The Birth of a Granny Square Afghan

I finished a major project folks--you have no idea how huge that is for a distracted crafter like me!  The project only took a little over a year to finish. 

It's my very first granny square afghan!  This afghan is a true representation of what the granny square is meant to be--a scrap buster.  Not one skein of yarn (other than the binding color) was purchased with this project in mind.  It's made strictly from pieces of yarn left over from other various projects and some yarn that I inherited from others.

It all started like this...

Here are my stacks upon stacks of squares, millions of ends just waiting to be woven in.

Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE weaving ends in?  Well, I do.  Hate.  Ughh.  But one at a time, I got it done.

Here's some proof:

I edged all of the squares in a turquoise color (Pound of Love by Lion Brand--only $4.00 with an awesome coupon deal!).

It seems like it took forever. 

You know you're spending too much time crocheting when this is the only way your dog can get your attention...

I spent some time laying them out to evenly distribute the colors.

I used Attic 24's guide to joining granny squares...

It came together beautifully (keeping in mind that beauty is in the eye of the beholder).  I realize not everyone shares my love of granny squares, bold colors, and funkiness in general.  If you leave a comment telling me how ugly this is, I will delete it so please don't waste your time.  Granny love only, please.  I know there will be some haters.  Keep it to yourself and go and comment on something you do like.  Even if it's elsewhere.  This is how you should handle all of your blog comments. Thanks. (Whoa, someone just got a little soapboxy!  Yeah, you don't want to mess with me today. Or any day for that matter.)

And here she is, in all her crazy glory:

I'm in love!

Crocheted Mary Janes

These Mary Janes have been on my to-craft list since I received the patterns several months ago.

So when I found out I was having a gal, I got on it.  And then I got to thinking...

Umm, I practically NEVER put shoes on Elliott before she started walking.  Well, my sister-in-law bought some of the cutest shoes ever (mostly from Old Navy) and those made it onto the kid.  But for the most part, shoes were totally overrated for her skinny little tootsies, especially given the fact that she was born in the summer in Florida (just like baby # 2 will be).
 

So, I sent these to a friend who's having a baby girl in a few weeks. You know her as Jessica of Sew Homegrown. (Yes, Jessica, they were originally intended for my kiddo--I'm admitting it!)

I mean, why keep something I'm probably not going to put on my kid?  Maybe, just maybe, someone else will use them. Or not.  And that's obviously fine, too.

As for the pattern, it was extremely well-written and even included pictures to help explain things.  As tedious as these little buggers were to make, they were pretty simple because of the good instructions.  Will I be making more?  Sure!  The pattern came from Crochet Dreamz.  I won the pattern as part of the Maybe Matilda Crochet-Along a few short months ago.

I learned some lessons in blocking shaped crochet items with these Mary Janes.  Here are some good tips on "blocking"  if you're interested in making your crochet items just a bit more crisp and professional.  I used a crumpled plastic bag for shaping these teeny shoes.

Blocking turned out to make these go from looking very homemade to looking very crisp--like handmade stuff from an expensive kids boutique.  So, yeah, worth the little bit of extra effort.

-Tristin

Darn this Yarn! (A yarn organization idea)

I'm guessing I'm not the only one here with a serious yarn problem.  I mean serious.  I'm talking avalanches and un-natural disasters happening in my closet.  The closet that I share with my patient and extremely organized husband... (Poor guy.)

I thought baskets would be a good solution.  Yeah, right.

You know what has been working for me?  Shoe organizers. 

For about $7, you can pick up an over-the-door shoe organizer with pockets. Those pockets just happen to be the right size for...you've got it... YARN!

For convenient storage, just roll up the organizers and cinch them in your preferred manner.  I used an old belt.

It doesn't take up any more room than a basket would, but I have found this method to be much more forgiving and toddler-proof.  It's hard to unravel skein after skein of yarn when it's neatly tucked away.  If the bundle falls over, your yarn stays in place--unlike yarn in a pesky basket.

One organizational battle down... 23 million to go. 

P.S.  I think I may now have almost every color of Lion Brand Vanna's Choice.  It's totally my fave, if you haven't caught onto that yet.  You know what I am now loving, though?  The Lion Brand Martha Stewart collection.  Be still my heart!
P.P.S.  Gender reveal will be very soon.  Well, I'll just say it--it's a girl!