Polka Dot Square - 2018 Updated Version

A few months ago I started a new blanket using the polka dot square pattern that I made several years ago when I first learnt to crochet.  It is still a favourite of mine because the circles are nice and solid and the squares turn out solid and fairly gap free.  I'm not the biggest fan of open lacy crochet so this really appeals to me, I seem to make lots of solid, tight crochet fabric type projects.

In the original squares I striped the circles, giving a bullseye effect, 

(you can see this cushion cover over here if you are interested). 

For this blanket I wanted to use the rather large collection of speckled hand dyed 8ply wool I seem to have accumulated,  there are lots of different dyers work in here, some of these I have dyed myself, but mostly they are from other dyers.  I also had some lovely semi solid hand dyed colours, so they were also included. 

Here is the updated version of the Polka Dot Square pattern..

UK crochet terms -  dc = double crochet   (US sc) 

                                 htr = half treble          (US hdc)

                                 tr = treble                   (US dc)

          slst = slip stitch

  ch = chain

Chains at start of each round do not count as stitches

The circles can start to curl up a bit around the edges, but they flatten out once the background is added.  You can also stagger the increases so the increase points don't all sit on top of each other to  get a rounder circle, as long as you keep the correct amount of single dcs in between the increase 2dcs. 

If you don't like the magic loop at the start you can Chain 4 and join to make a ring and then make the 8 dcs into the centre.

Centre Circle: Using circle colour

Rd 1 : In a magic loop, make 8 dc,  join to first dc with a slst to create first round.  ( 8 sts)

Rd 2 : Ch 1, 2dc in 1st stitch, 2dc in each stitch around, join to 1st dc with a slst. (16 sts)

Rd 3 : Ch 1, 2dc in 1st stitch, 1dc in next stitch, *2dc in next stitch, 1dc in next stitch,* repeat to end of round, join to first dc with a slst.  (24 sts)

Rd 4 : Ch 1, 2dc in 1st stitch, 1dc in next 2 stitches, *2dc in next stitch, 1dc in next 2 stitches* repeat to end of round, join to first dc with a slst. (32 sts)

Rd 5 : Ch 1, 2dc in 1st stitch, 1dc in next 3 stitches, *2dc in next stitch, 1dc in next 3 stitches* repeat to end of round, join to first dc with a slst (40 sts)

Rd 6 : Ch 1, 2dc in 1st stitch, 1dc in next 4 stitches, *2dc in next stitch, 1dc in next 4 stitches* repeat to end of round, join to first dc with a slst  (48 sts)

Rd 7 : Ch1, 1dc in each stitch to end of round, join to first dc with a slst (48 sts)

Rd 8 : Ch1, 1dc in each stitch to end of round, join to first dc with a slst (48 sts)

Background:

Rd 9 : join background colour to any stitch, ch1, *3dc, 3htr, 3dc in next stitch, 3 htr, 2 dc* 

repeat *to* 4 times, join to first dc with a slst.

Rd 10 : Ch1,  *2slst, 2dc, 1htr, 4tr in next stitch, 1htr, 4dc, 1slst* repeat *to* 4 times, join to first slst with a slst.

Rd 11 : Ch1, 1dc in each stitch of the round, making 2dc, in each of the 2 centre stitches of each 4tr corner.  Bind off .

My blanket has 80 squares, and is about a cot size, I haven't added a border yet, but plan to do a simple border of a few rows of dc, and then a final round with a few picots for interest. 

I have heaps of speckled wool left over, so might have to make another one of these, maybe with different coloured backgrounds this time, or maybe a pale blush pink....

It's a gorgeous day here, the sun is shining and a big blue sky is above, I hope its lovely where you are too! 

( It's been a while since I've written up a crochet pattern, so please excuse any mistakes or unclear bits!! ) 

Bye for now! xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Retro Solid Granny Square Blanket - Tadah!

Hi there! 

I hope everyone is having a great day, I have a colourful post for you today! 

I have been hooking steadily away through January and I've actually finished my first project for 2017! Yay! :) That's pretty good going for me! 

This blanket was quite the speedy make, I seemed to have enough squares made in no time and then it was just a matter of sewing them all together and hooking a border up.  

I have to say that I loved working with the MoYa Caresse Aran Cotton, it was nice and textural and worked up fast with a 5mm hook.  The colours were all so beautiful and worked so well together all the combinations look great (well I think so anyway!) . I love that slightly washed out look of the MoYa palette, and the hand dyeing process leaves some nice subtle variations in the colours which I really like. (You can see this most in the border where there are a few rows of the same colour).

