I know my 9 year old will love it when I finally do get it done!  I plan on backing this one with fabric because my little prince charming doesn't like afghans, or "blankets with holes" as he calls them.  I don't know if his toes poke through of if the air hitting him between the stitches bothers him. Either way, I'll back it for him so he can enjoy it.  This graph as is will make a decent size throw when using double crochet stitches. I may alter it later to make it twin size.  Anyone else wanting the graph, can email me their request at kendrascrochet@gmail.com and receive an invoice for $4. Upon receipt of PayPal payment, I will email the graph to you.

That being said...how do you like it?  My husband thought he'd like the classic board better, but I don't think our little prince will mind.

personalized baby blanket

I do love designing personalized afghans for my customers.  This one is for the baby of a Detroit Tigers fan.  I wasn't sure about the stripes, but they turned out cuter on the corners than horizontally.  Unfortunately, the local Walmart, where I get my yarn, didn't have Caron in Navy blue or a more subdued shade of orange so I'm actually making it in Caron's Ocean and a bright, almost day-glo orange.  I hope they don't mind! I would have waited, but the baby was born yesterday and I was asked to get it done ASAP!  What would you do in this position?

Shrek

Just a work  in progress but thought I'd share anyway. I'm thinking of adding a border that says "Then I saw your face" on top and "I'm a believer" on the bottom. Haven't decided yet.  What do you think?

Intarsia tips/grad afghan completion, day 9

graph from which I created the afghan

 My project is completed and ready to be washed and dried before packing up to deliver. I spent a few hours a day for 9 days on this throw. I normally like to crochet top to bottom (or bottom to top if I'm honest), but when there are lots of color changes in a single row then the possibility to get all those colors tangled is very high! 

When I see a lot of color blocks (areas of the same color next to areas of a different color-like in the 2015) I sometimes will decide to work the afghan from the side instead. In the next picture you can see where I've started the very left edge of the tassel in the graph's design.  Even though the photo lays the work horizontally, it's the columns of the graph that I'm working. 
Getting started is the easiest part.  In the first day's work I only just started changing colors.  This particular graph I used 2 dc per graph square, while several graphs use 1 sc per graph square. So I count the number of graph squares and double it to get the number of dc stitches. This graph is 75 stitches high so I crocheted 150+1 for the starting chain (75 x 2 = 150 + 1 for beginning dc=151). Even though i start crocheting in the 3rd chain from the hook, I always used a ch 2 turning chain as first dc of the row (you may use a ch 3, but I think that makes my work look loopy and loose on the edges so I ch 2). When I got to the first color change row, I counted the number of purple squares before it turned to black, crocheted that far, then changed to black yarn and crocheted the black stitches over the working purple yarn (this is called "tapestry crochet") because there were only a few stitches of a different color.

The next day's work shows the black stitches getting wider and wider apart, I used a second skein of black (as you see in the photo) and did not carry them across the work.  Only one purple was used because there were only a few black stitches at a time to carry them under. Another thing I take into consideration is the contrast of the yarn.  Since this is a dark purple, it didn't show under the black as a light color would have.  This method of working each area of a color with a new skein of yarn is called "intarsia."

 On day 3 I started the white of the numbering and the cap.  At this point I did start another purple skein so I wouldn't be carrying it under the stark white and have it show up. In the photo to the left you can see several strands of working yarn attached to the afghan.  When I change colors I leave the previous color behind if I'm not carrying it through, and I pick it back up where needed as I work my way back.

There are some places where I decided to measure the yarn and cut it.  Instead of buying several skeins of yarn of the same color and using only part of each of them, I count how many graph squares of one color are in one area, measure how much yarn it takes to make up one graph square's worth of dc and figure how much yarn it will take to cover the whole area.  I pull out that much yarn and cut it off the skein then ball it up (as you see to the right) to keep it out of the way as I work.  Then I can use that new end of the skein in a different place on the graph when I need it.

