Aloha!

I can't tell you how good it feels to get back to blogging.  I will briefly try to sum up what has been happening in my life since my last blog entry.  After 4 months of not knowing whether we were staying in Germany or moving to Hawaii we got our orders for Hawaii the first week of January.  Within two weeks, we got all our items shipped and everything else in order and then flew home to visit our families in Illinois.  Yes, you read that right.  Two weeks to get everything in order to move.  Surprisingly, it went fairly smoothly.  Or I should say everything went smoothly that my husband's unit had no control over.  Any type of paperwork they were in charge of, not so much.  Although that isn't a shock considering it was their mistake that led to the whole mess to begin with. 

So we had a wonderful 3 week visit with our families.  Although I could have done without catching a horrible cold for a week.  We moved to Hawaii the beginning of February, bought a car, found a place to live and moved in by the end of the month.  Our household items arrived from Germany a few weeks ago.  If anyone is wondering how long it takes to move your stuff halfway across the world, the answer is almost 3 months.  Yesterday we finally got our computer set up so I'm back to blogging.  I give people credit that manage to blog on their phones, I just don't have the patience for it which is part of the reason I haven't posted an entry in months.  And you know, the fact that I moved thousands of miles to a beautiful island which has kept me busy as well.

Sightseeing and getting familiar with our new surroundings has taken up a bit of my time but I still always manage to get in a few moments of crochet here and there.   Right before we left Germany I started making a bunch of teeny, tiny squares. After spending hours and hours making these two round squares, I am now close to being able to put together the Penguin Cuddle Quilt.  I'm very excited to get this finished although I still have quite a few things to do around the house before we are truly settled in.

Again, it feels great to be back in the blogging world.  Can't wait to catch up on comments and get to reading all my favorite blogs.

Teeny, Tiny Squares

Have you ever started a project and you don't know why?  That's pretty much the place I am in right now in making squares for the Penguin Cuddle Quilt.  Now don't get me wrong, I've had my eye on this pattern for awhile but logically it just doesn't make much sense to get started on this at the moment.  

First of all, I don't even have enough yarn to complete it.  And since our move date is still up in the air I can't even place a yarn order at Joanns because it usually takes a month to get here.  Although this whole mess with our moving orders has been an over 3 month process to get fixed, who knows I could probably order yarn and it would still get here before we leave.  And of course there is still the possibility of us having to live here for another year.  But without knowing anything for sure, it still means no yarn orders for now.

Second,  I don't even have anyone to give the afghan to when I finish it.  I would have to add some more rows and columns so it would be large enough to donate to Bridge and Beyond.  

So even with knowing I won't be able to complete this anytime soon and I still need to figure out what to do with it when it is completed, I'm still going to go ahead and make as many squares as I can.  The whole moving issue coupled with the stress my husband is under at work has really taken a toll.  Like I have said before sometimes I need to do a little mindless crochet to keep me sane. 

Candy Cane Bobble Square Pattern

CANDY CANE BOBBLE SQUARE


Pattern by: Katie B
Finished Size: 8x8 inches
Hook: Recommended an I hook or any hook that will give you a finished square instead of uneven sides
Yarn: Color A Caron One Pound in the Claret Color
         Color B Caron One Pound in the Off-White Color

 Special Notes:  This is my first attempt at writing a pattern so I apologize if there are any mistakes.  If you have any questions, let me know and I will do my best to answer them. Please do not sell this pattern or post the full pattern on the internet. You may however sell any items made with this pattern.  I just don't want anyone to pass off this pattern as their own work.  Please include a link to this pattern if you talk about on your blog.

Abbreviations: sc is single crochet

Special Stitch:

bobble

1. work 4dc in same st leaving 5 loops on the hook by omitting the last step in each dc (pulling yarn through last two loops)
2. yo and draw yarn through all 5 loops

Ch 28

Row 1    : Sc in 2nd ch from hook. Sc in each stitch across (27 sc), Turn

Row 2-8 : Ch 1. Sc in each stitch across (27 sc), Turn

Row 9    : Ch 1. Sc in each of the first 18 stitches, with Color B make a bobble in the 19th stitch, with Color A sc in each of the remaining stitches in row, Turn

Row 10  : Ch 1. Sc in each stitch across row (27 sc), Turn

Row 11  : Ch 1. Sc in each of the first 17 stitches, make a bobble in 18th stitch, sc in each of the remaining stitches in row, Turn

