Finished Project: 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan: Clue #10…The FINALE!

Here is  my finished project for the Mystery Afghan CAL! Clue #10 can be found here.

I cannot believe I am all done! I wave of nostalgia rushed over me as I joined my very last row together. This has been an amazing experience for me to test my skills…and I did it! After all my ends were weaved in I laid it out on the carpet and my little cheerleader (my 3 1/2 year old daughter) exclaimed “Mama, it is beautiful. You did so good!” She really is my biggest fan and loves everything I make. I did officially submit my afghan to The Crochet Crowd. I am patiently waiting for it to hopefully show up in their Flickr gallery.

This last week introduced an extended picot stitch. It took me a little bit to get the hang of it, but once I got going then I was counting each square until the end!

LAST Row: Extended Picot Stitch

 Thank you all for following me throughout this project! I have gotten nothing but good comments and encouragement!

Here are some more images of Week #10 and Finished Project:

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TOTAL PROGRESS

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6 & 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10 – FINISHED!

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Here were my colors reference:

• Caron Simply Soft – Burgundy (Contrast A)
• Caron Simply Soft – Off White (Contrast B)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Grey Heather (Contrast C)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Charcoal Heather (Contrast D)

This was the 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan by The Crochet Crowd.

Work In Progress (WIP) 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan: Clue #9

Here is  my WIP for the Mystery Afghan CAL. Clue #9 can be found here.

I am getting a little sentimental about the Mystery CAL this week. It is almost over and looking back it has been quite a journey for me. While I never really struggled with a clue, they took time since they were often a new technique for me to learn. With the squares being joined for the past couple weeks I am able to see my work as a whole and it truly is beautiful! I really cannot believe that I made this!

This week started with a row of skipping single crochet THEN we turned our work! With the WS facing we worked 5dctog to start to create a ruffled effect. While I do love ruffles I really appreciated the peak of color the single crochet gave in between the criss-cross and ruffled rows. I used this technique in a baby blank WIP to create the look of hearts in between certain rows. Take a look:

Here are some more images of Week #9 WIP:

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TOTAL PROGRESS

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6 & 7

Week 8

Week 9

 

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Here are my colors reference:

• Caron Simply Soft – Burgundy (Contrast A)
• Caron Simply Soft – Off White (Contrast B)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Grey Heather (Contrast C)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Charcoal Heather (Contrast D)

I hope you all will following along with my progress (here or through Facebook) or sign-up yourself and post your own progress! I think this will be a great project for myself to learn and grow my skills. I am very excited to be participating in my 1st crochet along! This is the 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan by The Crochet Crowd.

Work In Progress (WIP) 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan: Clue #8…The BORDER!

Here is  my WIP for the Mystery Afghan CAL. Clue #8 can be found here.

This week we started on the border with two more rows. The 1st round of the border added a nice solid foundation for the border and left a little pop of color from the join. I love this! The last row uses a criss-cross treble stitch. While trebles are my least favorite stitch (I usually get snagged pulling my yarn over through the last loops!), this gives a neat effect and texture for the border. I have learned SO many new techniques during this CAL! The ideas of how to apply these elsewhere in my works leave me light-headed at times!

Here are some more images of Week #8 WIP:

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TOTAL PROGRESS

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6 & 7

Week 8

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Here are my colors reference:

• Caron Simply Soft – Burgundy (Contrast A)
• Caron Simply Soft – Off White (Contrast B)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Grey Heather (Contrast C)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Charcoal Heather (Contrast D)

I hope you all will following along with my progress (here or through Facebook) or sign-up yourself and post your own progress! I think this will be a great project for myself to learn and grow my skills. I am very excited to be participating in my 1st crochet along! This is the 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan by The Crochet Crowd.

Work In Progress (WIP) 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan: Clue #6/7…The JOIN!

Here is  my WIP for the Mystery Afghan CAL. Clue #6/7 can be found here.

