Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star!

I have been a very, very lazy hooker recently, so sorry for the lack of posts. (I promise to one day make it up to you, I don't know how, I don't know when, but I will find you and make it up to you)

The past few nights I have been flicking through my new book, 500 Crochet Blocks (great book) and I stumbled across the stars, as a result I have fallen in love with the easy pattern. I have previously looked at stars and bunting with stars on Pinterest, but I've always shied away from trying them for one reason or another. So Saturday, I decided to just go for it, and since then that's all I've really done.

 I love this Anchor sparkly yarn. Perfect for stars!

This little fella didn't survive :c

His little arm came off :'c

Do excuse this out of focus picture, but I really, really love it.

The book is a totally brilliant book- great for those just beginning crochet or even for those who want to learn a few more stitches and techniques. I got mine from John Lewis, £9.99, and it is worth the buy. It's not just full of blocks/squares, but as you can tell little motifs too. Each pattern has a variation of colours and other ways you can use each base pattern to create something new. 

Chevron Blanket Pattern

My plan for this post was originally another Granny square blanket in variegated yarn, but obviously that hasn't happened. *:(* Instead, I've spent a few hours crocheting a new chevron baby blanket in pink and grey!

I'm loving the pink and grey of this blanket already only 5 rows in, very retro/indie! 

Pattern

For this blanket you will need:
~ a 4mm hook (or one that will fit your yarn)
~ 100g of your yarn in a variety of colours, the more colours you incorporate, the longer your blanket
~ a darning needle to weave the ends in later
~ and some scissors!

I'm writing this pattern in UK terms

For the perfect size of a baby blanket, chain 150 and chain 3 more (this acts as your first treble and gives you the required height), one treble in the same stitch. Do one treble in the next seven stitches. This is where things get a little tricky, so be careful- treble 3 together.

Yarn over and insert your hook in to the next stitch, yarn over and pull through, yarn over and pull through again. Before you complete the treble, yarn over and insert your hook in to the next stitch. Repeat twice more.

At this stage, you should have 4 loops on your hook and 3 incomplete trebles, yarn over one final time and pull through all four loops.

If you've done the 3 trebles correctly, this is what you should have achieved. This part of the pattern creates the bottom  V of the chevron pattern. In the next 9 stitches do one treble.

Once you have completed the 9 trebles, do 3 in to the same stitch as above, and then come back down the chevron by repeating the 9 trebles.

Repeat the pattern as follows after the 9 trebles to finish off the row:

Treble 3 together,
9 trebles,
3 trebles in the same stitch,
9 trebles.

If done correctly, after your last treble 3 together, you should have 7 stitches left, treble as normal and do two trebles in the last stitch

Chain 3 and treble of row 2

Row 2:

Chain 3 and treble in the same stitch.
9 trebles,
Treble 3 together, 
9 trebles,
3 trebles in the same stitch.
9 trebles,
Treble 3 together, etc. until the end, where you have two trebles in the last stitch.

Repeat row 2 until you're satisfied with your blanket, et voilà!! All you have to do is either crochet your yarn in to the stitches, or use a needle. When changing colours, I recommend that after you are part way through the row that you go back and neatly knot the strand of the previous colour to the new one before crocheting in. I find this makes the blanket easier to maintain and less likely to fall apart, but each to their own.

Of course you don't have to do the same two colours as I do, and your blanket can have colours varying in widths but mine shall be like this throughout. I hope you enjoy your blanket as much as I am, and I shall post some more photos when I am finished.

Giant Granny Square

So the other night I finally finished my first skein of the lovely, wonderfully soft, Stylecraft Merry Go Round yarn in Pink/Lilac and I must say it's been a pleasure to work with. It looks amazing, it feels great and its incredibly nice to work with. As you can see, the out come looks brilliant. 

For those who can't yet change colour it is delightful to work with and I highly recommend any sort of variegated yarn to practice with as you can easily see the stitches.

I can't wait to get my hands on some more skeins so I can crochet away my first lovely baby blanket!

You might notice my Granny Square has no holes in the corners as some do, this is because I change the basic pattern to achieve this look as I feel it has a nicer effect on the eye (and for those who like to change colour, it can also create a heart shape effect on the corner).

Variegated Yarn

Variegated yarn is wonderful when you find the right colours and project- go for it! I've had some cheap yarn for a while now and I haven't found a project I've thought nice enough to dig it out.  Yesterday I decided that as I couldn't find a nice enough blanket pattern, I'd rather make the biggest square I could (providing I can get hold of the yarn again from my local market. I haven't seen the sellers around for a while! :c )

Blissful colours

I am usually extremely fussy on colours combinations but this Stylecraft Merry Go Round DK yarn is amazing in the pink-lilac colour. It's incredibly girly and with the right project this would make a beautiful, wonderful blanket for any girl- age newborn up. 

All I know is I was only a few rows in and I felt I had to take this picture! I really am enjoying the project of a simple square for once, and this is a project that will grow with the night and days to come.