Make do and mend

Just a little Sunday mending. I admit to the bad habit of buying 'super cheap clothes' but I just love the target clearance rack! To make up for this I try to make them last as long as possible. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the mending pile so today I grabbed 3 quick fixes, two broken straps and a popped seam. A little hand sewing later and I'm done! 

I hope everyone else is having a lovely Sunday. I don't often get a weekend day off of work so I savor them all the more. 

Bit of mending, laundry and letter writing so far. Now to scrounge up some lunch and get outside! 

Mermaid Blanket: Skein 1

Well after a hard couple of days at work I have a day off. Pancakes in the morning, Lots of internet reading, crocheting, and going to see Magic Mike XXL with some gal pals. Perfect day really. Now I am doing a last minute load of laundry so I can return to work and the real world tomorrow.

I have the crafting bug HARD and am still riding high after finishing the granny square blanket. I am doing a project for myself this time so I can share more 'in progress' posts without fear of ruining any sort of surprise. Have you seen the super cool mermaid blankets online? There are a few different patterns out there as well. From what I can tell though most of the blankets are 'lapghans' so they just sit on top of you like a blanket. I'm interested in something a little more lifelike. More cocoon. Actual feeling of being a mermaid. Sure I might have to struggle in and out of it or hop around like I'm in a potato sack race but I still think its the way to go. Despite the patterns available I am making this up as I go along. I am trying out different stitches along the way and sort of making this a sampler project. I found the loveliest Red Heart Soft yarn in 'Deep Sea' (perfect, I know) and am not changing colors so I am trying to add some interest and texture with different stitches. It would be a quicker project if I just went with one stitch I'm sure but it feels good to try new stuff on a project that does not have the pressure of being a gift or on a time crunch.

When I found the yarn I bought several skeins and I thought I would share what it looks like after skein 1;

My game plan is to start at the bottom and work up and then return to the bottom to add the fin. Progress is progress. I plan to continue sharing as I go along. Has anyone else made a mermaid blanket of any sort?

Happy Crafting!

Stormtrooper Granny Square Blanket

July already? My word this year is slipping by fast! Today I am happy to share my latest completed crochet project. It is my largest crochet project so far and I am so happy with the way it turned out.

I present to you my Stormtrooper Granny Square Blanket!

I am so excited that it actually turned out! And that I finished it in time for my sister's birthday. That was the goal. I first started this project over a year ago and was hoping to give it to my sister for Christmas. I was making massive granny squares and it was taking forever and I got discouraged and gave up. Like many another project it sat in the corner, a few stacks of black and white squares and no real intention of picking it back up.

But this early spring I had caught the crafting bug again and was determined to pick a large scale project that I would finish. I came back to this idea and had a light bulb moment. Little squares. I know it sounds dumb but by making my squares less than half the size I was going to (I dont know why I started so large!) I convinced myself that the project was do-able and made the goal to be finished by June 30th so I could give it to my sister. My sister is a lover of all things geeky and nerdy but Star Wars is a big one and one that we bond over.

I did seriously consider more 'in progress' posts, but on the off chance she might see this and find out I thought it better to just share it all at once.

Here is a picture of all my finished white and black squares. I timed it out and I could make a square under 4 minutes if that was all I was doing. If I was talking or watching something it was a bit longer. Many a car ride was spent making squares, and many a movie. They are so easy to make I could see this being a great 'filler' project too, between bigger projects and such. Make a  few squares here and there.

Once I had 10 squares of the same color done I would tie them together in little bundles. I have never made a granny square blanket before so I was somewhere between making it up as I went along and looking to the internet for tips.

The idea for the entire project came from a pinterest pin that led me to this great image from Crafster.

Super happy with the way it turned out. I eliminated the white squares around the boarder and after assembling the blanket I did a simple border out of gray. Even with all my planning and working on it I was still finishing the border the day of! I have since pinned several of these grid type patterns. You can also look up 'perler bead patterns' and 'cross stitch patterns' for more options. As long as you have a pixelated grid image you can make any granny square project your heart desires! 

I'm still loving hard on crochet. My next big project is going to be a mermaid tail blanket. There are quite a few patterns and ideas out there. I'll for sure share once I get it started. This one will be all for me so no need to surprise anyone!  

I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe 4th of July weekend! 

Happy Crafting!