We are in the home stretch!!! This week came…the join. We added a row and joined our squares using a braided stitch technique. The instructions were also to not have two of the same colors touch. They provided a chart which I have followed. I am trying really hard to be technically correct and not stray from the pattern.

The 20 chain loops came into play this week! As you can see they get pulling into the corners with this new row.

I think this is a very unique way to join squares. It was a lengthy process though to measure out your yarn into individual balls and them pull them through your chain spaces with almost each stitch. Worth it, but tedious.

Here are some more images of Week #6/7 WIP:

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TOTAL PROGRESS

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6 & 7

 

 

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Here are my colors reference:

• Caron Simply Soft – Burgundy (Contrast A)
• Caron Simply Soft – Off White (Contrast B)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Grey Heather (Contrast C)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Charcoal Heather (Contrast D)

I hope you all will following along with my progress (here or through Facebook) or sign-up yourself and post your own progress! I think this will be a great project for myself to learn and grow my skills. I am very excited to be participating in my 1st crochet along! This is the 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan by The Crochet Crowd.

Work In Progress (WIP) 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan: Clue #5

Here is  my WIP for the Mystery Afghan CAL. Clue #5 can be found here.

This week was adding a centerpiece to each square. It was four clusters that I think looks a little like a flower.

Confession: I did Week 4 & 5 together. It was the only way to catch up and this was a simple week.

I still have not found out what the chain 20 loops are going to be used for but they look like they belong more on the square.

 

 

I have a feeling we will be joining these squares soon so I spent all day Sunday weaving in my ends finally. Here is what they looked like before:

Add here is my very FULL snippet bowl:

Here are some more images of Week #5 WIP:

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TOTAL PROGRESS

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

Week 4

Week 5

 

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Here are my colors reference:

• Caron Simply Soft – Burgundy (Contrast A)
• Caron Simply Soft – Off White (Contrast B)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Grey Heather (Contrast C)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Charcoal Heather (Contrast D)

I hope you all will following along with my progress (here or through Facebook) or sign-up yourself and post your own progress! I think this will be a great project for myself to learn and grow my skills. I am very excited to be participating in my 1st crochet along! This is the 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan by The Crochet Crowd.

Work In Progress (WIP) 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan: Clue #4

Here is  my WIP for the Mystery Afghan CAL. Clue #4 can be found here.

This week added a couple more rows to fill in some of the gaps of the crochet layers and even out the squares. They are actually starting to look more like squares again! Both rows were with Contrast A so no need for a color change.

Each week has written instruction along with a chart. I have never used charts before, but I find myself each week relying on them more and more to learn the row(s).

I still have not found out what the chain 20 loops are going to be used for but they look like they belong more on the square.

I am so close to being caught up! When I finally am I am going to have a weave-in-ends party…who’s in?

Here are some more images of Week #4 WIP:

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TOTAL PROGRESS

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

Week 4

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Here are my colors reference:

• Caron Simply Soft – Burgundy (Contrast A)
• Caron Simply Soft – Off White (Contrast B)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Grey Heather (Contrast C)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Charcoal Heather (Contrast D)

I hope you all will following along with my progress (here or through Facebook) or sign-up yourself and post your own progress! I think this will be a great project for myself to learn and grow my skills. I am very excited to be participating in my 1st crochet along! This is the 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan by The Crochet Crowd.

Work In Progress (WIP) 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan: Clue #3

Here is  my WIP for the Mystery Afghan CAL. Clue #3 can be found here.

This week introduced more crochet layers and two different color changes. In the beginning of the week I was really struggling with the design. I think in the end this afghan will really just be for display only. This is fine with me since the design is so detailed and it will be showcased, but I lean more towards function than fashion. By the end of completing this week I started to really warm up to the design. I am confident in my color selections. They emphasize what they are intended to. I am glad they are all the same and I did not alternate colors with same row and different squares. I think that would have made it too busy and the design would have been lost.

Row 7 is very interesting. I am excited to find out of the chain 20 loops come into play!

I still have not woven in my ends so I do not have a picture of all 20 squares together. They would just look like a mess right now!

