Sampler Stripes Crochetalong

[JulieKay]

Hello Ladies –

Your leader for this group is DonnaLynn . She is a super nice person and dedicated to her groups. She will be here to answer your questions ,so if you have anything you need help with , just drop a note on the boards and she will respond to you . I will also be here as a member and to lend her a hand if she needs it .

If anyone is having trouble locating the pattern, drop a note in here and let her know .

(Leisure Arts Leaflet 2159 Scrap Yarn Afghans 2 )

Drop in and tell us about yourself and what colors you are choosing , and welcome to the group!

:manyheart

[donnalynn2]

Thanks to JulieKay for handing the reigns over to me on this one! I have been a part of several CAL's and am anxious to be a part of this one.

I am usually on or lurking around the boards almost every day all day and am only a PM or e-mail away... If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to point you in the right direction!

I have got several skeins of Boucle yarn (mostly Bernat but some other brands) all in different colors so this will be perfect to use on this afghan! I may even make 2 of these (we'll see how quickly this thing works up first!)

I would love to hear what kinds of yarns and colors you plan to use and please be sure to post pictures of your work! I am going to work on getting a gallery set up for this CAL so that all the pics will be in one place...

If anyone out there is Button enabled and would like to do so, I would love for you to make a button for this CAL. I have yet to figure out how to make one myself.

Thanks again and I hope you all have fun being a part of this CAL!!!!

[pb&j]

Hi Donna! Thanks for taking over this CAL, I'm sure it will be fun! I plan on joining this one soon but have just started the granny's flower garden and want to ge some progress done on that one first. I look forward to making this 'ghan and will be checking in now and then to see what colors everyone is using. :)

[donnalynn2]

Welcome PB&J! Can't wait to get started! Let us know when you're ready to begin!

[JulieKay]

Hi Donna -
Well, I picked my colors . They will be Coffee, Cornmeal and Dusty Teal . Sounds almost like a Happy Meal, doesn't it ?
They sound kind of pukey, but actually look pretty together .
I will try hard to keep up in here the best I can. I am going to try to devote a little time to each one every day !

[donnalynn2]

Hi Donna -
Well, I picked my colors . They will be Coffee, Cornmeal and Dusty Teal . Sounds almost like a Happy Meal, doesn't it ?
They sound kind of pukey, but actually look pretty together .
I will try hard to keep up in here the best I can. I am going to try to devote a little time to each one every day !

Actually, it sounds great! I was thinking it sounds like a big chocolate bar! Girl, you're about as bad as me with CAL's. Just can't say no! LOL I just love them all and want to do all of them... I sooooo want to start this one tonite but I have a few last min things to finish up for In-Laws Christmas tomorrow... Can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with!

[JulieKay]

Hi Donna -
Yep, these crochetalongs are like an addiction - you can't stop yourself from joining them can you ?
Hope you have a nice time with your family tomorrow -

[pb&j]

Those colors sound pretty, Julie! I haven't thought about what colors I want to use yet. I think I'd like to make this 'ghan for my brother so I probably should ask him what he would prefer. I have a few ideas though. :D

[JulieKay]

Sue -

This will be a great one for your brother- it turns out pretty big and nice and thick . You always do a good job picking colors, so I'm sure you'll know what to pick this time too !

[pb&j]

Thanks, Julie, for the vote of confidence! Picking colors is always the hard part for me! Now if I can just get my brother on the phone!! He's busy dating a new girlfriend! :lol The power may go out over here before I get the chance anyway. It's windy and stormy and raining! The lights keep flickering and the wind blows through the attic and causes the attic door to bang which makes the dog growl. It's all VERY creepy!! :eek


One inspiration on color is chocolate brown, khaki and burgundy. Not an original color combination but one of my favorites that a guy would enjoy!

Hope everyone is having a drier, dryer?, day! Don't know what will happen with the Rose Parade!

[JulieKay]

Sue -
Those colors sound nice for your brother. What is his favorite color, do you know ? A lot of men never talk about things like that .
When I ask my husband, he always says .... CLEAR .....
Needless to say, he's a little bit of a smart mouth, but little does HE know, I'm a lot BIGGER smart mouth ! :D

[pb&j]

LOL! :lol What a wiseguy! Gee, I don't know what my brother's favorite color is. :think I do know that he's super creative, a semi-retired hippy and giant model rocket freak. I don't think I'd be way off the mark if I went with black, orange and red! However, that would be a little too out there for me! I'll probably stick with the brown, khaki and burgundy depending on the number of colors suggested for this 'ghan. :)

[JulieKay]

Well your brother certainly sounds like an interesting person . I like people like that who are CHARACTERS and stand out in a crowd !

[pb&j]

Oh he's a character all right! But a real sweetie, he's deserves a nice blanket. :)

[donnalynn2]

Hello all... I am so happy the holidays are officially over!!! UGH!

I started on this project today (while everyone was watching football) and (was it just me?) I was shocked at the starting number of chains! GULP! 266 is a lot! I did, however, go with a K hook instead of I because I'm doing all this in boucle and it's hard to see the stitches with a smaller hook. I did get the starting Chain and the first row finished. Because of the larger hook, mine will probably be about 6 1/2- 7 feet long! WOWOWOWOW!!!

Sue, the burgundy sounds great! What kind of yarn are you using? I think I missed that...

Has anyone started yet or am I the first???

[irikel]

Thats nice for you to say....lol...Our holiday season is not over yet,Here in Puerto Rico we celebrate 3 kings day which is January 6th..so...as you can see we crazy party happy puertoricans go out with a bang and start the year with some more...and ...then they have 8 more days after that(silly) which they call "octavitas" which then FINALLY FINALIZES the holidays....:hook

Hello all... I am so happy the holidays are officially over!!! UGH!

[pb&j]

Wow, Olga! I need to be in Puerto Rico!! :yay

Donna - I guess this is one of those 'long-ways' blankets where you go up and down and not across. I'll need absolute silence and a paper and pencil when I start. There's nothing more annoying than losing count around 184! :(

I just got my pattern today and see that it calls for 5 colors which is fantastic because I've had in mind to use the Crochet Dudes 5 colors from his flying afghan. I plan on making that one day but for now the color choices are beautiful and masculine at the same time. His 'ghan is made in LB Wool Ease Chunky so if I want those exact colors, I'll need to use that yarn. I think I'll make a terrific blanket.:) The colors are listed in the sidebar of his blog (http://thecrochetdude.blogspot.com/).

I did get my brother on the phone today but didn't get a chance to ask him about colors. All we talked about was his new girlfriend!! Oh well, I'm glad he's happy...he'll just have to be surprised about the blanket!

I'm going to check out Michael's tomorrow and see what they have and then order from LB whatever I can't get. Maybe I'll even try and be frugal and buy a skein a week using a coupon!;)

[irikel]

Hey girl.....As they say on the price is right..."COME ON DOWN"!!:hook

[QUOTE=pb&j]Wow, Olga! I need to be in Puerto Rico!! :yay

[pb&j]

Puerto Rico is beautiful! Everyone should go! I have only spent some time at the airport between flights but remember thinking how tropical and lovely everything was!

Have a wonderful time at all your many parties! :party Just don't end up like this! :morcoffee

[JulieKay]

Doggone, you guys -
I swear I posted in here already this morning, so if this shows up twice, i'll come in and delete one .
Donna- I for one am also GLAD the holidays are over !!! I LIKE BORING DAYS .

Sue- those colors sound very pretty. I have confidence in you that you'll pick some great ones- you always do !

and yes, the afghan does turn out BIG and thick and warm . I think you'll all like it . I have one row done so far. I'll be at the back of the class on this one for awhile !

and Olga- something tells me if YOU'RE in the room ,there's always a party going on !
:lol

[donnalynn2]

Sue: Yes, you'll really need to count on the CH and foundation row but after that it doesn't appear to be important.

Julie: I think I'm on row #4 right now. I have a feeling this is going to take more yarn than I have in my stash (since I'm doing it all in boucle) but that's ok. I'll just have to buy more! :devil

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

[JulieKay]

Yea, Donna- it takes quite a bit of yarn but will be so worth it when it's done. It makes a beautiful blanket. You won't mind running to the yarn store again ,anyhow, will you ? :hook

[pb&j]

Julie, does it seem like a few posts are missing? I coulda sworn I had another post in here! :think I wonder wha' happen??

