Recently in Crochet Donations 2003 Category

As it turned out, yesterday was Make-A-Difference Day - and I made a difference by donating 13 lap blankets and 1 full-size blanket to Fairmont Hospital in San Leandro where there is a skilled nursing facility. The blankets were dropped off with Patient Activities personnel who will distribute the blankets to patients. It felt good to give them to people who will enjoy them!

All blankets in the photo were donated - the "Nine Patch Granny Lap Blanket - Browns" lap blanket is missing from the photo (it was hiding in another box I didn't find until after the blankets had been packed for delivery so I wasn't about to unpack them for another photo shoot!).

Left:

1. Varied Squares Afghan Lap Blanket - Scraps
2. Bright Memories Lap Blanket - Scraps
3. Basic Granny Square Lap Blanket - Yellow, Cyan
4. Granny Stripes Lap Blanket - Scraps
5. Clay's Choice Afghan Lap Blanket - Pinwheel - Blues, White
6. Lace Swirls Afghan - Yellow (full size)

Right:

1. Basketweave Lap Blanket - Aran
2. Stained Glass Afghan Lap Blanket - Scraps
3. European Afghan Lap Blanket - Greens, Cream
4. Cheerful Checks Lap Blanket - Scraps
5. Double Shell Stitch Lap Blanket - Oranges
6. Spiderweb Lap Blanket - Navy
7. Floral Sampler Hexagon Lap Blanket - Black, Purple-multi

Size: 34 inches x 44 1/2 inches
Colors: Various
Pattern: Cheerful Checks - Design by Nancy Fuller
Book: Scrap Wraps - Leaflet 75028 - Copyright 2002 - Leisure Arts
Date: October 2003

I started this lap blanket after taking a few days break from working on Tamela's blanket - and a matching pillow (which I still need to photograph and post). The border on this blanket was completed Friday evening, October 24. Oh, and, yes! that's my Cleo making sure the blanket is warm and comfy.

Size: 31.5 inches x 45 inches
Colors: Brown, Taupe, Claret, Painted Desert (multi)
Pattern: Nine Patch Granny - Design by Martha Brooks Stein
Book: Granny's Delight Afghans - Leaflet number not indicated - Copyright 2000 - Leisure Arts
Date: July 2003

Just in case you think I've done only gardening recently...here's the latest lap blanket, completed last night.

I customized the pattern to use 6 9-patch squares (2 x 3) instead of 12 (3 x 4). This made the blanket smaller. I wasn't getting a 3-inch square using the I crochet hook so I moved up to a J. Even with the J hook, the blanket was still not wide enough so I customized the border by adding a row of double-crochet in Claret and finished it off with another 2 rows of the pattern's single-crochet border in Brown. The blanket still isn't as wide as I usually make them (about 35 inches), but it is good enough.

I also had some trouble sewing all the squares together - I was apparently pulling too tight so the squares pucker a bit. That's probably another reason why the blanket isn't wide enough.

165 squares = Lots of yarn ends. Let's see:

• 165 squares x 2 yarn ends per square = 330 yarn ends
• 11 rows of 15 squares = 14 seams per row x 2 yarn ends per seam = 28 yarn ends
• 11 rows = 10 seams but since I must use yarn matching the color of one of the squares being sewn together, let's assume there are 4 colors changes on average per row, so 10 seams x 4 color changes x 2 yarn ends per color change = 80 yarn ends

So, I've woven in approximately 330 + 28 + 80 = 438 yarn ends into this blanket. The tip of my thumb has been a bit sore for a few days.

Repeat after me: I will never do a blanket with so many small squares or color changes ever again.

Size: 38 inches x 53 1/2 inches
Colors: Navy, Baby Blue, White, Cream, Beige, Gold, Light Yellow, Light Pink, Mint Green, Grass Green, Dark Green, Plum, and other coordinating colors
Pattern: Bright Memories - Design by Kelly Robinson
Book: The Ultimate Book of Scrap Afghans - 20 designs - Leaflet 1272 - Price not indicated - Copyright 1999 - American School of Needlework
Date: June 2003

The border is something I made up based on the design.

As I was finishing this blanket, Greg asked me to make a blanket for his lap for the winters in Virginia when he's in law school. Since there may not be enough time for me to complete a blanket before he leaves for Virginia, I offered to give him the scrap blanket I was currently finishing up (or select any of the other lap blankets I've already completed). He liked the scrap blanket so I've given it to him (even though this is a blanket on which I used some donated yarn). UPDATE: He changed his mind and will design his own blanket pattern.

Size: 38 inches x 51 inches
Colors: Orange, Burnt Orange
Pattern: Double Shell Stitch
Book: Leisure Arts - Snuggle-Up Baby Afghans - 8 Afghans - Design by Carole Rutter Tippett - Price not indicated - Copyright 2000
Date: May 2003

This lap blanket uses skeins of orange yarn donated by Toni S. at work. The pattern was fast and fun to make. I like the brightness of this blanket! I know it's probably too much for many people, but I'm hoping it'll brighten someone's day.

