Friday, April 1, 2016

A is for Awesome project: the afghan

Blogging challenges! Today is the first day of the A to Z challenge and the Ultimate blogging challenge. Today's letter is A. I chose A is for Afghan because I am working on one right now. It's for a friend who had been diagnosed with cancer.

The project

Above are a few squares that I made. The pattern for the squares came from Jean Leinhauser's book, 101 Crochet Squares. I used scrap yarn for this project. The yarn was either given to me from the remains of other people's projects or it was leftovers from my own previous projects. The only yarn that I purchased for this project was the white yarn for the border of each square and of the entire afghan.

I crocheted twenty-four squares in six different color schemes for this afghan. When I put together the afghan, I discovered that I really needed only twenty of the square. The other four can be the start of another project.

Because I used scrap yarn, the size of the squares varied. The stitches that I used in the border around each square helped to make the squares more uniform in size and, thus, easier to piece together.

Here, I have started to crochet squares together. I like the seam facing up because it creates a border with texture, while the white creates a border with color.


I make a strip of four squares and then border the strip with blue yarn.

This is what the afghan looks like now. I still have to finish the border. I enjoyed combining the colors and arranging them into rows.

What awesome projects are you working on? Let me know in the comments.

11 comments:

Gail said...

You did very well.

Thanks for visiting.

Jeanine Byers said...

Oh, they are BEAUTIFUL!! I really admire people who knit and crochet. I have no talent for it, and even if I did, I'd never be able to sustain the patience it would require.

You asked about our projects. Well, I am writing a book series. Eventually, I intend to put them on Amazon, but I want to have several ready before I do that.

I've written one, my Vision Quest book, and I have several more in different stages of readiness. I'd like to see three or more on Amazon by summer but we'll see.

I've got about 20 ideas. But right now, I am just focusing on the next two. :)

Great to connect with you, Alice!

Jeanine

Jeanine Byers
author of The Vision Quest
http://www.dailyspiritualpractice.net/the-vision-quest.html

Cross Planes said...

Alice, your work is beautiful and your motivation even more so.

Looking forward to seeing your A to Z!

Alice Gerard said...

Thank you, Mark, Jeanine, and Gail, for visiting. Your comments are very much appreciated. I am very excited about connecting with you this month.

Alana said...

I've been working on a granny square afghan for my son since - oh, September of 2013. I tend to work on it only during long drives. I'll have that opportunity later this month. Alice, were you wondering about adding the A to Z badge or the daily "A", "B', etc. pictures?

Alice Gerard said...

Both. I can't figure out either one, Alana. I gave up in sad frustration, sigh.

Weekends in Maine said...

I used to crochet when I was younger, but it's been many years. I may have to revisit it someday. I'm always looking for projects and my "J" post for the a-z challenge actually focuses on some art projects that I've done over the years. Your afghan looks great. What a special gift for your friend.

@WeekendsInMaine
Weekends in Maine

Keith Channing said...

That's nice work, and a great start to the A-Z. I'm looking forward to the rest of the month.

Keith Channing A-Zing from http://keithkreates.com

Jack V Sage said...

Vibrant colors!

Holly Jahangiri said...

I have the body of the pig finished, but it still needs legs and details. I think I may miss my April deadline!

I don't even know where I put the owl squares. I need to pick up my hook again. It's been a while.

I like your afghan - it's bright and colorful.

Barbara In Caneyhead said...

I don't do crafts anymore. One, for me, they weren't all fun and weren't relaxing. Two, now I work full time as the only support for our family and just don't have the energy or time to spend on things like that. But I enjoyed this entry as it reminded me of a granny square bedspread my mother made. She put bright centers from all the scraps she had and surrounded them with black to make the colors pop. She had all the squares made when she died. All made but not pieced together. In a large garbage bag. I'm ashamed to say I don't even know where they are anymore, to have someone piece them together.

Revisit the Tender Years with me during the #AtoZChallenge at Life & Faith in Caneyhead!