Pattern

Simple granny squares, no pattern

Yarn

Thoughts

When I began to crochet I knew I wanted to make a pixel art blanket made out of granny squares, and there was one minecraft mob so iconic I knew I had to give it a try, the Minecraft Creeper. Featuring several shades of green, I knew I wouldn’t be able to find yarn in all of those shades so I had to simplify. I could have gone the route of other crocheters, one shade of green with black eyes and mouth, but I felt it was too simple and frankly a little boring. Luckily for me, I received the Lego Minecraft Creeper set for Christmas and it features three shades of green for the face and black and dark green for the eyes and mouth. After some math to figure out how large each square will need to fit my desired size, and how much yarn I’d probably need for each color, I got the yarn and began work. Despite each square being the same, crocheting all sixty four squares didn’t take terribly long and I actually enjoyed the monotonous work. It was satisfying seeing the pile grow and knowing I was one step closer to a dream blanket. The most annoying part was assembling the squares. I made sure to sew each square in a row, then sewed the columns together. Unfortunately, I ended up with a few holes in between columns and rows and I think its because I didn’t leave enough yarn to weave in, and with the tension of sewing the columns together exposed those weaved ends. I fixed this by sewing the holes together and leaving a lot of yarn to weave in, and luckily they never opened up! After sewing, I added a border of dark green and finished with a small border of black. Again, this will be something I’ll need to look back on and perfect as the border didn’t come out flat like I thought it would. Overall, I’m so proud of myself for seeing this project through, I learned a lot, and I can safely say that this blanket is big enough to fit my fiance and I to snuggle under together.

Pattern

Yarn

Thoughts

Before winter ended, I knew I wanted to crochet a sweater. I decided to go back to Eandpcrochet's website and found a sweater that wasn’t just double crochet stitches over and over again, but had a unique pattern. This sweater is called “foggy shore sweater” and I decided to go with a different yarn color from the same kind, a very nice grassy green. This project took me longer than the blanket and it taught me a lot about crocheting, like tension, how to pull the yarn from the skein, as well as new techniques I didn’t know before. It felt so good when I finished all of the panels and realized they fit the intended dimensions. I also made sure to block this sweater before sewing it together. The last tough was crocheting in the collar and let me tell you when I finished the last row it really came together and I couldn't wait to wear it. It's hefty, soft, and so cozy, and I made it just in time to wear it several times before spring comes around.

Pattern

Yarn

Thoughts

For this blanket, I didn’t follow a pattern, I just simply made a granny square bigger and bigger until it covered me! This was a mindless, yet rewarding project. It took a few weeks and by the end of it each round would take me over an hour to complete. This was a perfect project to do while watching movies, turning my mind off while keeping my hands busy.

Pattern

Yarn

Thoughts

After a couple months and lots of practice, I learned how to read and follow written patterns so I wanted to try a larger project without following a video tutorial. After scouring the web I came across this website called Eandpcrochet, where this crocheter posts free patterns for a variety of cute tops, sweaters, cardigans, and more! I decided my first project to try will be the “Tilda Shrug”, a cropped cardigan which would be perfect to wear with tank tops or light tops. I decided to purchase the yarn from her affiliated link in the same color she used. Her pattern was easy to follow and in areas where I got stuck (like the “beaded” section) she provided a youtube tutorial to help you out. The only mistake I made was not blocking it before sewing the seams together. This made it too tight so when I made the border it became super tight so I could only do one round instead of several. Despite the mistake, I love how it came out, and with it being my first garment, I am very proud of myself for seeing it through. I will probably make this again in the future.

Pattern

Yarn

Thoughts

After taking a break from my first project, Valentine’s day was right around the corner so I wanted to try something new and make a bouquet of roses to surprise my Fiane. I already had some practice making different leaves like oak, maple, and beech so I figured I could try some flowers. At first I made a simple carnation as this pattern was very straight forward and it was good practice for holding tension and following a simple flower through. Afterwards, I felt confident enough to tackle the bouquet and I found a cool pattern that featured large and small roses. I’m so proud of how these roses came out, and best of all, they won’t wither away! Although very tedious, this pattern was really easy to follow and I was able to pump these out in no time! For the stems I used bamboo skewers and wrapped them with the same yarn I used for the leaves. I definitely want to make more crochet flowers in the future.

Pattern

Yarn

Thoughts

This star blanket was my first project and my only unfinished project…so far. At first I was thrilled with this Mandela color change yarn, with its gradient from a deep blue to white to a deep pink. However, after several missed stitches and slowly realizing the gradient wouldn't look smooth as it got bigger, I put it on the backburner and figured I’d pick it up again in the future. I’ll probably make another star blanket in the future, but with more skill, and with different yarn.