June 2011 Service Projects

 I'm trying to get rid of all the extra yarn I have hanging around the house, so I was able to complete a few blankets for  a Hospital in June. 

Kitty Cat Pattern

Continuous Granny Square



Brick Stitch Pattern



Small Granny Square Pattern



June 2011 Drawing - Redraw

Ok, so after posting the winner of the 100th afghan and sending her 2 messages I have not received any response.  So, I have redrawn a new winner - NSCunning!  Congrats to you :) please let me know what color(s) you would like so I can get started on it asap.  Thanks again to all who visit this blog.

Brick Stitch Afghan Pattern

It's funny how, in the world of crochet, you can learn a new stitch and work things with it for years and years and then find that there is another stitch out there with the same name but worked completely different.  I don't know which one is correct and I'm sure it happens all the time.  To me, the stitch used in this crochet pattern will always be the Brick Stitch (because I'm a creature of habit!)

I've made so many of these "Brick Stitch" afghans in the past 20 years and always love them!  I love the effect the stitch gives when striping the design and I love the finished afghans using a single color.  They all turn out wonderful and work up quickly.

I hope you enjoy this pattern as much as I have! Check out my product list below to make a blanket similar to mine.

**If you prefer a PDF pattern to easily print and ad free, you can purchase one for $2.95 on my website here.  The PDF version includes instructions for a squared off border (not included in this free post)**

Brick Stitch Afghan

Hook Size: I

Gauge: 6 DC & 3 Rows = 2"

Finished Size: Customizable

Materials: Qty will vary based on size working (about 30oz of

4WW yarn for 3'x3').  Caron Simply Soft was used in the photo shown above and is included in my list below.

Stitches:

     Ch - Chain

     Sp - Space

     St - Stitch

     Sl St - Slip Stitch

     SC - Single Crochet

     DC - Double Crochet

     BSt - Brick Stitch (SC, Ch 2, 3 DC) in same st/sp

Begin with a HDC Chainless Foundation in multiples of 3 + 1 to desired width/length - Chain of 73 is 24" with 1 Brick Stitch = 1"

The following photos should help you with a foundation chain if you are not familiar with it.  

How To: Brick Stitch

Brick Stitch

To practice this stitch, chain 40
Row 1: Work 3 double crochet in the 3rd chain from the hook, * skip 3 chains, 1 single crochet in the next chain, chain 3, 3 double crochet in the same chain. Repeat from * across row, and end with 1 single crochet.

 

3 DC in 4th Ch from hook

Skip 3 ch sp, sc in next ch sp

Ch 3

3 DC in same ch sp (start)

3 DC in same ch sp (finished)

Row 2: Chain 3 and turn, 3 double crochet in the single crochet of previous row, * 1 single crochet in the space made by the chain 3 of previous row, chain 3 and 3 double crochet in same place. Repeat from * across row and end with 1 single crochet in last chain 3 of previous row.

Chain 3 & Turn

3 DC in sc space



Sc around ch 3 space

Chain 3

3 DC around same ch 3 sp

end with sc in last ch 3 sp

pattern complete



June 2011 Drawing Winner

And the winner of my 100th afghan is .....Nadine!!!  Please leave a comment here, or email me at  craftingfriends4you@yahoo.com with the color(s) and possible pattern you would like as soon as possible.
Thank you to everyone who entered.  I will be doing another drawing in a couple of weeks for followers only, so if you already follow, you will be automatically entered. I went stir crazy waiting a whole month for people to enter this one, so from now on, I will only have it open entry for a week or 2.   I know what the giveaway will be, I just need to get everything put together and take some pictures, so stay tuned :)

X Stitch Afghan Pattern

Blue & Yellow X Stitch Afghan Pattern

This pattern has been updated and can be found on this blog by clicking this link

X Stitch Pattern

How To: X Stitch

Now that we have some basic stitches down, lets learn a few stitch patterns.  This first one is the X stitch.  Very simple!  Here are a few pictures of afghans I have made with this stitch alone.

Chain used as width of afghan

Chain used as length of afghan

Starting with the chain, you will DC in the 4th chain from hook

DC in 4th ch

Then DC in the next chain (5th)

DC in 5th ch

Now to make the X, you go back to the 3rd chain space and do a DC there (as shown below)


DC in 3rd ch



DC in 3rd ch

Dc in 3rd ch

Make sure when you YO and pull your yarn through that you pull it up to the level of the other DC's.



Completed X stitch



I will be writing up the pattern this week for an afghan with this stitch that will be about 4'sq. 

May 2011 Projects complete

A friend of mine puts together a box with a blanket, clothes for a hospital here in Utah. When premature babies pass away, the nurses dress them and put them in the blanket and take pictures for the family.  Then everything is put in the box and given to the family for something to keep in rememberance of their baby.  Such a sad experience that I hope I never have to go through.  To help her with her donation, I have made a few things for her. the blankets are size 2'x2' and then premie size hats.

How To: Double Crochet Stitch

How To: Double Crochet Stitch

This is my favorite stitch.  It adds good height, so when making an afghan, if this stitch is used the most, it seems to go faster for me.  So, lets start with the chain...to give height to the edge of the DC (double crochet) you usually start your double crochet stitch in the 3rd chain from the hook.

YO, and insert hook into 3rd ch from hook.

YO, and pull through ch space.  This will give you 3 loops on the hook

YO, and pull through 2 of the loops on the hook

YO once more and pull through the last 2 loops on the hook

That completes your Double Crochet Stitch.  Now finish the chain to practice and even out your stitches.



How To: Single Crochet Stitch

How To: Single Crochet Stitch

Ok, so now that you have your chain, use 1 ch space as the edge to build up the side.  In the 2nd ch space, we will start the single crochet stitch. 

Now, yo (yarn over) and pull through the chain

Now, yo again and pull through both loops on the hook



That completes the single crochet.  Now finish out the chain with single crochets to practice and you should be able to maintain even stitches.