Anyway, I may change my mind on color, the Crochet Dude has a beautiful but masculine 5 color combination that I've been eyeing for awhile. It's for his flying afghan which I do want to make someday but I also think the colors will work nicely with this 'ghan too. The yarn I will probably use is LB wool ease chunky.

Donna, this 'ghan does seem to take quite a bit of yarn. I was figuring out how much to order with another color combination and it looks like it comes out to about 15 5oz skeins. I may have to wait a bit before ordering this yarn! I'll have to be diligent with the Michael's coupons. :)

[JulieKay]

Sue-
I don't know, I coulda sworn I posted earlier today but it never showed up .. who knows ?
Yep, that could be one BIG yarn purchase if you had to get it all at once !

[pb&j]

I do look forward to starting this 'ghan; I've never made a striped one like this that goes up and down and not side to side. :)

[donnalynn2]

You guys are not seeing things. I posted earlier today and it's not here now... Weird!

I just went to Jo-Anns and got 2 more skeins of my Bernat Boucle... I'm wondering if I could mix this with the Jo-Anns Rainbow boucle. I think the Bernat and Jo-Anns aren't the same thickness, plus the Jo-Anns obviously stripes by itself. Hmmmm...

I am going to love this though. I've been needing to make an afghan to use on the guest bed which is queen size. I'm certain this will be large enough...

[pb&j]

I don't know whats going on with the posts...no one's heard from an administrator, have they? However, I seriously doubt we'd have anything to say that would need deleting. :think Perhaps it's a system thing.

I don't know my boucle's well enough to know about the weights. I've only worked with boucle once for a shawl and found it to be quite cozy. I'm sure you're blanket will look nice. :)

I may want to downsize this blanket a bit but I'm not sure I'd be able to figure out all the pattern repeats to make it come out right. I really prefer to make it couch blanket size. Hmmm...I'll have to warm up my math brain. ;)

[donnalynn2]

Sue, yes this is definately a larger Ghan... Maybe cutting it in half would be a good size???

I am up to row #9 and things are going along. I'm not following the color change in the pattern though. I'm changing when I want to and will probably use more colors than is required. The thing that has me is that looking ahead in the pattern it calls for beads! Did I miss something? I don't remember seeing beads in the picture! Heck, even in the materials list I didn't see beads. Lord knows I wouldn't be able to string beads on boucle, it's way too thick. I guess we'll have to see when we get there. Since we are all heading into unchartered territory I guess we'll figure it out together!

[topperarnold]

I would really like to join in the fun, but I don't have the pattern and I haven't been very successful in my internet searching. Any tips for the internet disabled? I've even tried searching the Leisre Arts site and can't seem to find it. :(

Sara

[JulieKay]

Hi Donna
As I recall, you don't need beads for the pattern. I think one of the stitches you do are called beads because they turn out to be little knobby things . I made this about 3 years ago, so my memory isnt real good on it, but I know there were no beads required for the pattern !
If you all want to make it smaller, you can try, but it'd be hard to get the right number of stitches to come out evenly on each row, since you change patterns so often . You may have trouble down the road, ending up with too many or not enough stitches for that pattern row .
But, if you're good at designing patterns and figuring them out , good luck ! I know I couldnt do it ! :lol

[donnalynn2]

Hi Donna
As I recall, you don't need beads for the pattern. I think one of the stitches you do are called beads because they turn out to be little knobby things . I made this about 3 years ago, so my memory isnt real good on it, but I know there were no beads required for the pattern !
If you all want to make it smaller, you can try, but it'd be hard to get the right number of stitches to come out evenly on each row, since you change patterns so often . You may have trouble down the road, ending up with too many or not enough stitches for that pattern row .
But, if you're good at designing patterns and figuring them out , good luck ! I know I couldnt do it ! :lol

That is true, I hadn't thought about how much this pattern changes from row to row... Hmmm, maybe use a really small hook? LOL

Again, I'm using a J (not K as I previously thought) hook and all Boucle yarn so mine is well over 6 feet long... Now, according to the instructions, this is worked from side to side... That's weird because in the picture it's worked from top to bottom... Anyone else catch that?

[JulieKay]

Well, Donna
I'm not sure what direction you'd call it. If you've ever done a navajo afghan, it's done kinda like that , so I guess you could call it the width across, is what you're working on, but they have it in the photo so that the stripes go lengthwise .
It turns out wider lengthwise than side -ways, if that makes any sense !

[donnalynn2]

Well, Donna
I'm not sure what direction you'd call it. If you've ever done a navajo afghan, it's done kinda like that , so I guess you could call it the width across, is what you're working on, but they have it in the photo so that the stripes go lengthwise .
It turns out wider lengthwise than side -ways, if that makes any sense !

Ahhh... I actually like this one up and down so I may have to keep going so that it's big enough... I definately want it to lay up and down and not sideways on my bed... I guess we'll see when I get near the end (which won't be for awhile! LOL)

I really do like the way the pattern changes so frequently! You don't get bored with this as you might other patterns!

[donnalynn2]

How's everyone coming with this one???

I double checked and nope, you don't need beads for this, one of the stitches is called a "Bead" stitch but you don't need beads to do it.

I'm enjoying this pattern very much! It's a great one to do while watching TV at night! It pretty much changes every row, but each row has 264 stitches on it so you get to change but you do the stitches long enough to not have to check the pattern as often as other patterns.

This is working up great with the Bernat Boucle yarn. It's going to be very warm and cuddly!

[pb&j]

That's good! I hate having to keep my nose in a pattern constantly. I find I make MORE mistakes that way!! Easy is good! :)

[topperarnold]

The more I hear about this, the more I want in. I cannot find the pattern locally. Where can I order it? :(

Sara

[sissie44]

The more I hear about this, the more I want in. I cannot find the pattern locally. Where can I order it? :(

Sara
Hi sara and everyone else, I to would love to join in on this one! It really does sound like the type of pattern that I would love to make for my DH!

Is there anyway I can see a pic of this pattern?

Thanks,
sissie

[donnalynn2]

Hi Sara and Sissie! Welcome! If you can't find the pattern or would like to see a pic of this, please PM me with your e-mail addy! This one is a lot of fun and is working up quite nicely!!!

[tekopp]

I'm joining this, ok? :D
Sent PM and everything...

[donnalynn2]

Welcome tekopp! Glad to have you with us! This one is a lot of fun!!!

[fireandice]

hi all...
i just joined
ty for having me
can't wait to get started

hugs
Tina

[shelain22]

I got some more yarn today to go with my stash I have set aside for this.... I am doing it all in lion suade.I got a really big gift certificate to walmart so I got 20 skiens of the suade, about 4 or so of each color. From reading an earlier post though it may not be enugh....I was going to do the lace and bobbles one but it looks harder than this one, and I have alot on my mind right now so I think I will start this one first, its going to go on the kids bed.... I have these colors,

garnet, taupe, teal, sage, andcoffee. I really want the spice to but my walmart is out of it, I may have to post for a trade or something...

Donna_ I bet yours is going to look so nice in the bouncle, are youuseing the yarn I sent you in it?

[donnalynn2]

Welcome Fire and Ice and shellain!!!

Yes, I'm going to use that boucle! That's why I was trying to get a few more skeins as I didn't have quite enough in my stash!

Beware that mine is very long! It's well over 6 feet long! I am using a J hook and the boucle which is thicker than regular WW but I don't mind it being too long. If you're making for the kids room, maybe use a smaller hook?

Can't wait to see how it looks in suede!

[galalto]

I am excited to start this. I haven't picked particular colors yet, but I am going to do chocolate browns and nuetrals (sp?) in caron so soft. I love that stuff!

[fireandice]

hi again
I would like 2 do mine in RAINBOW colors...
what you think gal's >>>????
hugs
Tina

[donnalynn2]

Tina, those colors sound great! I can envision it in a littl girls room maybe! Can't wait to see how it looks! What type yarn are you planning to use?