At this point in my work, I realized I had miscounted somewhere along the line and was not going to unravel days and days of work to fix it! Counting stitches is important when doing colorwork.  It can throw your whole design off if you miscount.  Of course, as I was taught, you can hide nearly anything if you know how!  On this day, I had to fudge and blur my lines a bit to make up for a mistake that I didn't see was worth unraveling several rows and have a pile of unraveled yarn getting tangled at my feet.  Now I do unravel for big mistakes if I think they'll be noticed or if it is not possible to hide.

While I crocheted this portion, I was very excited because I was past the halfway point and could see the end coming nearer!  It went quicker too, because I didn't have so many color changes and even though it doesn't seem to take much time to switch yarn colors, it adds up and takes a long time to get through a project with a lot of color changes.  Even longer if you're carrying the unused strand through your work because you have to keep track of that and make sure you're covering it up with each stitch.

 You may also notice that I tuck in my ends as I go instead of leaving them for later.  That's my personal choice because I find the work tedious and prefer to do it one at a time and get it out of the way instead of doing them all at once and getting frustrated or mad because I missed one or I'm not finished as quickly as I thought I'd be. Besides all that it looks nicer! I get more satisfaction from my work as I progress if it looks neat and tidy.  I guess when I see ends dangling I just see more work and not how the final product will look!


Here, I realized that the miscount I made earlier was going to affect the design and that I needed to do something about it!  I think I hid it cleverly enough by adding or subtracting a stitch here and there in the design, or by increasing or decreasing where I didn't think it would be noticed.



Be honest, can you tell?  I don't think the recipient will know if I don't tell her!

My last step was to add a border.  You can't tell from the photo, but I went around it in purple first and the scalloped edge with white is done on purpose.  I wanted a more feminine look for this one than for the black one I did.

So, my project is completed and done on schedule, too!  Actually it's done a day early because I took a little extra time yesterday to complete it when I saw how close I was to being done. 

Grad afghan progress day 8

The original graph

8 days progress. almost done!

Only another day or 2 to finish this graduation present!   It's going a bit faster now that the color blocks are larger and I don't have to change color every few stitches as I did in a couple areas.  I'm almost done with the picture on the design, then to finish off the purple area of the background and add a border.  I'm playing with the idea of making the border designed as well instead of just a plain stripe.  What do you think? 

Grad afghan day 7

I only got a few rows done this time (I started washing dishes and scrubbed my whole kitchen! What is it about springtime that makes us do these things?) You can still see progress though. I may be a little behind schedule, but that's not a big deal on this project.  I have one more number to go to complete the 2015 and just to narrow the cap to a point. 

Grad afghan progress Day 6

Well, 6 days in and I'm about 2/3 done. Right on schedule!  But look at that tangled mess of yarn on the right!  Ugh!  It's going to take a while to fix that. I have about 8 strands attached at this point. A few more rows and the 1 will be completed and I can cut the white and have an easier time untangling that knot on the right. I'm wondering whether I have enough white left to complete this project, I may have to start another skein.  I'm using Red heart yarn. 2 purple (I think the actual name is "amethyst") "pounder" skeins, 1 white "pounder" and 2 black 7 oz skeins that still have plenty more yarn on them. It's looking pretty good,I think. minus the messy yarn on the right, of course.

Grad afghan Progress day 5

Halfway done!

I've reached the peak of the cap now! I have 7 strands attached at this point. You can see how it's coming together from the side. Only a few more days and it'll be done and ready for the washing machine!

Grad afghan progress, Day 4

the original graph

This is the original graph I'm working from.  I'm using 2 dc per graph square to make a throw.  My hook is a size H.

finished product

This is the first version of the afghan. The next version has a white cap. 

my progress so far

This is 4 day's worth of crochet.  I work around 2 hours a day on it (with several breaks to do laundry, wash dishes, and other domestic chores). I am now 40 rows in and you can really tell what's going on here now!  I have a new length of yarn for each color break, unless I only have a few stitches to carry the color under.

