Monday, December 21, 2009

Pinal Afghan



SIZE: About 45 x 52 inches

MATERIALS REQUIRED:
• "Boye" crochet hook size J or K
GAUGE: 3 sc to 1 inch

BE SURE YOUR STITCH GAUGE IS CORRECT. Do not hesitate to change needle size to achieve gauge indicated in the instructions.







___First Strip: With Dark-ch 22.
___Row 1: 2 sc in 2nd ch from hook, 1 sc in each of next 20 ch, ch 1, turn.
___Row 2: Skip first sc, 1 sc in each of next 20, 2 sc in next st, ch 1, turn.
___Row 3: 2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in each of next 20, ch 1, turn.
Repeat Rows 2 & 3 for pat, always having 22 sc on each row and working until 8 rows of Dark have been completed, draw Light through last 2 loops of Dark sc on 8th row, ch 1, turn.
Alternate 8 rows of Light and Dark until 8th Dark stripe has been completed. Fasten off. Make 4 more strips.
___2nd Strip: With Light-ch 23.
___Row 1: 1 sc in 3rd ch from hook, 1 sc in each of next 19 ch, 2 sc in last ch, ch 2, turn.
___Row 2: 2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in each of next 20 sc, ch 1, turn.
___Row 3: Skip first sc, 1 sc in each of next 20, 2 sc in last sc, ch 2, turn. Repeat Rows 2 & 3 for pat, working until 8 rows of Light have been completed, drawing Dark through last 2 loops of last sc on 8th row, ch 2, turn.
Alternating 8 rows of Dark and Light work until 8th Light stripe has been completed. Fasten off. Make 3 more strips.
With a "first" strip at each side, sew strips tog, alternating as shown. With Dark, on right side, crochet 1 row of sc on each side edge.
___Fringe: Cut 80 strands of Dark and 40 Light each 13 inches long. Fold 5 Light in half and draw through each joining between points then knot 1 Dark fringe at each side of Light fringe as shown. Fringe other side the same.

Galaxy Afghan

Here's an afghan that I really really want to make:

The Galaxy Afghan














Materials:

4-ply worsted weight yarn--

Color

A Light Yellow, 3.5 ozs.
B Medium Yellow, 3.5 ozs.
C Peach, 3.5 ozs.
D Salmon, 3.5 ozs.
E Mauve, 7 ozs.
F Violet, 7 ozs.
G Light Pink, 7 ozs.
H Dark Pink, 7 ozs.
I Light Turquoise, 10.5 ozs.
J Dark Turquoise, 17.5 ozs.
K Royal Blue, 17.5 ozs.
L Purple, 17.5 ozs.

Crochet hook
Size J-10 (6 mm) or size to obtain gauge
Size I-9 (5 1/2 mm) or size to obtain gauge

Yarn needle for finishing
Gauge: Motif = 6" from point to point

NOTE: The Galaxy Afghan is contructed of hexagon- and half hexagon-shaped motifs. The sides have zig-zag edges and the end edges are straight. Following is a breakdown of the number of motifs that you will crochet in the yarn colors shown in the project photo, beginning with the center motif and continuing out to the edges:

1 Light Yellow center motif
6 Medium Yellow motifswith Light Yellow edges
12 Salmon motifs with Peach edges
18 Violet motifs with Mauve edges
24 Dark Pink motifs with Light Pink edges
30 Dark Turquoise motifs with Light Turquoise Edges
22 Dark Turquoise motifs
20 Royal Blue motifs
12 Purple motifs
2 Royal Blue half-motifs
8 Purple half-motifs

Instructions:

With smaller hook and darker color, chain (ch) 6, join with slip stitch (sl st) to make a ring.
Round (Rnd) 1: 12 single crochet (sc) in ring, join to first sc with a sl st.
Rnd 2: Ch 5, * double crochet (dc) in next sc, ch 2; repeat 10 more times, join in 3rd ch of ch 5, sl st in first ch 2 spaces.
Rnd 3: Ch 2, {yarn over (yo), draw up a loop (lp), yo and draw through 2 lps on hook} 3 times, yo and draw through 4 lps on hook, ch 1 to close cluster, ch 2; * rep between {}'s 4 times in next ch-2 space, yo and draw through 5 lps on hook, ch 1 to close cluster, ch 2; rep from * 10 more times, join in top of first cluster. Fasten off dark color, join light color in any ch-2 space. If not changing color, sl st in next ch-2 space.
Rnd 4: Ch 3, work (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same sp, 3 dc in next ch-2 sp, * work (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-2 space, 3 dc in next ch-2 space; repeat from * 4 more times, join in 3rd ch of ch-3.
Rnd 5: Ch 1, sc in same st, sc in next 2 dc, work (sc, ch 1, sc) in next ch-2 space, * sc in next 9 sc, work (sc, ch 1, sc) in next ch-2 space; repeat from * 4 more times, sc in next 6 sc, join to first sc. Fasten off.

Half Motifs for top and bottom edges
(8 in Purple, 2 in Royal Blue).
Ch 6, join with sl st to make a ring.
Row 1: (Right Side): 7 sc in ring, ch 5, turn.
Row 2: Dc in 2nd sc, * ch 2, dc in next sc; repeat from * 4 times, ch 2, turn.
Row 3: Work clusters as for Rnd 3 of motif in 6 ch-2 spaces, ch 3, turn.
Row 4: 2 dc in base of turning ch, * 3 dc in next ch-2 space, work (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next space; repeat from * once more, 3 dc in next space, 3 dc in top of turning ch of last row, ch 1, turn.
Row 5: Sc in first 9 sc, * work (sc, ch 1, sc) in next ch-2 space, sc in next 9 sc; repeat from * once more, continue sc across lower edge, working 2 sc in corner sts at each end. Fasten off.

Finishing
Block motifs to measurements. Sew motifs together according to the photograph. Working from right side, whipstitch through top loop only and match sts.
Edging
From right side, with larger hook, and changing colors to match motifs, work one row sc in top lps only. Work 2 sc in peaks of motifs, skip 1 st between motifs.

oh my how time flies....

I tell myself over and over again that posting here will be a regular thing, but then I fall off the wagon as I get sidetracked by such fun and important things as school.  Alas, the school semester is over and I now have much needed time to relax and get caught up on things that I've been setting aside for months.  Christmas still isn't over, which means that there's lots of work to do, like wrapping, baking and making more gifts...  yes, i'm still making more gifts....  I don't know why, perhaps because I'm insane.

I really do think I'm insane, for many more reasons than one, and if you haven't realized this already, perhaps this and the following posts will help you realize that I am no normal person.  At least I don't claim to be one where I'm clearly not...  :)

So where to start?  How about my blog "to-do" list.  what do I mean by that?  I mean what do I need to do to spiff up my blog?  Here's the list of things that I'm planning on doing over break and some that I will continue past the clean-up session.

Post crochet patterns:  I have a bunch of crochet patterns that I've been working on, either that I've found on the web or things that I have created myself and would like to share with all of you (if there really are people who read my random musings)

Post book reviews:  My goal for this break is to continue reading.  I've been averaging a book about every 2 days or so, and just so I don't forget what i've read and what i liked, I would like to write just a brief, 2-5 sentence statment on what I thought of the book.

More Frequent Postings:  Just for my own sake, to keep this blog what I hoped it would be....

More Art, all the time:  everything.  Absolutely everything that I do and create will be put on here at some time with an explanation and other fun tidbits.

so there.  there's the goals for this blog going into 2010.  I'm starting today and I'm going to try and continue for many many days to come!