Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 18

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 18

A week's worth of crochet progress by The Cats and I ... 

Before ~ Posted Last Week

After ~ This Week 

The cat on the lap requires lots of ear rubs for holding my crochet project in place,

which can make turning corners a bit difficult.

In this photo, Nutmeg is watching Maestro who is the blurry black form on the base of the cat tree.  Maestro is probably waiting her turn on the soft yarn nest.

Most of the photos I have taken on my WIP this week have been like this.

Here Nutmeg has claimed the folded afghan on the table

 and Katniss looks to be waiting her turn.

Crochet time stands still for cat naps. 

The kitties and I are working on the 8th round of this border.

In truth, the kitties have thought it should be called done for some time, 

but the human wants a nice wide cozy border.

so I am still going round and round and my squares sampler slowly grows larger. 

I have done this stitch many years before and always called it the Rib Stitch because it resembles ribbing in knitting.  I have no idea what the proper name for this crochet stitch may be. 

When I was looking for more textures to add to my setting blocks,

I saw it here ... 

Crochet Bundle Up @ Daisy Farm Crafts

... and I knew it was what I wanted to make my for my border on this project.

On this site the border stitch is called

Front and Back Post Double Crochet (FPDC & BPDC) 

which accurately describes the stitch process.

There is a video swatch tutorial swatch for this stitch

 Here @ Daisy Farm Crafts.

I followed my own muse and I think my corners are different.

For turning my corners, I stopped the front post and back post repeat and stitched 5 regular double crochets one double crochet in the corner.  

When I come to the corner, I add a back post and then a front post double crochet to the first two stitches in the corner shell.  Then I make a Five DC shell in the third DC.  Then I do a FPDC and and BPDC in the fourth and fifth DC.  Then I proceed to do the alternating FPDC and BPDC along the side.

My 8 rounds started with a Single Crochet Row and 5 Double Crochets in the corner.

Then I made my first FPDC and BPDC in the post for the single crochet. 

When will it end? 

I really like this border and plan to continue on with the help of the kitties

 to make four more rows. 

What are you working on this week?

Please share! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 17

 

Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 17

The weather this past week has been more of the same ...

sunny days, breezy cold days, rainy days ...

and I have been inside and out working in my yard and inside on my many WIPs. 

It has been a good week.

I am on the last border for my 

Sampler Squares Crochet Afghan ~ Started Here

which I have been working on since the beginning of January.

It is nearing completion.

This border stitch is labor intensive and it tires my hands so I am managing about one round per day. Yesterday it rained and the kitties snoozed under the quilts so I was able to do a round and a half.  I plan to complete at least three more rounds so I have a nice wide ribbed border.  I love all the textures in the patchwork crochet project. 

In my sewing corner, I have been planning and new quilt as a special gift and am ready to start cutting.  More on that later. 

I did complete the first of these lovely and useful

Hexie Flower Thread Winders @surrur-sunday on Instagram

Krista who is from Finland, a is hosting a stitch-a-long and has posted a tutorial ... 

Mini Tutorial for Hexie Flower Thread Winders - Click Here

The photos and tutorial only appears on Instagram.

 #hexieflowerthreadwinder

I did not have the stiff felt needed for the back of these thread winders so I had to order this small package online and wait for it to arrive. 

I will be making many more of these from my smallest scraps for my small stash of

Weeks Dye Works variegated threads.  

What have you been working on this week, my friends?

Please share! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Cat on the Lap Crochet ~ Kitty Inspecting and Testing In Progress

Maestro Crochets

 Maestro, who is a very cuddly and affectionate cat

...  but not an actual lap cat ... 

says  "My Turn!

Maestro, who will sit on the cat tree or the sofa next to me while I crochet 

or patiently wait on the bed for me to bring the afghan to her,

must have been feeling a little left out.

As soon as I spread out my WIP on the bed, 

Maestro jumped in to help and check my work ...

and cut my yarn for me. 

Of course, Nutmeg had to also jump up to add her 

help and inspection.

The cats seem to be trying to tell me that either:

(1) this afghan in done as far as their needs are met

or

(2) I need to crochet faster.

My afghan now measures about 62" square with the borders in progress.

I intend to add a few more rounds of the outer border stitch ... 

as soon as the cats get off of it and let me.

 

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 16

 

Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 16

I have been slowly stitching the blocks for my 

Sampler Squares Crochet Afghan ~ Started Here

together into rows.

I have the rows completed and now it is time to stitch the rows together.

I have done no other stitching or sewing.

~

My moods have been "under the weather" this spring

and our weather has been all over map 

from warm sun to sleet to heavy rain to blustery winds

 to chilling cold and back again.

~

It is a stormy spring everywhere in the world

and somehow all of the storms seem man-made.

I have had some difficulty this spring finding joy.

~

Each week I enjoy seeing everyone's accomplishments

 and marvel at your abilities to multi-task and to get things done. 

Your work is all so beautiful!

I have recently feel like my efforts pale in comparison,

although I do not generally compare myself to others 

or see what we make in our happy places as any kind of competition.

My feelings are a symptom of my present inability to rise above the storms

and see the light above and find truth.

~

In truth, I find joy in our collective effort to create. 

Joy is what I need sometimes 

and I thank you for sharing yours with me. 

