My many crochet projects...
I really enjoy crochet and at the moment it tends to be my go to craft. For me it's just convenient to pick up and put down and most of the time I am not using a pattern so I can just carry on where I left off. I do have quite a few projects on the go at once...but they are all for different reasons. I am pretty good at finishing the various projects I have on the go before I start another. This probably sounds like a mad thing to say when I say I have several on the go at once.
I like to have a simple project I am doing at home which can be done in front of the TV or listening to an audio book. I am audiobook mad, I love reading, and being able to "read", well, listen, when crocheting, is my idea of heaven. I also have a more complicated project at home which I do when I have time and it's quiet, this is the project which tends to take ages as it isn't often it's quiet at our house. I have a project I take to the Knit and Natter group I go to, this is usually reasonably straightforward, so I can concentrate on the nattering part! I also have a very simple project in the car, these are typically baby blankets I make for friends, or to donate. I spend a lot of time in the car waiting for the children at school or clubs. I am now recognised as the "Mum who crochets in her car" at school. I have even met other parents I perhaps wouldn't have because of this. A couple of years ago a lovely lady came and knocked on my car window with her knitting asking if there was any way I could help. She was struggling picking up the correct number of stitches evenly to knit the button band. We had a lovely time, I showed her how to divide up the band and pick up a certain number in each divided section so the stitches were spread evenly. We regularly compare projects now. I have taught several others how to crochet from my car while we have been waiting for children. As mad as it sounds this has been a lot of fun. With 4 children, my car is an 8 seater minibus style car, perfect for Crochet lessons on wheels!!
So my "simple do at home in front of the TV or listen to a book" project is quite a bulky blanket I am making for my Mum. It is based on Lucy from Attic 24 colours for her Yuletide blanket. The link is: https://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/yuletide-blanket.html This blanket is a really lovely mix of colours of stylecraft special DK. Lucy writes the most fabulous instructions on her blog and she uses loads of photos making her patterns really easy to follow. I have made a lot of her blankets. I have made some large ones for friends when they have been expecting as a baby shower gift and made a matching cot or pram size blanket to gift when the baby is born. The blanket I am on with at the moment is just a granny square, but using Lucy of Attic 24's yuletide colours. The finished blanket will be nearly 6ft square (my Mum is only 4ft 11in, so it's going to be cosy!). As it uses a different colour for each round there is a lot to carry about so it is ideal to be "simple do at home in front of the TV or listen to a book" blanket.
My "a little more complicated blanket" at the moment is from https://www.repeatcrafterme.com/2015/09/crochet-christmas-character-afghan.html This is a christmas blanket made up of 9 corrner to corner panels each featuring a christmas charactor or symbol. So far I have made the Father Christmas, the Elf, the Sleigh and the Stocking. It's fairly easy, but I end up in a tangle with all the colours! I try to make a Christmas Blanket each year, some we keep - the idea is that we get them out for Christmas and then they are packed away, however, each year I seem to pack away less of them...Leon has a collection of them in his room which he won't part with! Others I give as gifts or treats, I made a quilted Partridge in a pear tree blanket which my mum has and a crochet one for my Mother In Law for her Christmas last year. One of my other "a little more complicated blankets" has been the Sophie's Universe blanket by Dedri Uys, this can be found at https://lookatwhatimade.net/crafts/yarn/crochet/sophies-universe-part-1-cal-2015/ I made this blanket in 2020 during the first Covid lockdown.
My "in the car" project at the moment is just a granny square, this will be a pram size blanket. At the moment I don't have a recipient in mind, so I will either save it to gift another time, or I will drop it off at the local Well Woman Clinic to be gifted. I really like the "Call the Midwife pattern" too. I have made this blanket that many times now, I don't follow a pattern so it's ideal for me in the car. If you fancy ago at this one, let me know as I have a pattern I have written for it and can email it to you.
