Tuesday 31 December 2013

And finished!

I thought it was fitting that for my last square I should make my favourite from this year - and although there were many contenders I have decided on the crocheted cable rings square. I first made this square way back on the 2nd April - post number 92! The pattern can be found here:
http://allcraftsblogs.com/crochet_square_patterns/fishermans_ring_square/fishermans_ring_square.html
Tuesday 31st December 

I hope you've enjoyed watching the project progress as much as I have enjoyed completing it, now all there is to do is decide what to make out of  a couple of hundred random squares (I think they may end up as a very large blanket!). But for now it's time to give my trusty 3.5mm hook a bit of a break!!

Monday 30 December 2013

Penultimate square.......

I can't believe that tomorrow signifies the last day of this project. I also can't believe that I have made it all the way through 2013 and have managed to crochet something every single day! On some days I have had to be a bit creative about where/when I've crocheted - on planes, trains and buses, on sun beds, in bars and at campsites, in the blazing Greek sunshine, the snow of the Peak District and the dark of a Cotswold campsite, in the privacy of my lounge or garden and on numerous school trips.
So where was today's square created? In an Oslo bar, where the beer was £8 a pint and we needed to shelter from the cold outside. It uses a mix of tc, bpdtc, dc and chain stitches to give a central raised square (not clear from the photo) surrounded by a more lacy section:
Monday 30th December


Spiral.......

A short flight to Oslo gave just enough time for today's square, a spiral:
Sunday 29th December
It was started with a dc and htc, worked in tc round and round and then finished with a htc, a dc and a slip stitch.

Sunday 29 December 2013

Rows of shells.....

Following a 27 dc foundation row I worked a 5 tc shell in every 5th stitch (starting with 3ch, miss 2 dc and ending with a tc in the final stitch. A straight edge was then created by working a dc in the centre of each shell and separating them by 4ch, this row then had 27 dc worked across it - 1 in each dc and 1 for each ch from the previous row. These 3 rows were then repeated 4 more times to create a square:
Saturday 28th December

I think this pattern would make a good scarf!

Ladders......

Alternating rows of double crochets and the treble crochet, single chain combination to create the holes - I really like the effect the variegated wool gives this:
Friday 27th December

A Boxing Day flower......

A simple central flower surrounded by a variety of treble crochet rounds of different patterns, the final round is entirely back post treble crochets to create a raised frame for the whole square:
Thursday 26th December

Target practice........

A circle with ridges created using the front post treble crochet stitch, the ridges are continued out from the corners on the square section also:
Wednesday 25th December

Saturday 28 December 2013

Happy Christmas.......

The final square for the tree blanket is finished - just in time for Christmas!!
Tuesday 24th December

 Now to join all of these squares together and put it under the tree:
The finished tree blanket:

Granny stripes......

Today's square is a Christmas granny stripes square, made following pattern number 76 in the crochets squares book:
Monday 23rd December

Chocolate box.....

This is square number 145 from the crochet squares book worked in Christmas colours:
Sunday 22nd December

A birthday gift.....

In addition to getting ready for Xmas a friend has a birthday early in the new year, having already made her a hat it is now time for the matching gloves:
Saturday 21st December
The pattern for these can be found here:
http://beatriceryandesigns.com/2013/11/09/shells-bobbles-fingerless-gloves-free-crochet-pattern/

Ho Ho Ho.......

Today's square was worked from a cross stitch pattern found here:
http://www.wittyliving.com/free-cross-stitch-patterns/2061-ho-ho-ho-christmas-saying-free-cross-stitch-pattern.html
I've not tried this method of getting letters before, but found that as long as there is a minimum of two crochet stitches in each colour together it gives a good effect:
Friday 20th December

Sparkly bobble stripes......

Today's square is number 29 from the crochet squares book - with the stripes worked in sparkly thread for Christmas!
Thursday 19th December

A bauble square......

Unlike yesterday's square this one will have pride of place on the front of my table covering:
Wednesday 18th December
The bauble is a circle worked in alternating red and gold sparkly thread, the hanger is simply four treble crochets in the next round worked in silver. I also added a round in sparkly red as the penultimate round in order to add some further interest. Considering it was made up as I went along I'm really pleased with the outcome!

A basic granny......

I intend to make all of my green, white and red squares into a table covering to place the tree on and I figured there is no point in making fancy squares to go under the pot - hence today's plain square:
Tuesday 17th December 

A miniature stocking......

Our Christmas tree is slowly filling with all my handmade items - today's addition is a mini stocking:
Monday 16th December 
The pattern for this stocking can be found here:
http://www.lemondedesucrette.com/2011/11/16/little-christmas-socks-the-pattern/

Friday 27 December 2013

Winter snow......

I saw this snowflake when browsing Pinterest, unfortunately there was no pattern to go with it so I looked closely at the pattern to figure it out - I'm pretty pleased with the result:
Sunday 15th December

Corner stripes.......