[fireandice]

donnalynn...
i will use caron Yarns.....so soft
no,not for a lil girls room...for me
I love bright colors...lol
hugs
Tina

[fireandice]

at best:
for my mama's LIL GIRL " LOL

[TrailRiderTheresa]

Hello everyone,

I was going to crochet this afghan along with you all but now I have to wait. My sister seen the ripple that I was working on and now she wants me to do 2 more for her. So maybe after I get these others done I will beable to join in. I sure will be checking this thread alot though to see all the progress that you ladies are making on it.

Theresa

[donnalynn2]

Tina, well that's ok! You're a little girl at heart right? :)

Theresa, join us whenever you can. I'm sure we'll be working on this for awhile. I am seriously considering doing 2 of these...

[sissie44]

Donna How do I PM you so I can see the pic and where might I be able to get the pattern from?

sissie

[JulieKay]

Hi Sissie
To PM someone, just click on their name , and there will be a list of things under their name come up. Clcik on Send Private Message, then you can send ( it's just like an email ) ,fill in the blanks, press Send -- and Wa-La !
all done !

[donnalynn2]

I hope everyone is doing well today! I am loving this pattern and it's working up so nicely. It's a great project for in front of the T.V..... I have attached a pic of my progress so far.

http://www.geocities.com/craftscrochetnmore/sstripes.jpg

[fireandice]

Donna...great work ....love it.....
now how do i post a pic...( when i get some progress 2 show you all ) ??
hugs
Tina

[sissie44]

WOW Donna that is looking great!

I found the pic and I really do like this one!! still have not found the pattern yet:(, Shaylen (my sis) is looking though her books for me to see if maybe she has it for me to use. she has tons!! of crochet books!!

How is everyone else doing on yours?

hugs,
sissie

[shelain22]

Wow donna, that is georgeous in bouncle, I bet that is sooo soft!

[donnalynn2]

Sissie, I PMed you on where to find the pattern...

Shelain - Thanks so much! It is so soft! I really can't wait to finish this one and snuggle up with it!

The only problem with using Boucle is that sometimes it's hard to see the stitches clearly. The row I'm on now I'm really having to count as the stitches are darn near impossible to see on this row...

If you want to post a pic and don't have anywhere to do it, please e-mail me your pics with your C'Ville user name and I'll post it for you!

My e-mail is: donnalynn237 @ aol.com

(Just take out the spaces)

[fireandice]

cool on the e mailing the pic....ty Donna

hugs
Tina

[donnalynn2]

Tina - No problem... That's why I am here!

Have you started yet? I'm anxious to see how big everyone else's ends up being. Mine is sooooo big!

[donnalynn2]

Donna, this 'ghan does seem to take quite a bit of yarn. I was figuring out how much to order with another color combination and it looks like it comes out to about 15 5oz skeins. I may have to wait a bit before ordering this yarn! I'll have to be diligent with the Michael's coupons. :)

I was thinking (scary, huh?) that since this is all stripes I don't think color lot is too important as the same colored stripes don't end up right next to each other. You may be able to get away with buying one skein a week with the Michaels coupons and it not being a big deal!

[fireandice]

Tina - No problem... That's why I am here!

Have you started yet? I'm anxious to see how big everyone else's ends up being. Mine is sooooo big!


not yet.. :eek will start this afternoon :blush :cheer :hook

hugs :manyheart
Tina

[tekopp]

I will start mine tomorrow.
As I'm in the prosess of moving, and hooks and stuff have been packed away in a different part of the country so far..

[sissie44]

I have My pattern now!! Now I am off to the store in the morning to get my yarn!!

Do you think this would look good in a varagated yarn? I am wanting this for my HD and saw this rustic looking (red, greens, and brown) yarn. But not sure if it will be ok or if I should go with the single colors! I have never been able to make up my mind on anything!! LOL

[donnalynn2]

Sissie-Varigated would be neat! When you go yarn shopping, put all the colors next to each other and that should help you determine which ones to pick! What a neat idea!

Tekopp-I hate moving... I hope you didn't pack your crochet essentials in a place where you can't find them!

Fireandice-What colors did you pick? I can't wait to see how everyone does this differently...

Unless you want a hassle, can I recommend you NOT do this in boucle like me? It'll be so nice when finished but it's so hard getting the right stitches every row when you can't see the stitches very well at all. I think if I do another one of these I'll use Simply Soft! :)

[fireandice]

Sissie-Varigated would be neat! When you go yarn shopping, put all the colors next to each other and that should help you determine which ones to pick! What a neat idea!

Tekopp-I hate moving... I hope you didn't pack your crochet essentials in a place where you can't find them!

Fireandice-What colors did you pick? I can't wait to see how everyone does this differently...

Unless you want a hassle, can I recommend you NOT do this in boucle like me? It'll be so nice when finished but it's so hard getting the right stitches every row when you can't see the stitches very well at all. I think if I do another one of these I'll use Simply Soft! :)



Donna...
I think I already said I was gonna use RAINBOW colors....but if not, here is what I will be using....
ps: we will be moving sometime between FEB. and MARCH.....
( buying our own house ) finally....YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAYYYYY :cheer


hugs
Tina

[donnalynn2]

Tina-Sorry, I'm a little scatterbrained lately! I remember now!!!

Congrats on getting a new home! How exciting!!! We are hoping to buy our first home later this year after my DH graduates from college. What a cool thing! I'll bet it's going to feel so good to be in a home that's all yours!!!

[tekopp]

as an experienced mover, I put all the yarn and needles and sewing stuff in two bright blue plastic chests, while everything else went into the brown boxes ;)

[donnalynn2]

as an experienced mover, I put all the yarn and needles and sewing stuff in two bright blue plastic chests, while everything else went into the brown boxes ;)

That's a great idea! I'll have to remember that! We are hoping to move probably late this year and I think I would go crazy if I couldn't crochet for a few days!

[donnalynn2]

Good Monday morning everyone! Have we all rested over the weekend and ready to tackle more of the Sampler Stripes? I'm loving mine so far! I think I've got like 30 rows done so far. I work on mine while watching TV at night and then fold it up and set it on top of my WIP bag during the day. Well I've noticed when I come home, my hubby has been wrapping it around his legs and feet! I told him no touching til it's finished! He said "But I was cold and it's so soft and warm!" I told him I didn't want smelly feet smell while working on it!

Can't wait to see the progress everyone is making! I am going to go to Wal-Mart tonite and see what kinds of boucle they have. The last time I checked I didn't see any, but we'll keep our fingers crossed!

[sissie44]

Good afternoon everyone,

Ok I have my yarn RH camouflage & RH Aran Fleck. These are the two colors I will be using! i will only be able to work on this when Hubby is not home :) this is for him and i do not want him to see it till it is done! Hopefully by his birthday:)

as soon as I get a few rows on it I will show you what it is looking like.

[donnalynn2]

Sissie - Those colors sound great! Can't wait to see a pic of them together!

Whenever I want to make something for my DH, I just tell him it's for a friend (of course I had to do his Dolphins pillow in private or else he'd know for sure I was kidding!)

Once you get going on this it's really hard to stop, so you shouldn't have any problems getting it done for his birthday!

[snbarclay]

well I am going to try I have been reading the directions of the pattern and I am not completely sure. but I am going go do it up in greens I have several skeins in my stash of greens . I have a big 1 lb of a dark green and some regular size skeins also . wish me luck . I am going to give it a stab. I have been doing my Granny flower garden and I am finishing up on it.

[fireandice]

well I am going to try I have been reading the directions of the pattern and I am not completely sure. but I am going go do it up in greens I have several skeins in my stash of greens . I have a big 1 lb of a dark green and some regular size skeins also . wish me luck . I am going to give it a stab. I have been doing my Granny flower garden and I am finishing up on it.


sounds good....good luck :cheer :cheer :cheer :cheer :cheer :cheer :cheer

hugs
Tina

[donnalynn2]

well I am going to try I have been reading the directions of the pattern and I am not completely sure. but I am going go do it up in greens I have several skeins in my stash of greens . I have a big 1 lb of a dark green and some regular size skeins also . wish me luck . I am going to give it a stab. I have been doing my Granny flower garden and I am finishing up on it.

The colors sound great! I haven't been changing colors when it tells me to all the time. Since I'm using more colors than is listed I'm following the pattern pretty much but I change colors when I want to... I think doing one in shades of one color would be neat!