This photo also shows what I mean when I tell my inquirers that I work the afghan from the side.  Imagine working all those color changes in the numbers in the same rows!  Yikes!

Grad afghan progress, Day 3

this one is going to have a white cap instead of a black one.

Day 3 did not go nearly as well as days 1 and 2.  In fact, I had to unravel the last row of day 2 because the black border around the numbers was supposed to have been started and I didn't notice it. Then I worked about 4 more rows before I remembered the cap was supposed to be white in this one!  So I had to unravel all my day's work and start over.  There was a pile of unraveled yarn on the floor and it's gotten a bit tangled.  I can only hope I can keep it straight well enough not to know it up.  At a later point I realized I had worked over one of my strands that I wasn't supposed to cover so had to unravel another row to uncover it and make it usable again.  So today's progress isn't nearly as noticeable as it should be.

See all those strands at the top of the photo?  They're attached to skeins of yarn.  I count 12 different strands hanging from the work.  I do carry over, tapestry style, if there are only a few stitches and if the colors don't contrast sharply (for example, I try not to carry black or white over each other because it is very visible and not pleasing to they eye).  The first time I made this afghan I started at the bottom and had so very many strands hanging (just look at every time I had to change colors in the numbers when I worked it horizontally!) it was impossible not to get tangled up and I had to cut the yarn to unknot it. it was horrible!

I hope this visual helps with anyone trying to do colorwork.  I enjoy it but it can be a pain if I'm not careful.

Grad afghan day 2

the finished blanket

Progresss Day 2

Today you can see more of the tassel forming (and also my feet! oops!) I added a second skein of black yarn so I wouldn't have to carry the color too far through the purple. I'm only using one purple though, because I only have to carry it under a few black at a time.You can see the picture taking form!

grad afghan progress, Day 1

the graph from which I'll make the afghan

the finished product

Here is my graduate afghan graph.  I made one afghan in these colors already, (as you can see  - sorry about the blurry camera phone photo, I promise I'll do better next time!)
and have started another one (except this second one will have a white cap) and the first day's progress is shown below. 

the first ten rows, day one

I'll work on it again tonight and show day to day progress as this one grows. I've had questions about how I make my afghans from graphs and I think this will help clarify things.

I'm working this graph from the side so I will come to the tassel first (the black bit near the middle) and work through the 2, then the 0, etc. It's a lot easier than doing all the numbers at the same time from top to bottom or bottom to top because of all the color changes needed.  I know some people think the stitches in an afghan need to be vertical when looking at the design and if that's important to you, just make sure to keep your yarn untangled with each turn of your work.  Otherwise on something like this you'll end up wanting to cut out the knots that form and making more ends to weave in, thus weakening the integrity of the blanket.






I will post my progress from today tomorrow morning at least that's my plan!).  I worked about 2 hours total on this much of it, so I can calculate my time to finish from this much.  There are 100 rows across so that means 10 days of 10 rows (if I keep up the same rate) and 2 hours a day x 10 days is 20 hours to complete this afghan.  Let's see if I'm right!

WIP progress...or not...

I have been productively working on my WIPs...until now! I had a rather large order that I had to start working on (though the deadline isn't until Christmas) so my death star throw pillow has gone unembellished and my knit shawl is wadded up in a bunch at the bottom of my projects tote. I've filled the part of the order that has been paid for and started a "pay it forward" gift. Throughout the year I will be mailing hand made gifts to people with the direction that they pay it forward and give something to somebody else. I've made one Green Bay hat and started an autism awareness scarf. The scarf is done in sc (you can see it  here)so is taking longer than any other scarf I've made. All those color changes slow things down, too. I'm playing with the idea of making individual puzzle pieces and sewing then together, but I don't like that kind of work as well.

So, now that the interruptions are out of the way, or will be as soon as I finish that scarf, I can get back to my WIP pile. But will I?