~

Edit:

After posting this I decided to create a little joy in my own scrapatch today.

Sew ... I made something new ... 

This Hexie Flower is made from 1 inch hexagons.

I have never sewed such tiny EPP pieces before.

My plan is to make one of these adorable 

Hexie Flower Thread Winders @surrur-sunday on Instagram

Krista who is from Finland, a is hosting a stitch-a-long and has posted a tutorial ... 

Mini Tutorial for Hexie Flower Thread Winders - Click Here

The photos and tutorial only appears on Instagram.

I printed my 1 inch hexagon templates from this 

Inch Hexagon Template ~ Free Download

I pulled out a bag of my smallest scraps. 

I cut.

I sewed. 

Although my stitching is far from perfect, I am very happy with my first tiny hexagon flower.

I have to gather the materials needed to finish this into a useful thread winder.

Even if I only make one of these,

this has created joy in my sewing corner today.

 I hope your sewing place is joyful today and everyday. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Stitch Sew& Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 15

 

Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 15

It has been a busy week and we have been able to get some yard clean up done.

When I have been sitting inside, I have slowly been stitching the blocks for my patchwork crochet together.

I like to use a plastic yarn needle and the ladder stitch.

I start with a loop stitch that doubles my yarn.

I place my stitches just under the double loops of my single crochet edge stitcth.

The ladder stitch is an up and down  movement.

I think this makes and secure seam and I like the look of it.

This makes a nice flat and almost invisible seam.

I hope to have the center of my patchwork crochet afghan together soon.

What are you working on this week?

Please share! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Design Wall Monday ~ Crochet Blocks

 

Sneak Peek!

My kitty and I are making something new.

I am calling this "Patchwork Crochet." 

What is on your design wall today? 

The Pieces to the Squares Sampler Crochet are Complete!

The sun came out today and the pieces to my 

Squares Sampler Crochet puzzle are complete! 

 When I was counting and sorting my pieces, I found I only had nine setting strips and that I needed ten to fit the puzzle together. So I made one more setting strip, the mini granny square flower at the bottom of the photo. 

These small daisy granny squares were adapted from this 

Daisy Granny Square Tutorial by Melanie Ham

There is a video tutorial in the link below:

Dainty Daisy Granny Square Video Tutorial @ JustBCrafty

Because I needed to fit eight squares in my setting strip size,

 I changed the last border to Half Double Crochet 

to get the smaller size that I needed.

Sewing two of these mini squares together made the width perfect.

Here is my tenth setting strip.

Time to lay out my blocks! 

Linking up today with all the lovely inspiration at

Slow Sunday Stitching @ Kathy's Quilts

I hope you have had a Happy Sunday! 

Squares Sampler Afghan ~ Getting Ready to Layout the Blocks

Saturday was a stormy day.

I do not mind the rain as our spring has been dry at times.

It was a good day to get my sampler squares ready to lay them out together. 

When I sorted all my pieces, I found there were three blocks that were smaller or had uneven edges even though they had been blocked and squared.

Nutmeg was my crochet kitty inspector.

My yarn is acrylic which is a type of yarn that does not take well to permanent blocking.  I could stretch them to make them fit with the others, but when I wash my afghan, it will not lay flat after drying unless I block it again.

So I decided to add borders to these three blocks.

Then I pinned them to my blocking board again to make them nice and square for stitching then all together. 

 I hope your weekend a happy and productive time. 

Squares Sampler Crochet Progress

 

Five Setting Strips Done!

I have been making progress on the pieces for my ...

Sampler Squares Crochet Afghan ~ Started Here

My fifth setting strip is in this fun

Mesh and Bobble Stitch Pattern @ Daisy Farm Crafts

There is a 

Mesh and Bobble Stitch DFC Video Tutorial Here

I made my own variation of the sample stitch using my yarn colors

to the size needed for my setting strips. 

After completing the needed fifth setting stripe ... 

I then went back to figure out how to set my small granny squares

 into similar size setting strips.

To do this, I am bordering my granny squares in single crochet in my light gray yarn and then sewing them together and bordering the rectangle in single crochet to get the right size.

I have a few more squares to border and sat into strips

which I hope to have done soon.

Then I will be ready to set my layout and sew my squares together.

My weekend plans are to sit and crochet where and when I can.

What are your stitching plans for this weekend? 

May you have a good one!

Squares Sampler Afghan ~ Setting Strip 4

 

Setting Strip number four is done for my 

Squares Sampler Afghan

This pattern is

Flower Rows by Daisy Farm Crafts

There is a video for this in the link below:

Crochet Flower Puffs ~ Video Tutorial ~ Daisy Farm Crafts

I really like this pattern.  When I showed it to my daughter she said they looked like little kitty paws to her.  Oooooh ... kitty paws! <3 <3 <3 

As written, this pattern called for Wide Half Double Crochet (WHDC) stitches between the puff rows, but my sample did not look as good as would have liked, so I changed it up and made the background in their  

Wide Half Double Crochet Clusters as in 

My Candy Dots Setting Strip ~ Here

I really like the thickness and texture of this stitch.

I think this makes a lovely addition to my sampler squares and setting strips. 

I am working on my last setting strip now.

I hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Happy Stitching!