This has ended up about cot size, nice for a baby or lap blanket. 

So here's the nitty gritty: 

Pattern: My version of a Solid Granny Square (108 squares)

Yarn: MoYa Caresse Aran Cotton in 10 different colours

Hook: 5mm

Size: cot size (9 x12 squares) 

........this was when I was blocking the blanket after joining all the squares together, I thought about blocking each individual square, then decided to wait till they were all joined, it seems to have worked out ok.  It is quite a thick textured blanket, and i like the slightly puffy look to the squares....

 .....tadah!  All finished! 

....you can see how big it is all laid out on my table, not giant........

Onto the next thing now, it feels great to have something completely finished in under 6 weeks, I wonder if I can keep the momentum going and get the next one finished as quickly!  Not likely! :) 

Have a great day/night everyone, happy hooking!! 

xxxxxxxxxxx

Solid Granny Square Pattern ( my version:) )

Hello!  How has your day been?  

Mine has been great, it's warm and sunny here, hard to have a bad day in weather like this.  :)

Today I thought I'd share the pattern I've been making recently, it's my version of a solid little granny square.  I'm sure there are heaps of patterns out there for a traditional square like this, but I want to keep a record of what I've done just in case I happen to get side tracked by some other shiny project and leave these sitting unfinished for ages. I tend to be a bit of a fickle crafter!

Ok here we go! 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Little Woollie Solid Granny Square

(This pattern is written in US terminology.)

Material: MoYa Caresse Cotton (Aran weight)

5mm hook

Special stitch:

2dctog : Yarn over, insert hook into stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through 2 loops, yarn over and insert hook into same stitch, yarn over and pull up a loop, yarn over and pull through all loops on hook. 

------------------------------------------------------------------

Chain 4, slip stitch join to create a circle.

Round 1: Ch2, 4dc into circle, ch1, 4dc into circle, ch1, 4dc into circle, ch1, 4dc into circle, ch1, join with slip stitch to 1st dc.  Bind off.

Round 2: join new colour to any corner chain space, ch2, 3dc in same space, *1dc in next stitch, 2dctog in next stitch, 2dctog in next stitch, 1dc in next stitch, (3dc, ch1, 3dc) in corner chain space,* repeat from *to * along each side of the square, ending with 3dc, ch1 in 1st chain space. Join with a slip stitch to 1st dc.  Bind off.

Round 3: Join new colour to any stitch, ch1, sc in each stitch around, making (1sc, ch1, 1sc)  in each corner,. Join with a slip stitch to 1st sc. Bind off. 

Weave in ends.  All finished.

As you can see from the photo above, the squares benefit from some blocking to get their square shape in order. ( the one on the left hasn't been blocked yet, the one on the right was lightly blocked)

This is quite a chunky little square, I think it will make a nice sturdy blanket when I sew a heap of them all together

Anyway that's it for now, I'm off to make a few squares! 

xxxxxxxx

new blanket beginnings

Hello there!

It's been a beautiful day here, and I've been making some little granny squares for a new baby blanket.  It's been lots of fun! :)

What do you think of these gorgeous soft colours?

I'm enjoying playing with all the colour combinations, I am going for a bit of a vintage/retro vibe with the colours in this blanket, I think the slightly washed out, faded pastels are very pretty.

Hopefully I will get lots of squares made over the next few lazy week of Summer, this kind of feels like a Summer blanket. :)

I'm using  MoYa Caresse cotton, this is an Aran weight cotton, really great to crochet with, and is working up quite quickly with a 5mm hook, the texture is beautiful!  They are going to need a bit of blocking as I am trying to get a nice solid granny square, so have crammed in the stitches. 

I'm planning on making about 80 squares, so nothing too big, and it should actually get finished!! 

I'll post a few progress updates as this grows, I had forgotten how fun mini squares can be! 

Have a great day/night wherever you are! 

xxxxxxx

Dotty Flower Hexies

Hi there! 

I hope your having a great day. :) 

Today I thought I'd share a pattern that I've had tucked away for a few months, it is an extension of my Dotty Flower pattern, by adding a couple of rounds I have turned them into hexagons that can be joined and made into blankets, cushion covers or whatever you like! 

It is quick and easy and I really like how they turn out!

I'm using US terminlogy, so for Australian/UK terms, 

sc = dc, 

dc = tr, 

tr = dtr, 

dtr = trtr

(I'll pop the original flower pattern here too, to make things a bit easier.  If you want to check out the whole tutorial with photos you can find them in the original post over here.)