Size: 35 inches x 44.5 inches
Colors: Scraps
Pattern: Varied Squares Afghan
Book: Woman's Day Super Special Granny Squares & Crocheted Fashions (magazine) - published September 1988 - Copyright 1988
Date: May 2003

I wanted to try this pattern because it is so different from other granny square blanket patterns. Granny square blankets usually have squares all the same size created using the same pattern (which helps keep the gauge the same for all squares), although the patterns can be different if the gauge is the same for each square. This pattern uses squares of different sizes: 4 rows for the smallest to 16 rows for the largest. The squares are arranged to form a rectangle. The actual pattern makes a larger blanket than the one I made since I had to trim off a section of it to make it lap blanket size instead of full size. So, what you see in the photo is the first two-thirds of a full-size blanket. With a full-size blanket, there would be another section of mixed-size squares on the right side of the blanket.

I switched colors every 4 rows for each square. The pattern actually says to switch colors for the fourth row and then switch back again - so that the blanket is more uniform in design. Since I'm mostly using scraps, I did my own thing with the pattern.

Since the yarn I used was not the same type/brand/thickness, the squares didn't all meet in the right places so some of the squares are a little puffy instead of smooth, but overall I like the pattern so will probably try it again using the same type of yarn next time.

Size: 37.5 inches x 41 inches
Colors: Black, Purple, Variegated Purple
Pattern: #9 Floral Sampler
Book: Romancing the Afghan - Leaflet 2881 - Copyright 1996 - Leisure Arts
Date: May 2003

Earlier this month, Leslie B. from work visited Michaels Craft Store with her mom and bought 4 skeins of yarn to donate to my lap blanket projects! Very sweet! I used the solid purple and mixed purple skeins with some black yarn I already had on hand to make this hexagon granny blanket.

I've never made a hexagon blanket before and realized after putting the blanket togther that I shouldn't have added one more row to each of the hexagons. The hexagons are sewn together in columns and only every other column is the same length - the columns in between are either shorter or longer, depending on how the hexagons are arranged. So, there were spaces the size of 1/2 a hexagon on the top and bottom edges - spaces which were larger than they should have been because of the extra row I added to each hexagon, spaces which made the blanket less efficient for keeping feet and tops of thighs warm. So, I made up a half circle pattern to fill-in the spaces on the top and bottom edges. The last photo is a closeup of one of the filled-in half-circle spaces.

[Update December 2, 2003]

Here's a half hexagon pattern I created.

Size: 33.5 inches x 44 inches
Colors: Forest Green, Army Green, Cream
Pattern: European Afghan (variation of Basic Granny Square)
Book: Woman's Day Super Special Granny Squares & Crocheted Fashions (magazine) - published September 1988 - Copyright 1988
Date: April 2003

I love forest green and since I hadn't done a green blanket yet, this was just the right project. The variation of the basic granny square is so fast to make - it requires almost no thought (i.e., is automatic and soothing). The beige/off-white yarn has a slightly yellow tint to it. I used the basic pattern of the European Afghan squares and did my own thing.

Size: 34 inches x 48 inches
Colors: Black, Scraps
Pattern: Stained Glass Afghan (Basic Granny Square)
Book: Woman's Day Super Special Granny Squares & Crocheted Fashions (magazine) - published September 1988 - Copyright 1988
Date: April 2003

I finished this multicolored and solid basic granny square lap blanket around mid-April. It was inspired by a blanket the Stained Glass pattern which had some squares in solid colors and other squares in a multi-colored yarn of the same tones. Since I didn't have any multicolored yarn, I used other colors. I decided to create alternating strips of solid squares and multicolored squares. There is a scheme to the placement of the multi-colored squares - can you see it? (Answer: From left to right, the inner color in one square becomes the outer color of the next square.)

Size: 33 inches x 43.5 inches
Colors: Aran (taupe/light beige with spots of brownish colors)
Pattern: Basketweave
Book: Snuggle-Up Baby Afghans - Leaflet 3205 - Designs by Carole Rutter Tippett - Copyright 2000 - Leisure Arts
Date: April 2003

Two copy paper boxes of yarn were donated to me from Alice, a woman I met at Kaiser, who now has rhematoid arthritis and cannot do much craftwork anymore. One of the boxes had 5 skeins of this wonderful yarn.

I decided to use it for this basket weave pattern from a baby blanket book. The basket weave pattern made a heavy blanket. My gauge is different from the original pattern so I ran out of yarn but was able to pick up another skein that matched perfectly from Michaels Craft Store to finish the blanket.

This blanket was well-liked by people at work. It is heavy and warm. And it is a perfect design, texture and color for a man.