Hula Blanket 4

 Here is the fourth blanket for Hula ( Home for unwanted and lost animals).

A Ten stitch blanket with a crochet border.

I used this pattern  Ten Stitch Blanket.

I found my own way to attach the strip to main body of the blanket. I will make another one later on and try on the ways in pattern using a thicker yarn. The one above is DK yarn ( 8ply). I want to try an Aran weight yarn ( I think in the US it is Heavy Worsted weight 10ply). The pattern uses Aran weight but it can be made with any weight yarn. You would need to adjust the needle size to suit the yarn.

You don't need a border with this blanket but I added one to give it a more finished look. I used up yarn that was not enough to make much with. The purple round was just enough to make it around with 12 inches to spare.

Once the centre is completed it is a simple case of knitting and joining as you go until you need to make a corner. I found this a soothing project as you don't have to worry about a lot of stitches or losing your way in a pattern.

If you want a way to use up some stash or you have a variegated yarn you want to use this is a lovely way to make a  blanket or even a cushion cover. You can have two different sides to the cushion cover if you use your stash.

Another way to use this is to make place mats using cotton yarn. Playing around with this is fun and you get some lovely results.

HULA BLANKET 3

 Okay this was going to be a bigger blanket but I decided to make it into something that would go into a carrying basket. After all carrying baskets are hardly comfortable things, they have hard surfaces and cats like to be cosy. This seemed to fit the bill and can be folded if it is too wide.

I started this a while back and put it aside unsure if I wanted to continue making it into a larger blanket or not. I was slowly running out of the colours needed so I decided to stop and make it a small blanket for a carrying case or a kitten.

HULA BLANKET 2

 A second blanket is now complete.

I like making squares as they are a small project that is easy to do anywhere at any time. Sometimes I make square between projects so I have a stash of squares ready to be made into blankets.

This time I did not have a stash of squares so I made them especially for the blanket. The pattern is simple and a one row repeat. 

The pattern is called Brain Fog.   BRAIN FOG   I used up some  Aran weight yarn for this project and it has made a nice soft blanket. 

I wanted a nice solid but attractive way to join the squares. This is an easy way to join squares that makes a solid join and looks nice. Flat Chain Join

This is the result

       

A nice cosy blanket.

I added a simple single crochet border in the same yarn I joined the squares with for continuity.

The next blanket will be a crochet one. I want to make some other things first ready for Christmas so the next blanket is on hold for a while.

HULA BLANKET 1

 I completed the blanket and like the results. I wanted something that looked warm and cosy with a touch of Autumn to it.

It is roughly 25 inches, sorry I don't do cm, I am old school so inches work for me. The blanket could probably do with blocking but as it will no doubt be washed before being used I don't see the point of blocking it.

I added a border to it so it has a more finished look.

A simple single crochet skip a stitch and repeat all around with single crochet chain 1 and single crotchet in the same space at the corners. I chose to do 4 rows as I thought it looked nice with the colours I had.

I am now going to make a knitted blanket.

Easy to make

 I love to knit and to crochet. 

I am not an expert I just enjoy creating things that are easy to make. Trust me nothing I make is hard to do, I like easy patterns and anything fiddly is not attempted. 

The main reason is I get lost when there are lot of instructions and that gets frustrating as I need to rip stuff out and start again. By the time I have done that a few times I head for a different stitch pattern that is still pretty by simple to do.

I taught myself to crochet using Youtube so I learnt US terms that are different to  UK terms.

US v UK Crochet Terms

I can use both but find the US terms easier to understand, probably because I learnt them first.

Granny Squares always evaded me, I could never get them to work and tried lots of videos before I found one that made sense to me, and hey presto I made a granny square.

You will find the link for a NO Twist Granny Square in Sites I Use top right of my blog. It is so easy that I wished I had found it first off. The lady explains everything and takes it nice and slow so you can see what she is doing. Now I can make granny squares I make blankets, throws and afghans with them. One other thing I found that using this method I can make a large Granny Square and not have to sew the little ones together.

See what I mean one big Granny Square and no sewing except for sewing in the ends of yarn changes.

There are lots of ways to change colour and if you look on Youtube you will find one that suits you, none  of them are difficult to do and everyone seems to have their own way of doing things. Take your time and watch a few videos until you find one that you like and use it. Play around with colours and and have fun creating your colourful Granny Square.

I learnt to crochet a few years ago and fell in love with it. I even make Amigurumi figures.

KNITTING

I love to knit and again look for simple patterns and stitches.

I make scarves of various kinds along with fingerless gloves.

I made a keyhole scarf that really easy to make.

I was looking for a simple keyhole scarf when I stumbled across this.

KEYHOLE GARTER STITCH SCARF

This lady is amazing her name is Judy and she makes such lovely videos that are easy to understand. I have saved a lot of her stitch patterns to use later on.

You don't have to make things difficult for yourself you can find easy to make things with simple instructions.

THREE BLANKETS READY

 I have 3 blankets ready to be picked up. I like making them and find it relaxing as I watch TV in the evenings. It takes a while to make them as I tend to work on them as and when I can.

BLANKET 1

This is a Granny Square blanket with a border. I checked to make sure this was acceptable as it has a lot of holes. I did not want claws being caught in them and causing problems.

BLANKET 2

This one used up DK yarn that I had in various colours. I chose one dark and one light ball of yarn and held the two together as I worked the blanket. A simple pattern that used Half Double Crochet throughout and an 8mm hook. I added a border to make looked finished.

 All my terms for crochet are American. I learnt to crochet using YouTube and found the American terms made more sense to me.

BLANKET 3

This one is knitted I used two patterns that complimented each other. By alternating the squares it created a nice patchwork effect. I crocheted the squares and strips together.

A lady is going to pick them up and send them off to  Happy Paws.

Blanket for Happy Paws

 I have made blankets for Happy Paws Puppy Rescue. I first heard about on my local Neighbourhood site. A lady was making blankets for them and asked if anyone could help as they needed more blankets. I was happy to take up the mantle and start making blankets.

Happy Paws Puppy Rescue

This is one of the blankets I have made.

It was easy to make. I held 2 strands of DK yarn together and an 8mm hook. I uses HDC (Half Double Crochet) making it a thick and cosy. I added a simple border to finish it off. I will be making another blanket but this time a knitted one.