Dotty Flower

4 mm hook, small quantities of 8ply/DK yarn in 3 colours

Special instructions:  

2dc Cluster: Yo, insert hook in stitch, yo and pull up a loop, yo and pull through 2 loops ( 2 loops left on hook) , yo, insert hook in same stitch, yo and pull up a loop, yo and pull through 2 loops (3 loops left on hook) , yo and pull through all loops on hook. 

Petal Cluster: Step 1- *Yo twice, insert hook into 2 ch space, yo and pull up a loop, yo and pull through 2 loops, yo and pull through 2 loops, leave last loop on hook ( 2 loops on hook) * .  

Repeat * to *  (3 loops on hook) 

Step 2 - Yo 3 times, insert hook in skipped stitch of round 1, yo and pull up a loop, yo and pull through 2 loops, yo and pull through 2 loops, yo and pull through 2 loops, leave last loop on hook  ( 4 loops on hook) 

Repeat Step 1 into the same 2 ch space ( 6 loops on hook) .

Step 3- Yo and pull through all loops on hook. 

Pattern: 

Chain 4, slip stitch into 1st chain to form a ring.

Round 1: ch2 (does not count as a stitch), 12 dc into ring, slip stitch join to 1st dc, fasten off. 

Round 2:  Join next colour to any stitch, ch2, make a 2dc cluster into same stitch, *ch2, skip 1 stitch, make a 2dc cluster in next stitch, * .  Repeat * to * 4 more times, to make 6 cluster, ending with 2ch and slip stitch join to 1st cluster. Fasten off.

Round 3: Join next colour to any 2ch space.  *Ch 4, make a petal cluster, ch 4, slip stitch into same 2 ch space, slip stitch into next 2ch space. *  Repeat * to * making 6 petals around the flower in the 2 ch spaces of previous round. Slip stitch into 1st space to join, fasten off and weave in all threads. 

All finished! :) 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

.....and here are the extra 2 rows: 

Dotty Flower Hexagon:

Background Rd 1: Join background colour to top of any petal, Ch1,  *3sc in same stitch in top of petal,  5tr in stitch on top of  Round 2 dots*,    Repeat * to * 5 times,  slip stitch to 1st sc. 

Background Round 2:  Ch1,  Make 1 sc in each stitch of previous round, except in the corners of the hexagon where you make 3 sc in the same stitch, ( this will be the middle stitch of 3sc in top of each petal) 

Join with slip stitch to first sc. Bind off. 

.........In this photo you can see the 5 trebles in between each petal and how it should look after the 2 rounds.

.......and here you can see the 3sc in the top of each petal in the first round.   In the final round, the corner are made by making  3sc  into the middle stitch of these 3 stitches of the first round.

So that is the Dotty Flower Hexie, I am thinking of making a couple of pillow cases for our bed with these hexies, I think it would be lovely and colourful. 

Happy days to you! 

Talk soon!

More than a Granny 2

Hello!  How is your week going? 

As usual time is flying by for me, I feel like the days are just not long enough! 

Today I want to share with you an exciting project that a hooky friend of mine has been doing.  You probably know of the super talented Shelley from the blog Spincushions, but if you don't, Shelley is an amazing crocheter and designer who comes up with gorgeous granny squares and CALs, and is so prolific and productive with her design work, I am in awe of her time management!! (It is really worth having a look around her website, there are lots of interesting patterns and information to check out.)

Well, Shelley has recently released her follow up ebook to the very popular 'More Than A Granny', it's called 'More Than A Granny 2' . 

I have been lucky enough to have a play with the patterns in her new ebook, there are 20 great designs to choose from, all coming out the same size so you can mix and match. :)  

I chose this pretty square called Bess, it was fun to make, the instructions are clear, (there are written and charted instructions) and Shelley's patterns always seem to have really neat finishes. 

I am thinking a blanket in this square would look so pretty! 

Shelley uses a blue palette for her squares and they look gorgeous all made in one colour scheme, but you know me, I like a lot of colour and contrast, so went with some of my favourite colours in Cascade Ultra Pima cotton - poppy red, china pink, lime and cool mint. (These are available in my shop over here, just saying ;)  ) 

 ...... These are some photos of the new squares with some older ones that I have made from Shelley's other ebooks, 'More than A Square' and 'Flowers Abound', I love them all together, so happy and colourful! 

I think a mixed square blanket is definitely on my to do list! 

If you'd like to read more about "More than a Granny 2' have a look over here.

This is the cover page of the ebook, look at how great they look in blues, mine look so different, not worse just different! :)  It's amazing how colour can change a pattern! 

Flowers abound and a giveaway!

