Afghan 93

This was another afghan that I started and stopped. I started it to use up yarn, and having made several "boy" afghans, thought I should throw in pink yarn. That pink yarn held me up, as I got the wrong color of pink, which led me to start afghan 93. In the process of starting and stopping the project, I forgot how I was doing the edging, and it got a bit wonky. By the time I finished the blanket, I needed more boy afghans again. Sigh. Oh well. At least there's always crocheting to do, and thanks to my wonderful neurologist finding a treatment for my dystonia, I can still do it!

Hook: Ergonomic crochet hook size J

Yarn: Red Heart spring green, Red Heart soft navy  Mainstays white, Red Heart baby pink

Pattern: The cobblestone blanket (Stitchberry)

Finished size: 32 x 43

Afghan 92

I tell myself to work on only one afghan at a time, but I run into reason after reason to start several. Case in point: this was a second afghan that I started because I got the wrong color of pink to continue on the first afghan I started. This afghan, with its alternating half double crochet pattern turned out to be pretty easy and mindless, so I decided to finish it first, and I like the way it turned out! It is not quite the 40 x 40 inch size I wanted, but when are my blankets ever the size I expect? It is about time for a pink blanket, too (though as circumstances would have it, I need boy baby blankets right now). Here are the details for the blanket:

Hook: Size I placed into a Boye ergonomic crochet hook handle

Yarn: Super Saver Jumbo skein of petal pink from Red Heart

Pattern: Cozy textured throw (Stitchberry)

I chained 141.

Finished size: 38 x 38 inches (approximating 30 x 35 stroller size)

Afghan 91

Crocheting is kind of my "party trick" (enter meeting or other gathering where I need to keep my hands busy). In this case, it kind of backfired. I chose this afghan pattern while we had company over (I think for my husband's birthday in September 2025, but I'm not totally sure), so I really wasn't paying that much attention. The pattern is labeled as "intermediate" level, but it was really kind of complicated. I ran out of yarn a few times and let the afghan be. But finally, finally, it's done.

I don't think I want to do a pattern like this for a long time, or ever. The point of crocheting for me is to have a soothing activity I can do almost without thinking. This took a lot of thinking and counting and tallying. The texture is cool, but not worth it for me!

Hook: Size I placed into a Boye ergonomic crochet hook handle

Yarn: Red Heart soft navy

Pattern: Hygge chic throw (Yarnspirations)

I chained 141 for 14 shells, and did around 25 rows. (The full blanket size was 128 rows. I cannot imagine doing that many!)

Finished size: 25 x 37 (approximating 30 x 35 stroller size)

Afghan 80

How have I gotten to 80 afghans? I've been crocheting since sixth grade (and making baby afghans shortly thereafter). That's how!

This blanket was of medium difficulty. It combined double crochet and single crochet stitches, as well as some front and back post work. I had a little trouble keeping the edges even. (In the end, though, who notices?) The blanket also curled some, which I see now in the pattern, I could have taken some steps to fix, but I will attempt to correct via blocking. I changed colors at alternate times, making color chunks of various size, which I quite like. All in all, I liked the way this turned out: thick, and dense, with some texture that hopefully baby will love!

Hook: size J Boye ergonomic crochet hook

Yarn:

I Love This Yarn! turquoise

Red Heart soft white

Red Heart light gray

Pattern: Alpine blanket (Yarn Hook Needle)

Finished size: 32 x 53 inches (larger than the pattern, but partially due to the fact that I extended my rows to make the last gray and white chunks of color match in size).

Afghan 79

This afghan was not quite as quick as advertised (since I used regular, rather than bulky yarn) but I still like the way it turned out. Stripes for the win!

Hook: size J Boye ergonomic crochet hook

Yarn:

Red Heart soft white

Red Heart soft navy

Pattern: Quick crochet baby blanket (Crochet Dreamz)

Finished size: 28 by 43 inches

Afghan 77

Afghan 77 in the books! I actually started this one after another one. (I wanted a smaller blanket to pack for a trip, my trip to Fresh15, if I remember correctly.) Now, a skein and a half of yarn and six months later, here we are!

I used the easy crochet baby blanket pattern from Daisy Crafts for this one. I crocheted with my favorite size J Boye ergonomic crochet hook (the only one I use anymore) and Red Heart soft navy yarn. The blanket turned out an odd size: 28 x 39, but it looks okay.

Upward and onward! (I mean, I need to finish the afghan I started before this one....)

Heart Talk

Just for fun this month, I made a heart pillow. The pattern creator remarked that she did not know what to write on her pillows. I don't either. I polled my husband, and he has ideas, but I have yet to carry those out. I intend to use throw the pillow in our living room somewhere, but where exactly remains to be seen. Basically, this has become a conversation project for our home.

Overall, this was a very easy, beginner pattern from Once Upon a Cheerio that just required some stitch counting. I especially liked that I could crochet the pieces together (rather than sewing). I used my size J Boye ergonomic crochet hook and Red Heart acrylic pink yarn. All things considered, I am very happy with how this turned out!

Keeping Heads Warm

How it started...

