Sewing Granny Squares Together

Hello Lovelies,
I thought I would do a little tutorial on how I'm sewing my granny squares together for your lovelies . I've also included the method I'm using for weaving in my ends .

You can sew together any motif that fits closely to the next . The effect you get when sewing together motifs is much more solid than the Join as you go method.
Both are lovely . Joining as you go saves time it is true and I like the effect it gives .

For this blanket however I wanted the more solid finish that sewing together motifs gives.

So here we go :-

1. To start hold 2 squares together , right sides facing and using a large needle and a workable length of yarn start in the very corner of the 2 squares..........

2. Draw the yarn through a corresponding stitch from each square .Pull through the yarn , leaving approx 6 inches to sew in later. Then reinsert you needle in the same place , locking your stitch by putting the needle through the loop before tightening..........

3. I join my squares by catching the back loops only . This is not as tricky a it first sounds . The back loops are at the outer most edge of the squares when you work from the wrong side so it's just a case of taking a little time to make sure you only catch these loops........

As you can see I'm stitching over and over ...whip stitch.

4. Once you have worked you way across to the opposite corner the right side should look like this.........

Can you see how working in the back loops only creates a line of raised stitches ( the front loops of the joined stitches ) and these eventually make a nice "frame" to each square...........

you lock the final stitch in the same way you did the first .

5. Next its time to weave in the ends . Insert your needle through a few stitches , taking care your needle cannot be seen from the right side ........

I've recently started to lock this weaving by bringing out the needle ...then back stitching one stitch......

then reinserting the needle where this back stitch began ....and then run the thread through more stitches ...............

before cutting the yarn flush.You could do this more than once and it's the same method I've  used to weave in ends in the squares themselves

I'm constructing my blanket by selecting suitable squares first........

This random thing is trickier than it looks :0)

Next I join all the squares in that row......

Then I attach the new row to my growing blanket by pinning the blocks right sides facing, being careful to line up the corresponding squares .....

I'm then sewing along the row in the same way I've shown you I sew the blocks together.
It is time consuming but I'm loving the final result and since this is a smallish blanket it doesn't seem too bad.

I hope this is helpful and clear. Do please tell me if you spot any errors or would like further explanation .
And a BIG thank you for all your kind comments on this project :0)
Jacquie x

Piles of Smiles

Hello Lovelies , hope you've had a good week . I'm so pleased to be able to say I haven't been tempted to stray from my blanket making . I thought the day would never come .....so many little projects so far this year. But I did say this blanket was not a quick one and I did love looking at my little  grannies , they are so cute don't you think?.....

This picture was taken on Monday when I decided to have a bit of a photo shoot for the little squares that were yet to get their plum border . It was great fun scattering them in the lawn......

Aren't they pretty close up .....

They look great scattered randomly...what about a little arranging...

It's not a pair of glasses..... as my youngest thought when he saw this picture :0)

It's the initials of my blog !! .....

I expect the neighbours think I'm completely bonkers if they saw me standing on a chair photographing crochet on my lawn , but hopefully they weren't looking :0)
I even like  all the pretty ends .....

As the week has gone on gradually all of these little fellas has gained a plum edge . I've got quick at this round ...it takes me four and a half minutes to complete one . But then there's the new plum ends. Here's what they looked like at 1pm today .........

Sorry about the fuzzy picture , it was dark and rainy...perfect crochet weather .
It took just over two hours to sew all these ends in securely . I've taken some photos of my method and I'll do a tutorial soon.
This is what they looked like after.....

Ahhh that's better . I've just got to sew them together now .

Did you notice July's Country Living at the top of this post ?I'm fortunate enough to have a subscription ..last years birthday prezzie . Here's a closer look at the cover isn't it lovely....just needs some crochet to be perfect don't you think......

 As it says on the cover , here's to some long lazy days this weekend                       

Jacquie x

My June Commute

Hello Lovelies,
Just though I'd share some pictures I took on my way to work this morning . It was beautiful and sunny first thing and I was sorry I was going to miss the day but the scent of the honeysuckle as I opened the front door at 7.30 was gorgeous .........

Another lovely surprise was a poppy that had opened up overnight .....

I've got loads of these in my front garden this year thanks to the second master BM who collected some seeds from a plant that was growing out of a crack in the pavement , he scattered them randomly and so many have come up I'm amazed  :0)

Once in the car I'm stuck by how beautiful the countryside is at the moment and while in one of the many queues of traffic I grab my camera and manage to take a  shot whilst stationary .......

I think the wild poppies growing in the rape seed fields (which have now lost their yellow flowers ) are the best I've seen ...I'm determined to get a closer look on my day off.

Once I arrived at work I still had a few minutes to spare before I had to say goodbye to the sunshine so I hooked a plum border or two in the car........