Worked in Christmas colours this is square 21 from the crochet squares book. I was surprised to discover that this square was worked from the outside inwards:
Saturday 14th December

Snowflake decoration......

This decoration uses a metal ring to ensure the centre is perfectly round:
Friday 13th December
The pattern for this decoration can be found here:
http://whiskersandwool.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/peppermint-snowflake-ring-ornament.html

A (basic) Christmas square......

A basic granny square centre with three rounds of double crochets around the edge, the addition of sparkly gold really sets off the green and red wool:
Thursday 12th December

Christmas Lights.......

Today's square is number 20 - colourful bobbles - from the crochet squares book. I have worked the bobbles in sparkly crochet yarn to create a more Christmassy effect:
Wednesday 11th December

A Christmas Wreath Square......

Starting with a couple of rounds of red I then changed to green and worked a treble crochet in each stitch around, adding a chain stitch between every two stitches. I then converted this to a square and finished it off with a chain in white threaded into the chain spaces created in the green round and joined with a bow to create the Christmas wreath effect:
Tuesday 10th December

A Christmas Rose.......

This is square number 28 from the crochet squares book, although having run our of red wool temporarily I had to edge it in green rather than the red as in the pattern:
Monday 9th December

Tuesday 24 December 2013

A Christmas star square.......

Today's square is number 71, starflower from the crochet squares book:
Sunday 8th December
I have changed the colours from the original square to make it more Christmassy.

A Christmas tree square.....

I have been waiting all year to make some Christmas themed squares and here is the first - number 25, tannenbaum, from the crochet squares book:
Saturday 7th December

A crochet star.....

Today's decoration is a star ornament, it started with a granny pentagon but with extra chain stitches in the corner of the second round, it is then finished off with a round of double crochets to create the star shape. I have then added a bell and a bow to finish it off:
Friday 6th December

Sunday 22 December 2013

Another bauble.......

This one starts with two rounds of a flat circle followed by rounds of five chains and a double crochet worked in each stitch, for each following round the double crochet is worked in the five chain spaces from the previous round. This gives a flat circle pattern, once it is the right size leave out the chains on the next round to create the bauble shape - you will need to place the bauble into this at some point during this round, a couple of decrease rounds are then worked to finish it off:
Thursday 5th December

A crochet tree......

Today's decoration is a crochet granny triangle, I've added a bell and a bow on the top and a trunk to the bottom to make it look like a tree:
Wednesday 4th December

Baubles......

Today I made a trio of baubles:
Tuesday 3rd December
Each of these follows the same pattern - a couple of rounds of double crochets to create a circle followed by alternating rounds of treble crochet, single chain in every other stitch and treble crochet in each stitch and chain space. Once it was near to top of the bauble I then worked a couple of decrease rounds of double crochets.
And here they are on our tree:


An angel for the top of the tree......

Our Christmas tree this year has been growing in the garden for the past 12 months and as a result is a bit lopsided, to try and detract away from this it is covered in lovely lights and lots of baubles. However it needed an angel to go on the top:
Monday 2nd December
The pattern for this angel can be found here:
http://www.jpfun.com/patterns/free/angels/f104005minitreetopangel.shtml

Friday 20 December 2013

The finished nativity.......

I'm really pleased to have finally finished the crochet nativity that I have been working on for several months. The final piece was a gold star to hang over the scene:
Sunday 1st December
This was made in two identical pieces sewn together and lightly stuffed. It would also make a good Christmas decoration!
The pattern for this can be found here:
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/600x/c7/36/ce/c736ce35efd6714e935c34b2eef92d01.jpg
The finished nativity scene:
I'm really pleased with how it has turned out and hope the children I have made it for enjoy playing with it as much as I enjoyed making it!

A sheep.......

Today I finished the sheep for the nativity scene, it is nearly complete now - just the star of Bethlehem to make to finish it off!
Saturday 30th November

The finished purse.....

The purse back, the pattern for this is the same as yesterday but worked in different colours:
 Friday 29th November
The finished purse - the handle is plaited using the 5 different colours of the purse.

(A more detailed description of the pattern can be found on the posts from 23rd, 25th and 26th April)

A purse front......

Today I made the purse front, a circle but with a flat top to create the purse opening:
Thursday 28th November
(A more detailed description of the pattern can be found on the posts from 23rd, 25th and 26th April)

A pretty circle.......

After the success of the last purse I made for a little girl, I thought I'd make a brightly coloured one for another of my friends daughters. Today I made a circle that will be the flap:
Wednesday 27th November 

(A more detailed description of the pattern can be found on the posts from 23rd, 25th and 26th April)

Slippers......

Another day, another gift! Today it was a pair of slippers for a four year old boy:
Tuesday 26th November
Considering I made these up as I went along I'm pretty pleased with how they've turned out - I just hope his feet haven't grown too much since they were measured in the summer!