Hello there!

It's been a busy week around my place, there's lots of interesting yarny things on the boil at the moment, I'm looking forward to sharing all my crafty news over the next few weeks.  There is nothing really massive, but lots of little things that all together are quite satisfying and make me feel very happy.  I hope you have good things going on in you lives too! 

Today I thought I'd show you something that is very exciting for a hooky friend of mine.  

Do you know the amazing Shelley Husband?  

She has a fabulous crochet blog called  Spincushion, a very active, fabulous Instagram profile, and she is also a very prolific and clever crochet designer!!  

She has just finished producing a new ebook of crochet patterns, called 'Flowers Abound', there are 20 beautiful granny square patterns all with a floral theme. I was lucky enough to get a preview copy of these patterns to have play with. Yay! :) 

The squares are all the same size so there is lots of scope for mixing and matching these patterns for blankets, cushions, bags, or a million other things. :) 

The patterns are very clearly explained, Shelley is an excellent pattern writer, and explains unusual stitches and techniques so I had no problem following this new to me pattern.  And the stitch dictionary and tips and tricks are very interesting, I am going use a few of Shelley's techniques from now on to give my work an extra professional finish, she is great at hiding joins! 

I did get a bit carried away; I was just going to make one square as a sample to show you this gorgeous pattern called 'Hana', but then I just got caught up in the colour play possibilities and ended up making nine squares! :)   

There are lots of great squares to choose from in Shelley ebook, it was hard to decide which one to try.  I think I will be making quite a few of these patterns when I have some more time.  I do love the puffiness of the flowery centre in the Hana pattern, and it is a lovely solid square; so much flowery goodness!! :) 

 .........I loved making these puffy flowery centres, so many colour combinations to try......

.....I love the flower centres just by themselves too, I think I might make some of these and sew them together for my Christmas tree :) ..............  or how about a garland :) .............

 So anyway, as you can tell I had fun making these squares and then I had more fun photographing them (sorry for the picture overload, could't help myself!).  I am planning to make a few more of the Hana flowers and turn them into a pillow case for our bed, I think it will look awesome!

The best bit is that you can have fun with these patterns too!  

Shelley has generously offered a copy to my readers as a giveaway, so if you'd like the chance to win a copy of  the ebook 'Flowers Abound'  just leave me a comment on this post and I'll choose a winner next Friday.  It will be available for all the normal ebook readers, and will be available from Smashwords as a pdf if you don't have an e-reader/kindle thingy.  

Have a look over here at Shelley's blog if you'd like to pre order your own copy, it will be released on August 29th! 

Good luck you guys! :) 

Have a great weekend! 

Starting something new.....

Lots of colourful circles waiting to be squared up! 

Hello there! 

How are you going my crafty friends?  

It feels like I haven't been here for ages! 

I have been missing my little blog recently, the days have been whizzing by without a lot of computer time, but today I am going to show you a blanket that I am in the process of making.  

It is another Sunburst Granny Square blanket, I really love this square, so simple yet pleasing!  Priscilla Hewitt sure knows how to write a great crochet pattern!

I have made this pattern before, a long time ago when I first learnt to crochet, ( about 4 years ago), so it has been nice to give it another go in completely different colours.

This is the beginning, I wanted to use up some of the large stash of scrap balls that I own, so lots of pretty colour all mixed together ...

...then I started playing around with colour schemes within all the different colours I was using, getting a bit side-tracked, I think I might come back to these colours and make a more limited palette blanket one day, too cute not to document though!  Loving all the pinks and greens together. :)

Next it was time to to start squaring them up, I chose grey because it a nice neutral background colour, plus I had just received my shipment of Cascade 220 Superwash and it had a lovely Silver Grey that I just had to use!

 ....more squares and colour........

....this is where I'm up to at the moment, I need to make about another 20 squares to make a cot blanket size, but I think they are looking nice and chirpy all together!  Very happy with this little stash busting project!  :) 

So my friends, what have you been making recently?  

Are you doing any stash busting?

Are you finding it harder to fit in computer time like me? 

How do you balance all the different social medias around these days?  Is it even worth trying? I am having trouble juggling my blog, Instagram and Facebook, I don't even bother with Twitter or anything else.  And I'm not posting on Facebook as much either!   

There has to be time to live real life or there is nothing to post about anyway! 

Talk soon! 

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

More than a Granny, review and giveaway!

Hello! 

Today I have something lovely to share with you all, my crafty friends.  

A hooky friend of mine, Shelley Husband, has just written a fabulous 

ebook called 'More than a Granny' and it is full of good stuff for us crochet fans.