Here are some more images of Week #3 WIP:

Week #3 – Row 6 (Grey Heather)

Week #3 – Row 7; Chain 20 Loop – Out (Charcoal Heather)

Week #3 – Row 7, Chain 20 Loop – In (Charcoal Heather)

 

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TOTAL PROGRESS

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

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Here are my colors reference:

• Caron Simply Soft – Burgundy (Contrast A)
• Caron Simply Soft – Off White (Contrast B)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Grey Heather (Contrast C)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Charcoal Heather (Contrast D)

I hope you all will following along with my progress (here or through Facebook) or sign-up yourself and post your own progress! I think this will be a great project for myself to learn and grow my skills. I am very excited to be participating in my 1st crochet along! This is the 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan by The Crochet Crowd.

Work In Progress (WIP) 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan: Clue #2

Here is  my WIP for the Mystery Afghan CAL. I finished them in 8 days.

Clue #2 can be found here.

This week’s clue was learning to crochet a cross on top of the existing granny squares from the first week. My mom called this “surface crochet.” I am indifferent right now to this technique. It is new to me (which makes it a little weird and scary) so I am willing to hang in there and see how it all turns out. This technique opens up the possibilities for incredible designs. True works of art! Right now I am a little sad that my squares are being convered up!

I still need to weave in my ends, but I am so behind in my weeks due to multiple illnesses in my house that I may just wait until I am caught up.

Here are some more images of Week #2 WIP:

Week #2 – Single Granny Square with Cross

Week #2 – Completed Squares

Week #2 – Completed Squares

 

 

 

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Here are my colors reference:

• Caron Simply Soft – Burgundy (Contrast A)
• Caron Simply Soft – Off White (Contrast B)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Grey Heather (Contrast C)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Charcoal Heather (Contrast D)

I hope you all will following along with my progress (here or through Facebook) or sign-up yourself and post your own progress! I think this will be a great project for myself to learn and grow my skills. I am very excited to be participating in my 1st crochet along! This is the 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan by The Crochet Crowd.

Work In Progress (WIP) 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan: Clue #1

Here is  my WIP for the Mystery Afghan CAL. I finished them in 8 days.

Clue #1 can be found here. It was a 4″ granny square using only Contrast A (burgundy for me). My squares turned out to be ~4.5″ so I used just a little more than a skein. Hopefully I do not run all the way out of this color before the CAL ends!

Here are my colors reference:

• Caron Simply Soft – Burgundy (Contrast A)
• Caron Simply Soft – Off White (Contrast B)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Grey Heather (Contrast C)
• Caron Simply Soft Heathers – Charcoal Heather (Contrast D)

I hope you all will following along with my progress (here or through Facebook) or sign-up yourself and post your own progress! I think this will be a great project for myself to learn and grow my skills. I am very excited to be participating in my 1st crochet along! This is the 2015 Crochet Along – Mystery Afghan by The Crochet Crowd.

WIP: Winter 2015 Mini CAL with Moogly – Madly In Love Infinity Scarf

Here is my WIP (Work in Progress) for the Winter 2015 Mini CAL with Moogly. Both parts have been released and can be found here. You can make either a cowl or infinity scarf. I am going to take the plunge and make the longer scarf.

Part 1 is almost all puff stitch which is a super fun stitch! If you need to learn the stitch she has videos for Right-handed or Left-handed crochet (AWESOME!). You will find some variations of the puff stitch online. It is essentially working partial half-double crochets into one stitch. For this pattern you work 3 partial HDC  and end with 7 loops on your hook before you yarn over and pull through.

For the longer infinity scarf, part 1 is 65″. This is taking me some time! I think that I will need 130 rows which puts me at ~100 more to go…I am determined though. The stitch and yarn is new to me so it has taken some practice to get my groove. I am moving along with it and hope to be able to post with the week my completion on Part 1 and movement onto Part 2. It is super cold right now here so I actually NEED a nice warm scarf!