I think the day turned out showery so I guess I was lucky to be out and about first thing ...I do love the early morning light .

Right off to crochet more of my blanket ... I can't wait to show you my progress  :0)
Jacquie x

Half Term Simple Pleasures

Hello Lovelies ,
This past week I've been on holiday with my boys for the half term break . We enjoyed a couple of busy days celebrating my twins birthday with a family barbecue at home ( a tradition these days ) and then a another day we had trip to the cinema with friends to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2...great fun.

The nice thing about this break for me has been it has been a good mix of busy days and slower days .
Days with no work pressure or school commitments . I really appreciate not having to rush about watching the clock .It was great to slow down and enjoy some simple pleasures.
Time to smell the roses........

I only have one rose bush in my back garden and this week I certainly wondered why as this beauty was was at it's best and the smell was divine.
By midweek the weather was really summery. When I got up on the first of June it was lovely to throw the windows open wide and really let the fresh air in ....

The picture on my calendar this month is delightful , don't you think....

There was time to add more recently made T.shirt yarn to my rug...

Time to notice cute bunny faces....

And then smile at comical bunny sunbathing ....

Time to have fun making a Fairy garden inspired by this great example ( scroll down )...

The boys did join in with this but I think I enjoyed it the most :0)
Do you like the ponds made from upturned limpet shells and the tortoise on the lawn.

Just this morning I added the welcome sign made from ice lolly sticks and yarn.....

To round off the week I even managed to leave the boys with Mr BM for a couple of hours and look round some open gardens with my Mum.....

The gardens were beautiful and the village was just so pretty. I loved the cute little cottages with roses round the door .....or even growing in through the upstairs window in this first picture :0)..........

and the old out buildings at the entrance to the allotments....

The perfect end to a relaxing break with three boys...I never thought I'd be able to say that !!

Jacquie x

P.S. Thank you so much for all your comments on my granny square blanket. My extra yarn supplies arrived at 9.20 am Saturday ( 24 hours after I ordered it !! THANKYOU Masons Needlecraft :0) )..........

And it's exactly the same shade ...phew.

Blanket Weather ?

Hello Lovelies,
What fab weather we have had in these parts the last couple of days . Definitely paddling pool and ice lolly time at the BM household. What a treat when I'm off work for half term :0)
Yet  yesterday ... one of the hottest days of the year so far... saw me suddenly gripped by an urgent need  to make a blanket. I think it must be a combination of seeing another lovely granny stripe begining and the because the warm weather reminded me of starting my own beloved granny stripe at this time last year. How I loved working on that blanket...so quick and soothing , I needed to get some similar speedy crochet satisfaction NOW .
I grabbed a ball of plum stylecraft and started edging my granny squares . The ones at the top of my blog .....the ones inspired by this vintage blanket.I worked away like a woman possessed and edged 24 squares last night. I couldn't stop. I needed to make a blanket.
This was not what I planned . I only had 63 little squares.....

I was going to make 100 at least before I started joining....but I calculated 63 squares at 4 inches each would make a 36 inch by 28 inch blanket ....not very big but a nice lap size , and good for the back of a chair.This morning when I got up I was greeted by this lovely sight.........

Ahhhh , I love the plum border ...perfect......

Look at this square .........

and this one ........ 

They are all different and I think the border colour really looks lovely

I'm not joining as I go for two reasons .Firstly the original blanket that inspired this one is sewn together and I love the way it looks , secondly because I only have one ball of the plum colour, and, if further supplies turn out to be a different shade I will have to pull all this back !

I don't live near a Stylecraft stockist so I've hurriedly ordered more online from Masons Needle craft
 After breakfast , and still in my P.J.s I continue in the garden with my limited supply of the border colour.........

Bliss . ....but by the afternoon reality had sunken in and I realised I could have about a weeks wait for my yarn . Sigh .

Never mind ...it's actually a great reason to make more granny squares while I wait. So in the heat of the afternoon , whilst the boys splashed in the pool, I sat in the same shady spot  that I hooked my granny stripe 12 months ago  and made some more little squares . I'm using cygnet yarn for these ..........

Then when I felt a little tired I laid down and gazed at the blue sky and the sun shining through the  Elder flowers . I love June ...........

And I LOVE finally getting the urge to complete my first crochet blanket of 2011 and being able to share the process with all you lovely like minded people .
I hope you will be able to leave me a comment if you would like to . Blogger is still rather temperamental for me . The only way I can comment on some blogs is by in unchecking the "keep me signed in " prompt on the sign in page I keep getting directed to .It's very frustrating ...if anyone knows more about all this ...and can comment ... I'd love to know .
Hope you all have an enjoyable weekend .
Jacquie x