(Shelley has a great blog called Spincushions and is big on Instagram too!)  

Lucky me, Shelley forwarded a copy to me for a sneaky preview, 

so I have been giving it a good read!

I am in awe of her ability to produce such a resource for crocheters, her designs are really great, with 20 motifs including a nice mix of flowery motifs, more lacy type square and also some excellent geometric designs too.  There is something for everyone in this selection of patterns, and another interesting thing that Shelley has done is make them all the same size so you could make a beautiful mixed motif blanket using lots of different squares!  How gorgeous would that be, I think that's going on my to do list! 

The patterns are very well explained with clear instructions and a good stitch dictionary for those slightly trickier stitches.   There are some simpler patterns that would be good for new crocheters, and there are also some challenging ones for the more experienced hooker to get their teeth into! 

There is a US and UK version so you won't get confused with stitch terms. 

I thought I would give this lovely square called 'Crop Circles' a try, I love all the circles, and it would also look great in bold mixed colours, I think it has a bit of a modern retro feel to it, it would make a great blanket!

This is Shelley's example from the ebook, noice! :)

 And here is my first two squares, I love them, even if they need a bit of a blocking!  

I am thinking I will make 42 and do a little blanket, I have gone to my favourite colours, but I have a few others to add in the next square.

This pattern was a nice challenge for me, I wasn't sure if I could do all the different circles and get them looking good, but I followed Shelley's pattern and it has turned out great!  I like Shelley's tips for getting a professional finish to your crochet, it really is the little things that make a difference.

I have to confess I had never read an ebook before, ( I am a bit of a traditionalist and like a real book to look at) but I found it really easy and convenient and think I am a convert, I will probably look into more books in this format!   

And you don't need an e-reader to use it, it can be downloaded as a PDF from Smashwords, easy peasy!  It is available from lots of places on the internet, have a look at Shelley's post here for more info on techy stuff, and where you can pick up a copy. :)

And guess what!

Shelley has generously offered a free copy to a reader of Little Woollie! :)  

So if you would  like to win a copy of this lovely crochet ebook, leave a comment and tell me what is your favourite thing to make from motifs.  Blankets? Bags? Cushions? I will pick a winner on Saturday, good luck! 

Ok I think that is all I have for you today, I am going to go and make another crop circles square! :)

Have a lovely hooky day! :)

weekly stills....

1. It's freesia time in my garden, Yay!! I say bring it on! 

If there's a better smelling flower out there I'd love to know, freesia scent is divine! :)

2. A blurry shot of part of my stall on the weekend, (I remembered to take my good camera, but forgot to put the sim card in it!  Doh!  So this is from my phone that is showing it's age now.)

I had a lovely day and it was so nice to  meet more readers of this blog!  I'll be doing this market again in November, I am looking forward to it already.

3. Last week seemed to be dominated by granny square bunting!  

Happy to be making something else for awhile.

4 +5. Some hits of colour from my Spring garden, the roses are in bloom, and it looks like a good year for roses around here, and the bearded iris are full of flower spikes that are beginning to open.  I think this purple and white one is very hardy, I divided up a few big clumps last year and it seems they were all this colour, I now have shots of purple popping up all around my garden, lovely! 

I am hoping for a few other colours to flower soon too.

6. I am noticing little piles of yarn ends all around my house.  I hadn't really noticed how messy I am when I am working, but I do tend to spread through out the whole house if these yarny droppings are anything to go by! :) ( I started looking around for more and found 8 more little piles at strategic places throughout the house! Must be a bit tidier!!)

7. Making little bottle vase covers at the moment, more to come on these later. :)

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So, I feel like I have been neglecting this little blog over the last few weeks, I haven't spent much time on the computer, and when I have been on it I have just been dropping in quickly and buzzing off again, no time to interact properly.  Hopefully life will slow down a bit and I will be able to get a few posts up on here this week, that is the plan anyway!

A few of the blogs I like to check in on every now and again are stopping blogging, it is a shame as these are lovely  places to visit on the internet, but I do understand how they feel! Sometimes I feel like there is nothing more to say on here, and that Little Woollie has run it's course and is getting quite predictable and a bit boring.  Maybe it is time for a break, there don't seem to be enough hours in the day for all the stuff I'd like to do anyway!   

Do you lovely readers have any tips for getting out of a rut and reinvigorating yourselves?

If you blog, how do you keep up your interest and come up with things to blog about?

Do you think editorial calendars work, does it make 

you a more disciplined blogger (as in frequency)? 

I could use a few new ideas :)