I offered to make some ear warmers for my friend's daughter:

Crochet chained ear warmer (Easy Crochet)

Beginner friendly crochet ear warmer (Oombawka Design Crochet)

Crochet ear warmer (Stitching Together)

And I got a little obsessed with all the free patterns out there.

Puffed crochet headband (Easy Crochet)

Sophora headband (Burgundy and Blush)

Easy textured earwarmer (Simply Hooked by Janet)

How it's going:

I made myself an ear warmer, but it turned out child-sized.

Twisted crochet ear warmer headband (Sarah Maker)

Determined, I tried again.

Crochet twist headband (Easy Crochet)

This one actually fit!

So I made a few more:

Sailor's knot headband (Crafting for Weeks)

Easy summer headband (Crafting for Weeks)

Crochet headband with cross pattern (Joy of Motion Crochet)

Needless to say, I will have no problems keeping my head warm. And you know what? I had fun making these. All these took were a little internet research, scrap yarn, and time. A heart-warming endeavor, if you ask me.

Crocheted Bible "Sweater"

Reading your Bible a lot can lead to wear and tear. For this reason, I have always liked using a Bible cover. My parents gave me a nice cover for my current Bible, but I was curious if I could also crochet one. I searched for a few patterns, and then found one that I altered.

Basically, I crocheted a long rectangle and then slip stitched the corners together to make flaps into which I could tuck the Bible covers. I then slip stitched the edges in between to make it look even.

Not perfect, but it will cover the Bible. I think the color blocking I did makes the cover look like a sweater, hence calling it a Bible "Sweater." I used my size J Boye ergonomic crochet hook again. I followed the book cover pattern at Me 'N My Hook, but since I used a J hook, my gauge was much larger. (This worked to my advantage, since I was covering a fairly large study Bible. I used Red Heart saffron yarn, and some random red yarn my husband had. (He knits with it!) All in all, I think I am satisfied with this project. (If anyone needs a Bible cover, comment below. I can probably perfect this pattern and whip out a few more fairly quickly.

Here's to reading our Bibles more, and if needed, covering them to protect and preserve their contents for future use!

Afghan 74

Another afghan off the bucket list. This is the the Oliver baby blanket from Edie Eckman. I used a chain of 121 and chose Red Heart spring green, Mainstays white, Red Heart royal blue yarn for my colors. (I used my ergonomic J hook again.) I accidentally forgot row two of the border, but otherwise, I think I made this as written. It was pretty easy, and worked up quickly with the half double crochet. My finished size came out to be 32 by 36 inches.

*Special thanks to our dinner guest who helped me unravel the royal blue yarn to get this finished!

Afghan 73

Well, this afghan did not turn out quite like I expected. To be fair, I didn't make it quite like the pattern, either. It was meant to use bulky yarn, and a size N hook. I had regular yarn and a size J hook. It was supposed to be 22 x 28 inches with a border. Mine turned out to be 40 x 51 inches, and I ran out of yarn to do a border. I aimed for Arizona sunrise color based on a color hex I found, but the stores did not have the exact colors, so I used what I could find. All in all, I am happy with this afghan, even if it turned out different. Now, the question is: Do I gift this, or keep it? I think it looks quite nice over the back of our couch, if I do say so myself!

Pattern: Quick and chunky crochet baby blanket pattern from Crafting Every Day

Yarns: Off brand black, Red Heart pumpkin, Red Heart saffron, Crafting Smart butter, and Red Heart turqua

Afghan 71

Close on the heels of afghan 70 comes afghan 71. Now I just have two afghans started. Maybe I will finally single task afghans again. We'll see....

This is another afghan from the bucket list. The specific pattern is the striped thicket stitch from The Loopy Lamb. Using Red Heart royal blue yarn, I changed 107, instead of 72. (I did use my ergonomic J hook again. It's pretty much all I use.) I also chunked the blanket into thirds, using Mainstays white yarn in the middle. The blanket ended up with measurements of 24" x 41." Overall, this was a fairly easy and accessible blanket, with a single/double crochet pattern that worked up quickly. 

Afghan 70

I am going to affectionately call this the scrunch blanket. No, it wasn't supposed to be this way. It ended up with a scrunch due to a year of off and on work, different tension strengths over the course of that time, and many mistakes. I am not proud of this blanket, but in a way, I also am, because it took a lot of willpower to finish.

I used the wintergreen crochet baby blanket pattern for this one. I am not sure exactly how I was supposed to change colors, but to avoid constantly cutting and tying yarn, I ended up with four strings of yarn off one blanket. These tangled often, leading to much frustration. The pattern had multiple intricacies, like crossed single crochets, single/double crochet pattern, and using only back loops. I forgot some of these intricacies from time to time, which contributed to the scrunch.

I used Mainstays pink and white yarn for this afghan, along with Red Heart pumpkin. The different brands of yarn probably did not help with my gauge, and the scrunch. As usual, I crocheted with my ergonomic J hook.