[sissie44]

morning everyone,
Got my Hubby out the door this morning and am now ready to start counting the chains LOL!! wonder if I should maybe clean this dirty house first before I sit down?!! NAN It is raining somewhere and everyone knows you can't clean house when it is raining!! LOL once I get a couple of row on I will do a pic for you. has anyone else taken any pic's yet?

have a great crocheting day!!

[donnalynn2]

Sissie - Can't wait to hear how yours turns out! It's kinda fun to work in secret! Today sounds like a perfect day to have a nice cup of tea and crochet your cares away! :hook

I posted the progress on mine a few days ago. Haven't seen any pics from anyone else yet, but I'm sure they'll be coming soon...

[tekopp]

Finally I got started, now I have yarn (it was sale in a nearby store, got it a bit off even)

The colors are bright pink, offwhite, light brown and black :)
And just in time for a 2 hour long traintravel :P

[donnalynn2]

Finally I got started, now I have yarn (it was sale in a nearby store, got it a bit off even)

The colors are bright pink, offwhite, light brown and black :)
And just in time for a 2 hour long traintravel :P

Oooh, I can't wait to see how those colors will look together!
Sounds like a 2 hour long train ride should give you a good start!

Has anyone else looked ahead in the pattern? It shows 2 panels. I don't quite understand why you'd want to make 2 panels and sew them together. Anyone have any ideas on this one? I've never seen an afghan pattern written like this before...

[JulieKay]

Hi Donna
You make 2 panels, both with the exact same pattern, then sew them together to make the complete afghan. I don't know why they made it like that !

[snbarclay]

okay I am embarrased but I can not get past row two. I do not understand . I know yo means yarn over . I did that and insert through next dc that I have no problem with . Okay now yo and pull up a loop got that . yo and draw through 2 loops on hook twice? thats where I am stuck. then YO and draw throughall 3 loops on hook. I am stuck . can someone help me ?

[donnalynn2]

Ok, without having the pattern in front of me, I believe this is what you need to do:

You do YO then insert in next stitch, pull up a loop, YO and pull through 2 loops. Then YO and insert in the SAME stitch, pull up a loop, YO and pull through next 2 loops on hook. Do this one more time, then YO and pull through ALL loops on hook.

It's basically a 3 DC cluster stitch. Again, I don't have the pattern in front of me here at work but if it says to do the entire cluster in the next stitch, you would do as stated, if not, then you would do the same as above except you would work in each of the next 3 stitches like a DC, holding the last loop of each DC on the hook til the 3rd stitch where you'd pull through all loops on hook.

Did that make sense or did I confuse you further??? If I confused you further, I will be able to help more when I get home and look at the pattern. Note to self: Bring pattern to work! :)

[JulieKay]

Hi Norma

"I know yo means yarn over . I did that and insert through next dc that I have no problem with . Okay now yo and pull up a loop got that . yo and draw through 2 loops on hook twice? thats where I am stuck. then YO and draw throughall 3 loops on hook."

What they are telling you to do is to start out like you're making a dc -- YO, then insert hook into the next dc stitch .Now, YO again and pull up a loop . You'll have 3 loops on your hook .Now Yo and pull through ONLY 2 of the loops, leaving 2 loops on hook . If it's in parentheses, like this ( yo and draw through 2 loops on hook twice),then you'll YO and pull through the last 2 loops on your hook .
I don't have my pattern handy. If this doesn't sound right, please type it out just like the book says and I'll try to re-explain it, but that's what it sounds like to me .

[sissie44]

:jumpyayI finally got started!!! man that was something counting out 266!!!
I have three rows done and I believe i am going to like these colors! they really do match my DH:lol
I will try to post a pic later tonight

[donnalynn2]

:jumpyayI finally got started!!! man that was something counting out 266!!!
I have three rows done and I believe i am going to like these colors! they really do match my DH:lol
I will try to post a pic later tonight

WTG Sissie! Yeah, I had to do my starting CH 3 times because my DH kept interuppting me while I was counting! I really haven't counted anymore except when it goes from cluster stitches and stuff to straight DC's. Since that's the foundation row for the next rows, I try to make sure it's right. But you should be home free now! Can't wait to see your progress!!!

Julie, OK, I think it's downright stupid to make 2 "panels" and sew them together... I keep trying to figure out what the pattern maker was thinking! So I am NOT going to do that! It just creates more work! Why can't I simply just keep going instead of fastening off and starting again? I guess we'll see when I get there... Am I a rebel or what? :devil

[sissie44]

Julie, OK, I think it's downright stupid to make 2 "panels" and sew them together... I keep trying to figure out what the pattern maker was thinking! So I am NOT going to do that! It just creates more work! Why can't I simply just keep going instead of fastening off and starting again? I guess we'll see when I get there... Am I a rebel or what?


I was wondering the same thing!!! let me know if it works for you before i get there :flowerwe will see how it works for you!!

[tekopp]

Entry from my blog (http://www.tekopp.net/2006/01/sampler-stripes/)
some yarn pics and stuff like that :)

[donnalynn2]

I love the colors!!! Is it boucle yarn? Kinda looked like it from the pic, but I wasn't sure! Can't wait to see how those all come together!

[snbarclay]

Hi Norma

"I know yo means yarn over . I did that and insert through next dc that I have no problem with . Okay now yo and pull up a loop got that . yo and draw through 2 loops on hook twice? thats where I am stuck. then YO and draw throughall 3 loops on hook."

What they are telling you to do is to start out like you're making a dc -- YO, then insert hook into the next dc stitch .Now, YO again and pull up a loop . You'll have 3 loops on your hook .Now Yo and pull through ONLY 2 of the loops, leaving 2 loops on hook . If it's in parentheses, like this ( yo and draw through 2 loops on hook twice),then you'll YO and pull through the last 2 loops on your hook .
I don't have my pattern handy. If this doesn't sound right, please type it out just like the book says and I'll try to re-explain it, but that's what it sounds like to me .


yea thanks julie I figured it out . I feel so dum ...... but I got it .:manyheart :hug

[donnalynn2]

yea thanks julie I figured it out . I feel so dum ...... but I got it .:manyheart :hug

Don't feel bad. We all get stuck from time to time. Glad you are able to move on though!

How's yours coming? I managed to do another 2 whole rows last night. At this rate it'll be finished next year! :hook It's just that now that my DH is back in school again (taking college classes at night) we don't have much time in the evenings anymore and that's when I crochet at home. When he's at school, after I get home from work I clean the kitchen, make dinner and do general picking up around the house. I gotta keep reminding myself that after May I won't have to do this anymore. I'll be so happy to quit working in the world and stay at home... (Geez, here I go ranting again! :devil)

I must say though, that this ghan is wonderful. It is sooooo soft and fluffy. I really cannot wait til I finish it!

P.S. My fave hook which I have been using on this has gone missing! I always stick the hook into the project I'm working on so I won't forget which hook I was using. Well, my little Tweety loves to "root" in blankets and especially all my yarn projects. Well she had rooted in my afghan and the hook is now gone! I'm sure I'll find it after I'm finished! Oh well, just another reason to go shopping tonite!

Can't wait to see how everyone's stripes are coming together!

[tekopp]

I'm not a gauge person, thus meaning, I usually don't check it, I never make these swatches or anything (I blame it on culture, I've never been tougth the importanse of it before coming online)

well, So I was on row 4, when my bf said: "That is really long..."
he held it up to show me.
He's 1,9meters
when he doubled it, the thing was almost as long as him.
I measured it, and my 3m long tape was too short.
Oh my.
:think

It turns out that not only was/is my gauge completly wrong, But it's 70ish stiches too long.

After a little whining on my behalf, I measured it to 2.1m, sewed in on the one end, and cut (if that makes any sense)
I don't think it will show... but really, I'm in no mood to start a new one, and it is for me, not a gift, so it dosen't have to be perfect....

Suddenly, it goes a lot faster. A lot!
strange? I think not....
:hook

[donnalynn2]

I'm not a gauge person, thus meaning, I usually don't check it, I never make these swatches or anything (I blame it on culture, I've never been tougth the importanse of it before coming online)

well, So I was on row 4, when my bf said: "That is really long..."
he held it up to show me.
He's 1,9meters
when he doubled it, the thing was almost as long as him.
I measured it, and my 3m long tape was too short.
Oh my.
:think

It turns out that not only was/is my gauge completly wrong, But it's 70ish stiches too long.