Row 12  : Ch 1. Sc in each stitch across row (27 sc), Turn

Row 13  : Ch 1. Sc in each of the first 16 stitches, with Color B make a bobble in the 17th stitch, with Color A sc in each of the remaining stitches in row, Turn

Row 14  : Ch 1. Sc in each stitch across row (27 sc), Turn

Row 15  : Ch 1. Sc in each of the first 15 stitches, make a bobble in 16th stitch, sc in each of the remaining stitches in row, Turn

Row 16  : Ch 1. Sc in each stitch across row (27 sc), Turn

Row 17  : Ch 1. Sc in each of the first 14 stitches, with Color B make a bobble in the 15th stitch, with Color A sc in each of the remaining stitches in row, Turn

Row 18  : Ch 1. Sc in each stitch across row (27 sc), Turn

Row 19  : Ch 1. Sc in each of the first 8 stitches, make a bobble in 9th stitch, sc in next 4 stitches, make a bobble (in 14th stitch), sc in each of the remaining stitches in row, Turn

Row 20  : Ch 1. Sc in each stitch across row (27 sc), Turn

Row 21  : Sc in each of the first 8 stitches, with Color B make a bobble in 9th stitch, with Color A sc in next 3 stitches, with Color B make a bobble in the next stitch (13th stitch), with Color A sc in each of the remaining stitches in row, Turn.

Row 22  : Ch 1. Sc in each stitch across row (27 sc), Turn

Row 23  : Ch 1. Sc in each of the first 10 stitches, make a bobble in 11th stitch, sc in each of the remaining stitches, Turn

Row 24  : Ch 1. Sc in each stitch (27 sc), Turn

Rows 25- 31 :  Repeat Row 24

Fasten off yarn and weave in all ends.

 

 Here's how I worked out the square on paper before I started crocheting.  Maybe seeing it on paper will make more sense than my written instructions. The red bobble in Row 23 should be in the 11th stitch instead of the 10th stitch that is shown in the photo.

Candy Cane Bobble Square

I mentioned in my previous post that crocheting bobbles inspired me to come up with some new ideas of my own.  Since I am surrounded by Christmas decorations all over the place, it is no surprise that I came up with a holiday related square.  I am pretty proud of my Candy Cane Bobble Square because I don't normally have enough creativity to come up with patterns.  I didn't have any graph paper so I had to improvise and plan it out on notebook paper before I started.  Of course I did not take into account that the bobbles end up facing the other side of the square so I had to redo my drawing once I started crocheting and realized my mistake.  I didn't think the candy cane would look as good if it was pointing to the right.

I would love to share my pattern but I'm slightly nervous that while my instructions make sense to me, they might be confusing to anyone else.  I'm going to give it a shot though and hopefully post the pattern within the next few days.

Full Heart Bobble Square

This weekend while it was snowing outside I completed the Full Heart Bobble Square.  Although mine turned out more like a rectangle than a square.  I will probably continue to play around with it until it is more square.  This is my first attempt at making bobbles and overall I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.  Working on this square also inspired me to come up some ideas of my own.  I hope to show off what I came up with a little bit later in the week! Oh and in case anyone is wondering the yarn I used was Caron One Pound in Soft Sage.

Child's Play Square

Today I completed the Child's Play Square.  I thought the look of this square was interesting enough to make a square of my own even though I don't have a project in mind for it.  I love the way it turned out and it wasn't that complicated to complete.  The author of the pattern included written instructions and a pictorial tutorial.  Although you wouldn't know it by looking at the photo, the colors I used were Dark Orchid and Spring Green in Red Heart Super Saver.

I also want to share a photo of one of the German smokers that my husband and I have purchased since we have been living here in Germany.  Most people use incense in them but we  use the smokers for decoration only.  If you shop around at the different Christmas markets you can usually find ones that aren't super expensive.  I will definitely miss shopping at the Christmas markets here when we move to Hawaii.  I guess I will have to comfort myself next December by lounging around on the beach!

WIP Wednesday: Mermaid Tears Purse Almost Done

My Mermaid Tears purse is almost completed.  I just have to weave in a few ends and then put a lining inside.  I've only done a lining in one other purse before so I'm not really looking forward to this part.  With the Hello Kitty purse I sewed the lining to each side of the purse and then crocheted the purse together.  The lining for this purse however will be sewn into the already completed purse.  So it's a slight difference but I'm sure it will go fine once I get started.

I ended up making the flower for this purse which I did not in my previous attempt.  I can't decide if I like it better with or without the flower.