In summary, finishing this afghan took perseverance. It goes to a special little girl whose parents have long awaited her arrival, not without some sorrow along the way. My struggle grows dim in light of the wonderful gift that she is. For this reason, I am thankful and excited to have completed the blanket when I did, in hopes that it will accentuate the joy of her birth.

Afghan 69

Full disclosure: I made most of this afghan during a three day weekend training for work, so I did not exactly give it my full focus. A skein a day (partly used), and then a little more, and voila!

This is another afghan from the bucket list. I did use my ergonomic J hook again. The get in line granny afghan pattern from A Crocheted Simplicity suggested switching colors every two rows, but that was a bit much for me, so I just switched yarns when I ran out of a color. The pattern was easy once I started, just two rows repeating over and over again. I used all Red Heart yarn in colors amethyst, minty, and pale yellow. (The yarn was leftover from peacock coasters I made for a friend for Christmas.) All in all, for a blanket I made while doing other things, I am pretty happy with it! (Finished size was 32 inches square).

Afghan 67

Another one hit the post office!

This blanket is from another pattern off the 20 baby blankets list from which I have been working. Knitting with Chopsticks specified using an additional color (gray), but I did not have it, so I doubled up on the Red Heart spring green. I also used Mainstays white and pink. The bead and bubble stitch were new to me. (I had to re-read the instructions every time I came to a row of them!). They gave the blanket nice texture, I think. I started this blanket around Fourth of July and thought it looked like a watermelon. I gave it to a baby set to come Christmas Eve, so the green and pink seem like a riff on Christmas colors. Maybe this is an anytime blanket!

The size of this blanket seemed larger to me. Mine measured 34 by 55 inches, with 115 total rows. (The author of the pattern measured her blanket at 41.25 by 51.25 inches.) I used my ergonomic J hook for this blanket. It is pretty much the only hook I use, and it works great! I am just thankful I can still crochet and keep crossing blankets off my list!

Afghan 66

Another afghan done! I really liked this pattern (another one I acquired from this 20 pattern compilation). It was easy, worked up quickly, and the edges remained somewhat uniform, even with changing yarns. I might have made the blanket a bit longer, but this was the prescribed pattern, and I followed it.

Yarns: Red Heart spring green, generic black, Red Heart royal, Mainstays gray

Hook: Ergonomic J

Pattern: Simple stitch crochet baby blanket from Easy Crochet

Size: 26 inches by 32 inches

Afghan #65

 

I finished another one! Honestly this afghan did NOT turn out like I wanted it to. I tried to follow the cloud blanket pattern from Han Jan Crochet, but I messed up somewhere. I tried to replicate my own mess-ups for consistency, but it did not work perfectly. I did not figure out the edging, either and it curled. My mom suggested that it might be useful on a baby blanket, so I left it. I did not love it.

Lots of work on this one: I practiced a lot of treble crochet stitches. I counted my rows. I  practiced distress tolerance. I hope this blanket serves its intended purpose for a new member of our extended family, and I am counting down days until I get to meet him. I do know that I already love him!

Yarn: Red Heart soft navy

Crochet hook: Ergonomic J

Afghan 63

I finished another one. I told you I was working on several. In fact, I don't think I have ever worked on so many blankets at one time. I had at least three going, plus a few side projects. Now that this one is done, I can just work on the one blanket I have left. Hooray!

As for this blanket, it was the ripple baby blanket pattern from Eye Love Knots. I do not usually like to change colors on blankets, but I went for it on this one. I did stick to just two colors, unlike the suggested three colors, however. I also forgot to change colors on the border, so it turned out to just be white. But I completed the border this time, something I rarely do. I am trying to learn to stick with patterns, and recipes....

Other details:

Yarn: Red Heart white and spring green

Hook: Ergonomic J

Finished dimensions: 35 x 43 inches

Afghan 60

It's been awhile since I posted a crochet project, so here's the latest:

(Yes, I missed posting afghan 59. Oh well.)

Some of you followed my Instagram #OneHeartOnePrayer journey earlier this year in which I crocheted and prayed for one person a day during our state's shutdown. I ended that project when our state reopened, but after a rather prompt return to shutdown, I needed a new project. Enter "crochet a row a day" and the birth of this project. It was really a way to use up yarn on hand and restock my baby blanket stash. (I don't crochet like I used to due to time restraints and my focal dystonia.) I followed Bella Coco Crochet's easy and fast free crochet baby blanket pattern. I will say that the pattern was easy. Fast? Maybe not so much. But I got it done. Praise the Lord!

Praying for the babe that this blanket goes home to...

Scarf Number Three

What started out as one scarf has now become three. It was on my #bucketlistproject to make a scarf with my sister-in-law. But then I made another one for my best friend. And I figured I'd better make one for my other friend, too. I don't want to be unfair in my scarf giving!

No really, scarves are easy to make and different from my usual afghans and sometimes quicker (though not this one).

So without further ado, here's scarf number three:

As per the norm, I used Red Heart yarn. This is their blue color.

The pattern is Eve's Scarf from Pattern Paradise.

I'll probably move back to afghans soon, but are there any other types of projects I should try before I do? I'd welcome feedback in the comments section.