After a little whining on my behalf, I measured it to 2.1m, sewed in on the one end, and cut (if that makes any sense)
I don't think it will show... but really, I'm in no mood to start a new one, and it is for me, not a gift, so it dosen't have to be perfect....

Suddenly, it goes a lot faster. A lot!
strange? I think not....
:hook

I don't check gauge either! I do try to count my stitches but that doesn't always work either... I believe mine is well over 6 feet long though. I agree with you, if I'm not giving it away, I'm less likely to be to picky about it. I actually skipped 2 whole rows (actually I skipped one whole repeat.) But since I'm keeping it I'm not too terribly upset bout it! I'm sure yours will turn out great!

[sissie44]

Evening everyone,
I have 4 rows done now and am going to see if I can do the pic thing in the morning so you can see what i have done and what the colors look like.
I like the way it is looking and thing hubby will be happy with it:)

Hope everyone has a great weekend

[mryam4]

I wanna do this one two.I don't have the pattern.
May I see a pic of what it look likes?
I already have 2 colors in mind.

I feel this urge for Red and Chocolate brown. Now do I need a third color?

Can't think what color that would be to go with the red and brown.

I have had this color scheme in mind for a while now.

Does any one think it would look good together.

Red is my favorite color.
Mary Ann:clap

[donnalynn2]

Sissie - So glad it's coming together for you! Keep with it! You'll love it when finished!

MaryAnn - Welcome to the CAL! I PMed you on where to find the pattern. Those colors sound great! I really think you could do this with as many or few colors as you wish. I'm using several colors (Tan, Yellow, Blue, Garnet, Grey, Light Purple) and I love the way mine looks so far! Also, you can really change colors when you wish to. I am using the pattern as a guide but am also letting my own creativity come through. That's what's great about crochet! Being able to make something from a pattern, but modify it so that it suits your own individual tastes! Can't wait to see how yours comes together!

[tekopp]

Can't think what color that would be to go with the red and brown.


For some reason I think Sandy and/orr offwhite, to get contrasts, but still kind of match...
I think you could use only two colors, but the pattern advices for 5.
(myself, I'm only using 4, considering leaving out one and going down to three...)

[tekopp]

This weekend, I've been visiting my father.
He has no tv, a radio that plays songs even he hate because they are too dorky and so on...

So mostly we've been talking, me crocheting.
On the stripes :manyheart

And it finally feels like I'm making progress, not messing things up to bad or anything (I hope).

And then I ran out of yarn.
I brougth 350g for two days :hook

[donnalynn2]

This weekend, I've been visiting my father.
He has no tv, a radio that plays songs even he hate because they are too dorky and so on...

So mostly we've been talking, me crocheting.
On the stripes :manyheart

And it finally feels like I'm making progress, not messing things up to bad or anything (I hope).

And then I ran out of yarn.
I brougth 350g for two days :hook

What a great reason to go shopping! :cheer:cheer:cheer

Glad you're making progress! Can't wait to see how it's turning out!

I have been working on my Sunburst Poncho from SCC all weekend. I so want to finish it before the cooler weather is done so I haven't picked up the stripes this weekend. I will probably start up on it again this week...

[sissie44]

Mary Ann I think those colors will be great together :cheer And welcome to our CAL!!

Ok here is my first pic. to ever try putting on here so I really hope this works!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/pnuts100/ba67f198.jpg

[tekopp]

sissie, it works :)
and the yarn you use is funky! :D

[donnalynn2]

Sissie - The colors are great! It's neat to see the "same" afghan made so many different ways!

How's everyone doing? I am still trying to finish my SCC Sunburst Poncho ( 4 more squares to go! WOO HOO!) So hopefully I'll be able to pick this up again by weeks end. I leave it in the living room and every morning I think "oooh, I can't wait til I finish this and can snuggle up with it!" Since I plan on using this primarily as a blanket on the guest bedroom bed, I need to get a hustle on before I actually have company stay over! :hook

[tekopp]

I did the line with popcorns this morning, and have done a few rows afterwards.

Only problem is that it isn't looking as nice as I want it to, but then, I would beat myself up about it if it was knitting, but I haven't done a 1/1000 much crochet as knitting.
(excuses all the way, ok ;) )

A question: Am I just blind, or is there no picture of this afghan in the booklet?

[donnalynn2]

I did the line with popcorns this morning, and have done a few rows afterwards.

Only problem is that it isn't looking as nice as I want it to, but then, I would beat myself up about it if it was knitting, but I haven't done a 1/1000 much crochet as knitting.
(excuses all the way, ok ;) )

A question: Am I just blind, or is there no picture of this afghan in the booklet?

It's #4 in the pics...

Hang in there! I'm sure yours looks great! (I wasn't too happy with the popcorns at first but now that I've done several rows past that it looks great!)

[iida]

Hello,
I'm planning on doing this afghan as well, now that I finished a birthday present for my father. :) I'm thinking of using calm colors, though I haven't found all the yarn I'm going to use but yeah. I'm gonna improvise :D And yeah, I'm going to be really slow at this, since I have literally no free time for next 6 months. (Have to keep crocheting tho, otherwise I'll go nuts ;) )

Here colors I'm bound to use, the left one is actually black:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c197/taikatee/lankoja002.jpg

[donnalynn2]

iida - those colors look great! i really think you can't go wrong with whatever you choose for this ghan.

i hope everyone is doing well. i finally finished my sunburst poncho last night! YEAH ME! I am wearing it right now! It's so cold today and this is perfect! So tonite I will get started again on the stripes. I actually snapped my plastic J hook (my fave) in half showing my DH just how sturdy it was! UGH! So I'm stopping by Jo-Ann's tonite and getting another one... My goal is to get this thing finished by the end of Spring.

Would love to hear how all the progress is coming! Keep them hooks hooking gals!!! :hook

[donnalynn2]

How's everyone doing? I managed to work up another 6 rows tonite and I am just loving the way this is turning out. I am getting much closer to the end of Panel #1 and I am really hoping it'll turn out to just keep going instead of fastening off, starting over and then attaching the 2 panels together.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Can't wait to see everyone's progress!

[mryam4]

After a vert trying day againtoday I started the strip a long sample Ghan.

I have 3 1/4 rows done.;)
I am off to bed for the night.:night

This project will go to the hospital Monday whily my husband is in surgery to work on. Easy to carry and easy to do.

Mary Ann

[iida]

I was just wondering. I'm now working on row 3 and it seems that the afghan is getting wider and wider. Am I doing something wrong? :|

mryam4: I hope your husband's surgery will go fine.

[donnalynn2]

I was just wondering. I'm now working on row 3 and it seems that the afghan is getting wider and wider. Am I doing something wrong? :|

mryam4: I hope your husband's surgery will go fine.

Hmmm, make sure you keep the same tension throughout. Are you using a yarn that's hard to see the stitches? I'm using boucle and it's very difficult to see the stitches so every few rows I have to stop and count. I do know that some rows "appear" wider than others because of the variety of stitches. I would say count and see if that's the problem...

[donnalynn2]

After a vert trying day againtoday I started the strip a long sample Ghan.

I have 3 1/4 rows done.;)
I am off to bed for the night.:night

This project will go to the hospital Monday whily my husband is in surgery to work on. Easy to carry and easy to do.

Mary Ann

Hope his surgery goes well. This should help keep you calm during it.

Let us know how he's doing!

[donnalynn2]

Hope everyone is doing well. I got about another 20 rows done on this yesterday. I just couldn't put it down! Let me warn you that rows 65-67 are extremely confusing! These rows had me in a tizzy! It was really tricky where I had to literally follow along with the pattern all the way across. It wasn't easily remembered. I actually had to frog row 67 several times before I got it right. Even though I love the way this looks made out of boucle, it's not very forgiving. It's so difficult to see the stitches that I'm having to stop and count more than if I would have used WW. I did stretch it out and it looks gorgeous on the bed so I am very happy about that! Hope to hear how your progress is going!

[tekopp]

I've done absolutly no progress over the weekend, as I started in a new job, and had four days of work-eat-sleep-work going on instead.