It really works for me having several projects on the go, I don't get bored of one project, but I am not overwhelmed with too much on or lots of half finished projects. I do try to be really strict and not start another crochet project until I have finished one of the ones I am on with. There are occasions when this all falls apart and I see something that I just have to make! I would love to hear what you are making, and links to good blogs and patterns are always great. I love discovering new patterns :)
I like to have a simple project I am doing at home which can be done in front of the TV or listening to an audio book. I am audiobook mad, I love reading, and being able to "read", well, listen, when crocheting, is my idea of heaven. I also have a more complicated project at home which I do when I have time and it's quiet, this is the project which tends to take ages as it isn't often it's quiet at our house. I have a project I take to the Knit and Natter group I go to, this is usually reasonably straightforward, so I can concentrate on the nattering part! I also have a very simple project in the car, these are typically baby blankets I make for friends, or to donate. I spend a lot of time in the car waiting for the children at school or clubs. I am now recognised as the "Mum who crochets in her car" at school. I have even met other parents I perhaps wouldn't have because of this. A couple of years ago a lovely lady came and knocked on my car window with her knitting asking if there was any way I could help. She was struggling picking up the correct number of stitches evenly to knit the button band. We had a lovely time, I showed her how to divide up the band and pick up a certain number in each divided section so the stitches were spread evenly. We regularly compare projects now. I have taught several others how to crochet from my car while we have been waiting for children. As mad as it sounds this has been a lot of fun. With 4 children, my car is an 8 seater minibus style car, perfect for Crochet lessons on wheels!!
So my "simple do at home in front of the TV or listen to a book" project is quite a bulky blanket I am making for my Mum. It is based on Lucy from Attic 24 colours for her Yuletide blanket. The link is: https://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/yuletide-blanket.html This blanket is a really lovely mix of colours of stylecraft special DK. Lucy writes the most fabulous instructions on her blog and she uses loads of photos making her patterns really easy to follow. I have made a lot of her blankets. I have made some large ones for friends when they have been expecting as a baby shower gift and made a matching cot or pram size blanket to gift when the baby is born. The blanket I am on with at the moment is just a granny square, but using Lucy of Attic 24's yuletide colours. The finished blanket will be nearly 6ft square (my Mum is only 4ft 11in, so it's going to be cosy!). As it uses a different colour for each round there is a lot to carry about so it is ideal to be "simple do at home in front of the TV or listen to a book" blanket.
My "a little more complicated blanket" at the moment is from https://www.repeatcrafterme.com/2015/09/crochet-christmas-character-afghan.html This is a christmas blanket made up of 9 corrner to corner panels each featuring a christmas charactor or symbol. So far I have made the Father Christmas, the Elf, the Sleigh and the Stocking. It's fairly easy, but I end up in a tangle with all the colours! I try to make a Christmas Blanket each year, some we keep - the idea is that we get them out for Christmas and then they are packed away, however, each year I seem to pack away less of them...Leon has a collection of them in his room which he won't part with! Others I give as gifts or treats, I made a quilted Partridge in a pear tree blanket which my mum has and a crochet one for my Mother In Law for her Christmas last year. One of my other "a little more complicated blankets" has been the Sophie's Universe blanket by Dedri Uys, this can be found at https://lookatwhatimade.net/crafts/yarn/crochet/sophies-universe-part-1-cal-2015/ I made this blanket in 2020 during the first Covid lockdown.
My "in the car" project at the moment is just a granny square, this will be a pram size blanket. At the moment I don't have a recipient in mind, so I will either save it to gift another time, or I will drop it off at the local Well Woman Clinic to be gifted. I really like the "Call the Midwife pattern" too. I have made this blanket that many times now, I don't follow a pattern so it's ideal for me in the car. If you fancy ago at this one, let me know as I have a pattern I have written for it and can email it to you.
It really works for me having several projects on the go, I don't get bored of one project, but I am not overwhelmed with too much on or lots of half finished projects. I do try to be really strict and not start another crochet project until I have finished one of the ones I am on with. There are occasions when this all falls apart and I see something that I just have to make! I would love to hear what you are making, and links to good blogs and patterns are always great. I love discovering new patterns :)