Elephant Crochet Afghan

 
This adorable elephant afghan just shipped out to our newest family member a few days ago.  This was my first time making this style blanket and not sure I'd do it again.  It was a lot like counted cross-stitch trying to keep track of all the stitches in each row.  The pattern I used was from www.patternworld.co.uk, Three Elephants.  As you can see, I did some color changes to match our little guys room which they were doing in elephants.  It's an easy pattern to follow.  Just be sure to print it out and mark your rows completed when done as it made it easier to keep track of where I was.

I used a G hook with Drops Muskat 100% cotton DK yarn from Wool Warehouse for the body.  Even going down to a G hook size for the border, I still got a little bit of buckling.

Here are the amounts of yarn I used.

1 - 50 gr. - black -17
1 - 50 gr - vanilla ice - 30
2 - 100 gr. - ice blue - 60
3 - 150 gr. - sky blue - 76
11 - 550 gr. - lt grey - 19

 

Beki's Afghan

After making my first Around the Bases Afghan, my daughter, Beki, messages..."Make me one."  Well, I always take note when someone says they want me to make something.  So I decided for her wedding I'd put together a really special version of this afghan.  It started with the popular Sophie's Garden square in the center and then Around the Bases was worked to the end.  Click on the links to go to the free patterns.  It took me almost six months to complete and then had to sit as a surprise until May as their wedding gift.

Her and her new husband love the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, so I was trying to work the theme into it by using red and white.  Of course, I had to add additional colors to make it prettier.  Needless to say, it was a "homerun."  They loved it. 

My yarn choice was Drops Muskat which comes in 50 gram skeins and cost about $1.86 each.  Below are the amounts I used.

9 -- Red #12 
7 -- Bordeaux #41
6 -- Black #17
9 -- White #18
6 -- Light Grey #19
7 -- Medium Grey #24

G hook for most stitches
H hook for chain and single crochet rounds

I did not get a final measurement before flying it across The Pond to Missouri, but you can see here how big it got.  Here I was working on the final borders.

Crochet Pillow Top

Started this little idea back in October, but with so much going on, I hadn't had time to get back to it to finish.  So, when a friend of mine wanted to get together, we decided on a trip to the fabric store where I picked out the backing for the crocheted pillow top.  It's finally coming together!

I started with a block pattern I found on Pinterest.  Pattern available at Mango Tree Crochet.  I found this lovely cotton yarn while visiting York, England, in a cute little shop along The Shambles.  I used a G hook.  My finished square turned out 17 inches.

I added 2 rows of my own to make the pattern into a square.  You can follow the directions below.

sc -- single crochet
hdc --half double crochet
dc -- double crochet

Row 1:  Start with a standing sc in the middle stitch of the chain. dc in the next 3 stitches.  hdc in the next 3 stitches. (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) in the corner.  [hdc in the next 3, dc in the next 3, sc in the top of the chain, dc in the next 3, hdc in the next 3, (2 dc, ch3, 2 dc) in the corner,] repeat from [] 3 times.  hdc in next 3, dc in next 3. Slip stitch to the starting sc.

Row 2:  ch 3. dc in each stitch around with (2 dc, ch3, 2 dc) in each corner. Slip stitch to starting ch and tie off.

Squares are stitched together with sc.

After blocking the crocheted square, I measured out the backing fabric and made a slip cover style pillow case.  Mine has a snap closure in the back so the filler insert can be removed.  I then hand-stitched the crocheted block to the pillow case.

  

Temperature Blanket

Last year this time, I decided to start a crocheted Temperature Blanket running January to December 2016.  Afraid that it was going to turn out huge, I tried a variety of stitches to see what would work best.  The Linen Stitch or also know as the Moss Stitch was the best fit for what I needed.  I used Stylecraft Special DK yarn with a G hook.  I kept a rolling list of each days high temperature and crossed off each day as I finished it.

My temperature chart consisted of 12 sections in 5 degree Fahrenheit increments.  I used at least 2 skeins of each color.  Unfortunately, I didn't keep very good track over the year as to how many I went back to buy. Show above on a queen size bed

0-35     Grey
36-40   Clematis
41-45   Wisteria
46-50   Aster
51-55   Sherbet
56-60   Dark Green (Not sure which shade)
61-65   Meadow
66-70   Lemon
71-75   Apricot
76-80   Shrimp
81-85   Pomegranate
86-up   Claret

Here in the UK, we had very few Dark Red days and only one Grey.

Wanting to keep the border fairly simple, I used the interlocking border stitch found here.  My finished size ended up about 50 x 80 inches.

Happy Christmas!

What an eventful year it has been for us.  Last year this time, I was writing you all about our upcoming move to England.  Come December, we will have been here for six months.  I've kept up on the blog about our adventures getting here and some of the things we've done and seen.  You can browse the blog links on the right to catch up.  Christmas cards, coming soon, will include all our new contact information.

For the most part, we are settled in and our small three floor house is feeling like home.  John is loving his job and we are making great friends.  I've always got some kind of project going, editing photos for posting and for the Etsy Shoppe or whipping up a crochet project, making Christmas cards.  I've been playing a little with creating my own patterns.  I was blown away with the response to my afghan pattern.  The Shoppe will be on vacation the month of December, so we can spend time enjoying the holidays with family and friends.  Please stop by for a visit in January.

John loves working here and has had some exciting things happening at work, but we'll have to save those stories for when we're in person.  He's been busy making traveling plans that I will be excited to share about once we return.  On the list is Belgium, Germany, and Paris.  We did finally find a home church as well and look forward to becoming more a part of that family in the coming year.  We have plans to celebrate Thanksgiving with a few neighbors next door with a full Thanksgiving dinner on the Saturday after Thanksgiving day.  Should be fun.

Like in the states, it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas out there on the streets.  All the stores are decorating and the towns are getting up their lights.  Can't wait to see London dressed for the season.  I've gone ahead a little early and got our small selection of decorations up.  I am missing all the things we left behind.  Our new Balsam Hill tree is beautiful and from a few feet away really does look real.  We are staying put for Christmas this year to experience an English holiday.  I know already, it's going to be hard being away from our big family celebrations.  But, we do have some plans including some Christmas Markets, the Christmas Ball, and a special Christmas Eve dinner booked at one of our favorite restaurants, Jamie Oliver's Italian.

The girl's are doing well.  Beki has a year and a half left in her teaching degree.  She'll be graduating May 2017.  She and Corey are renting a house in order to contain 3 cats and a dog.  Ari is enjoying her job at Starbucks.  She's the best barista I know.  She and Anthony are looking to move into a bigger place after the first of the year.  I miss them terribly and can't wait until they can come visit.  Our fur babies, Sapphie and Ebony, are well adjusted to life in England now.   Ebony is showing signs of being more out-going, even getting a little curious with visitors.  Sapphie, at fourteen, is too old to care anymore!

After almost 17 great years, our little Frosty boy just got too old and recently passed.  For all that knew him, he was adored.  I always said he was the best little dog any family could have, friendly, cute, and lovable.  He went through a lot with us, three moves, many Ohio trips, and growing up with the girls.  He was the best companion for all those lonely nights when John was away.  He will be truly missed and leaves a big whole in all our hearts.
 

Be sure to bookmark this link to stay up-to-date on all our adventures.  We miss everyone from the states and are hoping some of you are making plans to come visit!  Our door is always open and we've got a two bedroom suite all ready for guests.  Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity.  We'll only be here two and a half more short years.

Wishing you all a very "Happy Christmas" and a wonderful New Year!

John and Aimee