Free Snoopy graph

Anyone need a hug?  Make this throw and you'll always have one handy!  Using a J hook and 1 sc per square, you'll get approximately a 5 x 6 throw.  Enjoy!

thank you for the photo of your completed afghan, Antje! It looks wonderful!

Here is the information she sent me regarding yarn amounts:

 For the Snoopy blanket I used a hook 5 and a yarn that was made of 75% acrylic and 25% wool. I put a link in which gives you all the detail. Each ball of yarn was 50g and 105 m long. It was a DREAM to work, very easy on the hook. The result is a strong, warm blanket. 

I didn't know how much material I would need, so I ordered some balls of blue yarn (as I had decided to make the background of the picture blue). I started work and found out that one ball of yarn is enough to get me through 10 rows. 10 rows = 15 squares of 10 x 10 stiches. 

Once I had figured that out, I sat down and counted how many fields each colour covered. In total I used the following number of balls: 

blue: 12 (=600gr, 1260m)
yellow: 1 (=50gr, 105m)
white: 7 (=350gr, 735m)
black: 2 (=100gr, 210m)

Wow, this adds up to 1.1 kg and 2.3 km. This was a generous amount and I've got a little left of everything. It wasn't a cheap blanket either.... But I think it's going to last. 

If you'd like to make your own, the graph can now be found at kendrascrochetedcreations.com where you can download or print right from your browser!

Autism awareness

Autism Awareness scarf. Puzzle pieces are tres chic!

I have been sitting at my sewing machine for the past week or so instead of finishing the scarf from last week I've made a few other things!  Rest assured, the pattern is complete and listed in my Ravelry store.

From this piece (my favorite dress in the 90s but is now a bit young for me)

I tore off the sleeves to make this headband

Very comfy!

and this tank top

or should I say "crop top"? Rats! Too short for me.

Bonjour!

I cut a big circle out of the skirt portion that was hacked off and made this hat for myself! Very soft, very confy, and hopefully warm enough for Michigan winter!

Oh yeah, and I made this for my cousin to give to her husband for their anniversary!  She said he loved it! Email me if you'd like the graph I used for it.  I'd be happy to share it.

Scarf

I'm looking forward to coming to a repeat in this pattern. Counting stitches and typing the pattern up line by line is very time consuming! when completed the pattern will be listed in ravelry.

Hat ideas

 I'm working on an order of hats and scarves that isn't due till Christmas so I get to play around with them a bit, embellishing them as I wish.  This child size hat sports a pink rose (pattern for the rose found at Planet June (I use it all the time!) and "surface crochet" for the vine.  I am thinking of sewing a small bunch of ribbon roses I purchased at Walmart near it.  Perhaps also a lady bug button on it too?

Steelers throw

I was this far on my Steelers throw when my part of Michigan came under a travel ban due to snow accumulations so I was happy to put off my other obligations (taking my son to school, getting groceries, etc.) and finish it today!







I was happy to watch my newly recorded (on the dvr) Pride and Prejudice (my favorite story of all time, possibly). I hadn't seen the Kiera Knightley version yet so curling up with it and a project to finish sounded like a perfect day to me!

214 × 317 - imdb.com

I think it turned out really well.  I hope my cousin, who commissioned this for her husband for their upcoming anniversary, likes this as much as I do.  What do you think?









If you'd like to try it yourself, email me at kendrascrochet@gmail.com and ask for the Steelers graph.  It took me (57 double crochet stitches more than ) 2 black, about 1 and a half white, about 1 grey(I used 2 at once; 1 on each side of the circle) and a small amount of gold, blue, and red. I used a G hook and 2 dc per graph square. Final product has yet to be measured because my measuring tape walked off again, but it looks to my eyeballs about 4 ft x 4.5 ft.

hooded scarf

I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the finished product, but the fabric would look a lot like the photo here.  This is a photo of a mobius scarf made with the same stitch pattern.