Today on the other hand I've done row 23-29 :)

[sissie44]

evening everyone I had a chance to work on this afghan over the weekend while hubby was at work:) here is an updated pic.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/pnuts100/6e35c1ba.jpg


Maryann I will keep you and your husband in my prayers

[donnalynn2]

tekopp - great progress! it's amazing how hard it is to put down once you start!

sissee - wow! yours is turning out nicely! your DH is going to love it!

[tekopp]

but donnalynn, could you post a pic of your work as well, I'm curious about others work.

well, actually, that's a callout for everybody to post pics :D

[donnalynn2]

but donnalynn, could you post a pic of your work as well, I'm curious about others work.

well, actually, that's a callout for everybody to post pics :D

I meant to take a pic last night but forgot. I'll try to remember tonite!

For everyones info: I finished the first "panel" last night and I think the reason that the pattern is written in 2 panels that are sewn together is that this is a very large afghan and the bigger it gets the more awkward it is working with it. After the last row of panel 1, I simply did 264 DC's evenly on the next row and started panel 2. I am NOT going to sew two panels together to make a blanket! I see NO reason this won't work as I did another 3 rows of panel 2 and it looks great! Again, it is rather bulky to turn at the end of each row but I'd much rather deal with that then sewing this together.

I spread this out on my bed last night (I'm going to have my finished afghan going top to bottom so I may add more rows) and it's longer than my queen sized bed! It's looking so nice! I really love this afghan!!!!

How's everyone else coming? If you have any problems, please let me know!

[iida]

I think I'm on row 7 now. I just had to show you guys what the colors reminded me of.. :)

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1482/1610/320/21106%20004.jpg

Yay, AllSorts :clap
I actually desided to continue with the idea and got some white yarn (in the form of a second-hand sweater). I'm still considering yellow and pink, we'll see.
Somehow, I managed to get the amount of stitches screwed up, so I'm improvising as I go. I have absolutely no patience to redo stuff. :D

Edit: That's odd. I totally can see the pic myself. Well here's a link to the picture if some people can't: http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1482/1610/1600/21106%20004.jpg

[tekopp]

iida, the pic does not show :(

[Hummywinger]

Well now that I know what a CAL is ..:hook
How do I get the pattern being used?? I noted this one is a leaflet.. Do I gather these are the leaflets that ones finds in the craft stores with the yarn??
Will have to check it out to see what it looks like before I join in on the project.
Wow love this Crochetville...:manyheart .. only problem is I am still new so it is very addicting right now getting to know the site. Do you all also have a chat room where you chat like AOL has??

:yay
Darlene

[donnalynn2]

Alright, as requested, here is a pic of my afghan... I actually did another 6 rows after taking this pic last night... The pic doesn't do it justice!

Click here (http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/donnalynn2/stripes2.jpg)

[donnalynn2]

Where are all my CAL pals? It's been awfully quiet in here!!! Let's hear how you've been doing and what kind of progress you have (or haven't :devil) made!!!

I am loving this ghan! I only have about another 20 rows and I'm done. I laid it out on my bed again last night to look at the progress and I'm blown away at just how pretty it is. Can't wait til it's finished!

If you're having problems with stitches or whatever, don't hesitate to ask.

Oh and don't worry about some rows being longer or shorter. Even if you're a few stitches off, in the grand scheme of things you really can't tell because this is such a big afghan! One row I was short over 20 stitches! I just did a few increases over the next few rows to get back to the magic 264 number and it looks fine!

Let me know how you're doing!!!

[mryam4]

I have to abandon this CAL. I just can't get into it.
I am working on a scrap patch work strip panel afghan I like much butter.
I am sorry. :(

Mary Ann

[donnalynn2]

I have to abandon this CAL. I just can't get into it.
I am working on a scrap patch work strip panel afghan I like much butter.
I am sorry. :(

Mary Ann

Sorry to lose you... Good luck on your new project! :)

[iida]

Donnalynn! Your ghan looks beautiful! :cheerGreat work!
I'm making some progress, very slow though, since I'm having an exam week at the moment, so unfortunately I don't have that much time to crochet. But I quit work, so probably there'll be more time in the near future.

[tekopp]

I really like to work on it, but not being able to have it along in my purse makes it not a very fast going project :blink
I even started another WIP to take with me on the train...

but now I have a few days for staying home, and making stuff with yarn :)

(alas, the stripes, it's huge you know...)

[sissie44]

Morning Donna,

I am still here:hug, have only gotten two more rows done on mine thanks to the hubby wanting to lay around the house this weekend:angry!!! as soon as I get this comforghan finnished (hopefully today!) I will be back on this!! althought we do have the olympic challenge coming up and as of yet I still have not picked my project out:think:think OH WHAT SHALL I DO??:think:think

[donnalynn2]

iida - thanks! well, we all understand how important school is so don't stress too much on this. i'm sure you'll work on it more when you have the time!

tekopp - i will admit that this is one project that doesn't stuff easliy into a tote to take with you! i keep this at home and just work on it in the evenings. i couldn't begin to get mine into a bag! (I usually keep some cotton 4 ply with me and work on small dishcloths and such while not at home. right now at work i'm working on a sweater which is a great size for stuffing into my wip tote. this pattern calls for one sc then on dc and it's taking FOREVER but it looks beautiful!

sissee - LOL I know about the DH being around! I had to work on his pillow for christmas at work so he wouldn't see it! but most people can't crochet at work so I can see how it's hard to hide things from them!!! I am joining the crochet olympics too! I've decided to finally tackle Mrs. Who's shrug! (something I've wanted to do for awhile) I've even picked out my yarn! I'm doing it in Caron's Simply Soft and it's almost a rose color.

I will say this much. Because I have wanted to get this sampler ghan finished I have been very good and haven't picked up ANY new projects for the moment! I just got my wool from my winter wool swap partner and some sock yarn from a trade and it's been killing me not to grab that yarn and start stitching, but as part of a new years resolution i don't want to have 100 different projects all half finished!!!

keep stitching everyone!!!

[sissie44]

ok two things here LOL

first= Donna I am working on my afghan today while I am home alone:)) I have gotten to row 17 and have to stop cause of the pattern:( can you or anyone tell me am I making the popcorn in the DC or the ch one spaces? I can't tell from this pattern that I am using

second = where can I see a pic of this "mrs who"? I saw the design on here but would like to see a pic of it. also I am hearing about the prayer shawl and dishclothes! pics would be nice:)) i have never thought about doing a dishcloth! and never heard of a prayer shawl! or is it just like any other shawl? just a different name?

[snbarclay]

I just want to say I haven't dropped out I have been working on a layett for a friend and the square of the month and a afghan for another friend . I am almost done the afghan when I finish it I will be devoting my time to this one.I have made it to row 8 . :clap I just keep frogging until I understood the pattern.:yay

[snbarclay]

wow it looks really nice and its gonna be real warmAlright, as requested, here is a pic of my afghan... I actually did another 6 rows after taking this pic last night... The pic doesn't do it justice!

Click here (http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/donnalynn2/stripes2.jpg)

[donnalynn2]

sissee - great job on the progress!! Ok, I did mine in the spaces (I think I did it right) and that row turned out great! One thing though, make sure you change colors for the popcorn row. Like I did a beige color the row before and after the popcorn and did the popcorn row in a light purplish sort of color. It really makes the popcorns POP!

snbarclay - i know how it is! i'm just honestly trying to fevereshly finish this so I can move on! it's really getting quite big and a pain to turn rows but I'm lovin' it!

sissee - here's the link (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6750) for Mrs. Who's shrug! I cannot wait to get started on it!

[JulieKay]

Hi Donna
Is it too late to jump in here ? It sounds like you are fairly far done on yours . I just finished my flower garden and am ready to move onto bigger and better things. This should be the ticket-- not a million pieces to sew together ~~~
I am going to use Lion Brand Wool-Ease for this all in the heathers colors . :)

[donnalynn2]

Hi Julie!!! Wow! This will be great with homespun!!!!

I actually have it pretty much finished but I still have a couple of skeins so I'm just going to keep adding rows til I run out of yarn! :lol

I followed the pattern to the letter for the first panel, but when I got to the 2nd panel I kinda just went off and let the yarn and hook decide!!! I did NOT fasten off at the end of the first panel and start over, I just kept going and it worked out fine. I honestly think the reason the pattern calls for 2 panels is that it really gets very large and bulky working on it when it gets that big. It's not easy to turn at the end of each row as the thing just gets so big and hard to handle. I honestly preferred the bulkiness of working with it so large as opposed to sewing 2 panels together... I would say do it however you wish as I don't think there's really a right way or a wrong way to do this one...

I almost took a pic of it this morning but opted to wait til the end. I know I will finish it during the Superbowl tomorrow so I'll take a pic of it then!!!!

Glad to have you aboard! It's been very very quiet in here lately!

[JulieKay]

Well, Donna
As you know, when I'M around, it aint too quiet ! I'm a pretty gabby old thing sometimes . THAT should have been my screen name !
Anyhow, I just love the wool-ease. First time I've used it and it is SO nice to work with .
I am on row 13 so far . I love these afghans that turn out so big and thick and warm !
I think this may be a keeper . I've never kept anything in my life that I made, but this might be the one !
Can't wait to see a photo of yours completed . How's it turning out bed-sized ?

[donnalynn2]

Julie - That's why you and I get along so well. We both love to gab! :hook

Actually right now this blanket is large enough for our queen sized bed, but since I have 2 skeins left I figured I might as well use them up. Heck, maybe when I'm finished it'll fit my king sized bed in the master bedroom!

I am seriously contemplating a trim for this but am at a loss as I don't know how it will look as this is striped. Any ideas? I don't like the "unfinished" look of an afghan without a trim but am not sure how to do it so it looks good. I don't want to do the fringe...

Can't wait to see how yours is going.

So are you sticking to the pattern word for word or are you gonna be a rebel and go your own way? :devil

[JulieKay]

Hi Donna

Well, as far as stickingto the pattern, I have so far. I'm not any good at figuring out new ideas . I usually have to go with the pattern as much as possible. I just finished the first row of popcorns -- row 17 . The only thing I'm doing a little different is not changing colors when they tell me to. I am using the wool-ease which comes in small skeins, so i just use one til it runs out then start a new color . It is pretty so far. I really like that yarn !
I don't think I'll do the fringe either. I think I'll probably just edge it with sc's since there are so may different patterns on it already .
Wow, that must be one of the biggest afghans you've ever done, isn't it ?

[donnalynn2]

Yes, this is, by far, the largest blanket I have ever made! I really can't measure it as it's very hard to spread it out but once I finish with it, I'll get my DH to help me spread it over the bed and try and give an approx measurement.

I didn't change colors where it told me to either. Well I did for the first few rows then I decided to let the yarn dictate it for me! LOL I really like this afghan because it really is so large that it's forgiving. You really cannot tell if you've made a mistake and if one row is shorter or longer than another. If you accidentally get your count wrong don't worry about it. I think after the popcorns I had like 15 fewer stitches than needed so on the next row I just did 15 increases spaced apart and you really cannot tell I made a mistake.

I vow to finish this tonite, I vow to finish this tonite! LOL Even though my hands are itching to pick up a new project. I told my DH to make sure tonite I was only working on the blanket so that should help me from straying!

[JulieKay]

Good for you , Donna ! That is great that you will finish it tonite ! Can't wait to see it all done !

[donnalynn2]

Well I got about 20 more rows done on this thing but didn't finish it! :( I found another 2 half skeins that I needed to use for this (I'm using all the Bernat Soft Boucle I have on hand) and the 3+hour Superbowl wasn't enough time to finish... I was so bummed... Oh well. I'm now down to 1/2 of one skein and a tiny tiny bit of another so hopefully tonite...

What a bummer :P

[JulieKay]

Donna -
If you find much more yarn, it'll be big enough to cover your house !!!

[donnalynn2]

Donna -
If you find much more yarn, it'll be big enough to cover your house !!!

LOL I know! I looked at DH last night and said "Man, this is going to be the biggest afghan in the world by the time I finish it!" It's so nice and warm and cuddly soft that I think this may be our "cuddle together" blanket! :)

Oh, last night he took a pic of me working on this with my 2 doggies laying with me. It was sooo cute! I'll post a pic tomorrow!

[JulieKay]

I'll be watching for your photo Donna -- sounds cute !

[tekopp]

new pic
http://www.tekopp.net/2006/02/wip-sampler-stripes-and-clapotis/

[donnalynn2]

new pic
http://www.tekopp.net/2006/02/wip-sampler-stripes-and-clapotis/

WOW! I love the colors your chose! It's looking great!

[JulieKay]

Very pretty , Tekopp - I like the bright pink !

[donnalynn2]

Well, I was a bad girl last night... At work yesterday I realized I left the Crochet World with the pattern I was working on at work at home and was left with nothing to crochet in my spare time. So I went in my car and searched through heaps of junk (my car is always full of stuff) and found a couple skeins of yarn. I ended up whipping up a really cool scarf pattern and last night while watching T.V. I worked on my scarf. Bad crocheter, bad crocheter! :devil I couldn't help it! It was if an alien had control of my body!

I don't know how much I'll get done tonite as I have to go grocery shopping after work and with my leg the way it it, usually on grocery nights when I get home I'm dead! We'll see though!

(I was good at one thing though! At the grand opening of HL last night I noticed they had some colors of Bernat soft Boucle I had never seen and it was $1 cheaper than Jo-Anns and Michaels carry it! It was a viscious battle on whether to get a couple more skeins. In the end I won over my yarn habit and didn't buy any!!!)

[JulieKay]

Well, Donna- it seems you have more will power than I have lately . I'm trying to make a new rule that I won't bring in any new yarn til I use up what I have .
I hope I can make it work.... :)

[donnalynn2]

Well, Donna- it seems you have more will power than I have lately . I'm trying to make a new rule that I won't bring in any new yarn til I use up what I have .
I hope I can make it work.... :)

LOL! Actually about a month ago I finally went through my stash any have it all organized into 4 bioxes.

1 is all redheart/caron and such that are all regular WW yarn
1 is all novelty, eyelash, etc
1 is all crochet cotton
1 is all my WIP's that I have decided to NOT do which will be frogged at one point in time!

I have them all in my bedroom closet on the floor. I actually have a funny story about my stash!

My little poodle Tweety must have a toy at all times. It's like a pacifier! Anyway, last night before bed we were playing with her and she went nuts looking for a toy. We had the door closed so she couldn't get to her toy basket in the living room. Well we kept hearing her run from one side of the room to the other looking for a toy! All of a sudden she jumps on the bed with a brand new skein of Red Heart in her mouth! We were dying! Not only that but she had dragged the yarn all the way from the closet as the "pull skein part" was hooked on the box so there was this trail of yarn! Even though my DH told her "good girl!" I scolded her and told her that mommy's yarn was NOT a toy! LOL I ended up closing the closet door because I was afraid she'd really get into it in the night had I not closed it!

BTW, I DID buy yarn at HL last night, just not the Soft Boucle! LOL P.S. They had the SS in off white so I picked one up for the squares!!!

[donnalynn2]

Ok, well here's the pic of me working on my stripes. This is generally where my 2 doggies are every evening. It's like they are attached to my hips!

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/donnalynn2/sampletstripes4.jpg

[JulieKay]

Donna ,
That's a funny story about your doggie ! Sounds like you have your yarn organized at least .
Love the photo-- the afghan is turning out so pretty ! ( and HUGE !!! )

[JulieKay]

Just a quick update on mine - I am at the last set of those little bead doodads. Boy , are they ever tedious . Be glad to get them done, and hope there aren't any more for a LONG time !!!!

[donnalynn2]

It's so very quiet in here! I know, most of us are probably busy with the Crochet Olympics but that doesn't mean we can't still post and talk about our progress!

Julie, I know what you mean about those bead things. I really didn't like them at all! When I did the 2nd panel of my ghan I omitted those.

I've got to try and make myself just finish this doggone thing! I am so close to the finish line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JulieKay]

Hi Donna
Yep, I've been meaning to post. I've been working hard on this thing and am up to row 43 at this point . It is sure ONE BIG AFGHAN, isn't it ?

[tekopp]

I'm not crocheting at anything at the moment, just focusing on the knitting olympics.

I've gotten to row 60something on the stripes though, and will take that up when I finish the lace shawl I'm making (flower basket shawl)

[donnalynn2]

tekopp - I know what you mean! You're under a time constraint with the olympics!