Hood:

ch 34.
1.  sc in 2nd ch from hook. (ch 1, skip 1, sc in next) to end, ch 1, turn.
2. sc in ch 1 sp. (ch 1, sk sc, sc in ch sp) to end. End with sc in turning ch.
repeat row 2 to desired length. Fasten off.( I crocheted 60 rows before fastening off; when folded in half this should form a square)

Fold in half and sew up one edge.

Scarf:

ch 20 (or desired width for scarf, using multiples of 2) make scarf same way as hood, repeating row 2 to desired length.

fold scarf in half and line up crease with midpoint on hood. Sew together.

swirl hat free pattern.

Skills needed: chain, double crochet, front post triple crochet, sl st join, magic circle

With WW yarn and H hook
magic ring, ch 3 (counts as 1st dc) 11 more dc in ring, join. pull tight (12 dc)
2. ch 3, fptr in dc before join(see note at bottom), dc in next dc, fptr in beg ch 3, (dc in next dc, fptr in dc in st before) rep around, join to beg ch 3 (12 dc and 12 fptr)
*note: to cover the tail, dc over it when making your dc stitches, but not when making the fptr.

3. ch 3, dc in same st, fptr around fptr from prev row's join. sk next fptr, (2 dc in next dc, fptr around prev fptr) rep around join (24 dc and 12 fptr)
4. ch 3 dc in same st, fptr around fptr dc in next dc. (sk next fptr, 2 dc in next dc, fptr around skipped fptr, dc in next dc) rep around, join (36 dc, 12 fptr)
5. ch 3, dc in next dc, (sk fptr, 2 dc in next dc, fptr around skipped fptr, dc in next 2 dc) rep around to lat 2 st.  sk fptr, 2 dc in next dc, fptr in skipped fptr, join. (48 dc, 12 fptr)
6.  ch 3, dc in same st. fptr around fptr in join from prev row. dc in next 3 dc. (sk fptr, 2 dc in next dc, fptr in skipped fptr, dc in next 3 dc) join (60 dc, 12 fptr)
7. ch 3, dc in next dc. (sk fptr, dc in next 2 dc. fptr around fptr just skipped. dc in next 3 dc) rep to last 4 stitches. sk fptr, dc in next 2 dc, fptr around skipped fptr, dc in next dc, join. (60 dc, 12 fptr)
8. ch 3, fptr around fptr to the right of join. (dc in next 3 dc, sk fptr, dc in next 2 dc. fptr around skipped fptr) rep to end, dc in last 4 st. join
9. ch 3, (sk fptr, dc in next 2 dc, fptr around fptr just skipped, dc in next 3) to last 5 stitches. sk fptr, dc in next 2 dc, fptr around fptr just skipped, dc in next 2 dc. join
10. ch 3, dc in next 2 dc. (sk fptr, dc in next 2 fptr around fptr just skipped. dc in next 3 dc) to last 3 st. skip fptr, dc in next 2 dc, fptr in skipped fptr, join
11. ch 3, dc in next. fptr around fptr from join. (dc in next 3, sk fptr, dc in next 2 dc, fptr around skipped fptr) to last 3 stitches. dc in last 3 st, join.
12.-15.  rep 7-10
16.-17 ch 1, sc in next 71, join.
18. ch 1, sc in next 19,  sl in next 2, turn
19. do not ch! (sc in next 5, 2 sc) 4 times, sc in next, sl in next 2, turn
20. (sc in next 5, 2 sc) 5 times, sc in next, sl in next 2, turn
21. (sc in next 5, 2 sc) 6 times, sc in next 2, sl in next 2
22. (sc in nex 4, 2 sc) 9 times, sc in next sl in next 2 turn
23. sc in next 56, sl in next 2, turn
24. sc in next 58, sl in next 2 fasten off

*note: putting the fptr before the dc just made is what causes the swirl pattern to appear.  You will always need to cross over dcs just made to make your fptr throughout the pattern