Well I finished my Stripes last night!!!! I was seriously contemplating (I know, I know) on buying a couple more skeins but decided first to lay it on my king sized bed and see how large it was. Well, it ended up being bigger than a King Sized comforter you buy in the store! It's HUGE!!! Last night it was chilly and my DH said "You're going to be sweating with that blanket, it's too warm!" Well, I was actually just right last night and it was so soft and comfy. The only complaint I had was that my little Tweety (who sleeps right next to me) kept getting stuck in the "holes". :devil

I took a pic and then the batteries in my digital camera went out before I could upload them so hopefully tomorrow I will have lovely pics to show!

I know I must be insane, but I'm seriously considering making another one as I had intended this one to go on the guest bed but now that it's large enough for my king sized bed I don't want to give it up!!!!

[snbarclay]

well with all the pressing projects out of the way I will pick up where I left off on my sampler. But I must confess I have started the aran tote from celest . I really want to make it for myself. But I will get to work on the sampler and try to get one panel done anyway .:hook

[iida]

Hey,
I followed donnalynn's advice and changed color for the popcorns, and they turned out very cool indeed ^^ I shall post pictures later when I'm at home. Thanks, donnalynn!

I've never had the patience to count the stitches before, but now I counted the popcorns (you were supposed to have 65 of them) and I got over 130 :D If you guys are worrying about your afghans being huge and they're turning out according to the instructions, then I'm in deep trouble :D I'm actually thinking that this will be of a right size when we'll move together with my fiance and have a double bed, so yeah. Or maybe it will be of a right size for some giant couple. Dunno yet because I haven't had the time to spread it on the floor.

I'm making the beads at the moment and it's so slow. And I thought the popcorns were slow to complete..

Aanyway, good luck with the Olympics, everyone!

[iida]

Here's the picture of my progress so far I promised:

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c197/taikatee/afg002.jpg

[donnalynn2]

iida - that's wonderful progress! i wouldn't stress too much about the stitch count, just do a few decreases evenly over the next few rows and you'll be in good shape. I had to do that several times!

Ok, as promised here are my completed pics!!!! Have I mentioned that I LOVE this afghan???

Pic #1 (http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/donnalynn2/crochet018.jpg)
Pic #2 (http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/donnalynn2/crochet019.jpg)

[JulieKay]

Iida -

Love the colors !!!



Donna - that is one nice afghan ! Very pretty !

[iida]

Donnalynn - Your afghan looks awesome! I can't believe the speed you completed it with! :)

[donnalynn2]

thanks everyone! i'm still loving the way mine turned out! can't wait to see how everyone else's is coming!

just thought i'd say hi and see how everyone is coming!!!!

[donnalynn2]

Good morning stripers! How's everyone coming on this?

Guess what? I found over a skein of Bernat Soft Boucle hiding in the closet so I'm forced to add a couple more rows to this thing. I can't help it, it's an obsession!

Hang in there!!!

[tekopp]

mine is still very much on hold, (the olympicn you know) so I'm trying to just finish the lace knitting project so that I can do other things again

(a bit off topic, but: I'm going to go mad from boredom before this lace knitting is finished. I can't wait to I bind this off!)

donnalynn: you put me in awe with your afghan, and now you keep on adding... are you possessed by something :devil

[sissie44]

I'm Back!!! and Ready to start again:cheer:cheer

I am so glad the Olympics are over!!! OMG I did a sweater and that was the first time I ever did a wearable and it will be the LAST!!! I did finnish it but it was way to long and I have no Idea how that happened:think

anyway I am back and ready to start on this again!! I have 17 rows done. how about everyone else? is anyone else still here??

donna your blanket turned out great!!!:clap:clap I hope mind will be half as pretty as yours :blush

[sissie44]

I got three more rows done today:clap so now I am up to row 20. I will take a pic in the morning so all can see what it is looking like so far.

Is there anyone else still working on this or am I the last one here? :(

[tekopp]

I did 2.7 more rows on mine yesterday.
then I started wondering if was big enough to use as a blanket for taking a nap underneath... so I did :) it's not finished at all, and it's really big enough, and warm enough.

in other words, I'm not finished with it and I've allready started using it! :D

[sissie44]

how big do you have it now?

It is defently long enought!!:lol

[donnalynn2]

I did 2.7 more rows on mine yesterday.
then I started wondering if was big enough to use as a blanket for taking a nap underneath... so I did :) it's not finished at all, and it's really big enough, and warm enough.

in other words, I'm not finished with it and I've allready started using it! :D

This is definately a large ghan! Even though mine fits my king sized bed nicely I'm still going to add a bit more as I found a little bit more of the yarn I used in my stash.

Would love to see a pic of yours! (What kind of yarn did you use?)

[iida]

Oh no, I'm not done with mine either. I think in some half year's time I'll be still posting here. All alone. :| And I think I need more yarn for it.

[NancyCA]

Donna, I'm here! I'm here!


I got my yarn yesterday and I'm ready to roll by this weekend. I have to say that I burned out on the L&B, so it will be nice to work on this and then switch between the 2 of them. Gives me more variety as the rounds on the L&B are starting to take FOREVER! hahaha

Hugs and I'll post when I've started it! Oh, and I'll also take a pic of the yarns I'm using as well.

Is anyone still crocheting on this one???:hook

[donnalynn2]

Hi Nancy! Glad to see you've got your yarn and are ready to go!

Even though I 'technically' finished this one, I found a bit more yarn and as soon as I frog the items made with this yarn that I decided not to finish, I'll add it on...

Can't wait to see the colors you are using!

[sissie44]

wow I was begining to think no one was here any more but me:( so I quit posting!!

Nancy it is great to have you here!! I am only on row 21 so you have time to catch me:hook

I have my hands into to many thing right now but I am working them down little by little!!

[NancyCA]

Okay, I started this last night, and when it got to the 2nd row (after the dc row), is it missing something? I mean, if you put basicly 2 dc in each dc below it and then a sc between, mine starts to get circular. Should it be the 2dc dec, sc, sk next st then repeat? I want to work on this tonight, but this one has me stumped and I feel like an idiot. It says NEXT st, not sk one...but there are too many stitches in it. OR, is it supposed to be a mini bobble???:think

[donnalynn2]

sissie - glad to know you're still working on yours!

nancy - ok, it's kind of a bobbly kind of stitch. you're actually working into the stitch twice. if I'm not mistaken you'll have 264 stitches at the end of the row... It's almost like doing a "2DCTOG" stitch but in the same space. Make sense?

[NancyCA]

Thanks Donna! I was doing (the 2dctog) and then you sc then do it again in the next stitch. It just seemed to be like if you were doing a circular something it was like adding on stitches. That's when I figured it was kind of like a mini bobble.

I'll work on it more tonight! :cheer

[NancyCA]

Sad to say that I didn't get a lick of stitching in this weekend. We ended up painting inside the house instead. This house becomes our HOME more and more every day. LOVE IT!


I'm going to try to crochet on it today though...

[donnalynn2]

Nancy ~ Moving is no easy feat! Don't you love unpacking though? That's my fave part of moving. Decorating my new place and putting everything in it's place! It's the packing I hate! Glad you're feeling more and more at home in your new home! Before you know it you won't even notice that it's
"new!" LOL When you get a chance, would love to see a pic of your WIP!

[iida]

All the progress I've made lately:

http://virkkausjuttuja.blogspot.com/2006/03/milk-toast-honey.html

I'm the slowest at this.

[NancyCA]

Sorry I've been MIA ladies. I have had a lot going on with the kids sports-wise and then my bf in Calif had her 7th child on Friday and I've been working like mad to get an afghan done for him to send out this week. I should be able to get back to this afghan sometime this week. I've missed it!:hook


How is everyone else doing that is still working on this one?

[tekopp]

mine is... soon big enough actually. but again I'm having the size problem. it's too huge to carry along and work on while on train, so I've been finishing all these small things (compared to this afghan everything is small)

:)
Now I'll just have to wait untill the holdiays are over untill I can work at it again.
(The other day I was thinking about it, and figured it was the WIP that has been active for the longest time)

One problem I have with it is that when I'm working on it, I drape it over my body, and it's warm and cozy.... and suddenly, I'm asleep ;)