Planning a new blanket

It's been a while now since I finished my Northern Zealand Blanket that I crocheted using the Tunisian Full Stitch. Find the blog post and free pattern for that blanket here. 

I always like to take a little break after finishing a blanket before I start something new - just to get a little break and decide what I want to do next. We've also had a few very busy weeks lately - at the end of June we moved into our first very own house. So as you can imagine, we have been kept quite busy both during the week and on the weekends. But now I finally feel like I am ready to start another blanket - and so the whole process of determining colours, yarn and a pattern can begin :)

I have to admit, I'm a little bit confused. I'm torn between choosing colors that would complement our living room - or just choosing colors that I like, but that wouldn't necessarily blend in very well. The mint and brown color option way below would definitely work well in our living room - and I do love that color combo - but I am also drawn to number 2 and 3, in particular. With the colors of square number 2, I would like to do granny squares (not with granny clusters, but simple double crochet) - and possible arrange them like in my colorful squares blanket here).

More free patterns

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've added a new page to my blog - FREE PATTERNS - making it easy to find all of my free patterns in one place instead of having to go through all of my crochet posts to find free patterns. Here you will find all the info you need to make the blankets: links to all free pattern pdf's ready to download, links to the blog posts for the various blankets as well as links to the Ravelry pattern pages.
Keep checking in - in the next few weeks I will upload free patterns for the Grey & Blue Baby Blanket and the Stash Buster Blanket.
I currently have free patterns available for the following blankets:

Northern Zealand Blanket

I am so happy to finally be able to reveal the final result – my first Tunisian crochet full stitch blanket. Actually it didn’t take that long to make – I started in late February and finished mid-May – but I did try to crochet almost every day. (Free pattern below)

Update - Northern Zealand Blanket (Tunisian Full Stitch)

(See final blanket and free pattern here)

I have now been working on this blanket for a little over a month and I really like how it's coming a long. Whenever I crochet blankets with lots of different colours and a 'random' colour scheme, I always doubt myself and the project - a million times - while working on it. I always wonder if the colours really go together, should I have chosen other colours, are there too many...you name it. But I've found that the key to overcome this is to just keep going - even if you're not sure you like the colours. With projects like these, it really comes together after a little while. You can't base the final look of the project on just a few rows - the design of the blanket, with its multitude of colours, only reveals itself once you're further down the line. So my mantra is always 'keep going':)

Marie's Windsor Throw - Tunisian Crochet

This is a bit of a throwback Thursday of blankets. I actually made this throw a few years ago - it was one of the first blankets I made when I had just taught myself how to crochet - and this was before I started Green Tea and Giraffes. I only realised now - when I am getting more into Tunisian crochet - that I had not written anything about this blanket - but here it is. (Free pattern below)

I was inspired by a knitted lapghan I found on the Red Heart website - but seeing as I don't knit, I came up with a crocheted version. I chose the Tunisian simple stitch, as this was the first project I had embarked upon using Tunisian crochet, so I wanted to start out as simple as possible, - but also because I like the texture of the Tunisian simple stitch and it creates a nice almost woven look.

Northern Zealand Blanket - starting out (Tunisian Full Stitch)

I’ve really looked forward to starting this blanket. I don’t have much experience with Tunisian crochet (check out my one other blanket here), but I love the texture you get with Tunisian crochet – and it really lends itself well to lots of different color combinations, I think will look great. This blanket will be made using the Tunisian full stitch.

(See final blanket and free pattern here)

Of course there is the issue of crochet hooks – especially when crocheting blankets using Tunisian. Then it is crucial to invest in the crochet hooks with long ‘tubes’ attached to them. But luckily that does not have to be a costly affair. I found mine on Ebay for about US$ 6 including shipment (to Denmark). The packet included 12 crochet hooks – 3 mm – 10 mm – all with a 1.2 m tube attached to it. Now this may not sound like it will be big enough for the length of a blanket, but a tube of that length can actually hold quite a few chains, so you can still produce a blanket that is quite large.

My Colorful Squares Blanket

This is the first blanket I've completed since we moved to Namibia. It's simply just a combination of granny squares with five rows in each granny square and then arranged in clusters of 5 granny squares. (Free pattern below).

What I'm currently working on (and need to finish)

I have a bad habit of working on multiple crochet projects at a time. I like the fact that I can work on one project for a while and then jump to another one when I feel like working with different colours and stitches - that way it never gets boring. Also, I constantly think of new ideas for blankets that I want to try out - and sometimes I just don't have the patience to wait until I've finished the project I'm working on at the time. 

So therefore, I currently have 3 WIPs - and I have promised myself that I will finish them before the end of 2015. It's really about time that I finish them - not only have I been working on them for over a year, but I also have new projects planned for 2016 (Tunisian crochet - can't wait!) and I want to start 'from scratch' with no half-finished projects lying around. 

Stash Buster Blanket

I started this project last year - and I actually finished it just a few months later. Right before we moved to Namibia. However, as with any big move, it takes a while to adjust to new surroundings, finding jobs, a place to live ... and the list goes on. But after almost a year in Namibia, it is now time to start blogging - and crocheting - and baking - again. 

This is my first stash buster blanket - and the most colorful blanket I have ever made. And I have to say, I absolutely love the look of the blanket. It is definitely not the last time that I attempt to make a 'stash buster' blanket. There were many times where I didn't particularly like the look of one of the granny squares (I tried my best to make completely random color choices when making the different squares) - but once all the colorful granny squares were crocheted together, it completely changed the look of the squares and the blanket itself - and I love the way it looks.

Blanket For My Mom

This is the first blanket I ever crocheted. And interestingly, also the only blanket I've ever made that's just one color. This was solely due to the fact that I had no clue how to change color. But that being said, I do like that it is all in white. It is made of double crochet stitches throughout - the first stitch I learned - and it is crocheted using a 4 mm hook. The yarn is a wool blend from Ice Yarns - it has since been discontinued - but it is a warm white with a light shimmer in the yarn. I gave the blanket to my mom for her birthday and she still uses it :)

Breaking Bad Afghan

I absolutely loved watching Breaking Bad ( who didn't!) :) And as the big crochet geek I am, I couldn't help but notice the really cool, crocheted afghan on the White's couch which was visible in almost every episode...at least during the first few seasons.   

My boyfriend and I only started watching Breaking Bad when the series had almost come to an end, so we were able to watch most of the show within quite a short time span. From very early on though, I had my eye on the afghan on the living room couch...and it just so happened that I had some yarn in those colors. So it didn't take me long to decide to try and copy that blanket. To my great surprise my boyfriend also thought it sounded like a cool project ( normally he doesn't pay too much attention to my crochet projects;))...so one thing led to another and before I knew it, I had ordered more yarn, so I could make it the exact size as the one on the show.
(Free pattern below).   

Purple Blanket - Never Ending Granny Square

When I taught myself to crochet it happened in front of my computer, with a big cup of tea, a crochet hook and some yarn. I was fortunate enough to stumble across Mickey from The Crochet Crowd when searching Youtube for videos teaching you how to crochet. I can't recommend his tutorials enough - they are so easy to follow and Mickey does a great job of showing and explaining everything a newbie needs to know when learning to crochet :)

Crocheted Scarf

I have just started to crochet this scarf. I've never made a scarf before, but I am excited to make something I can actually wear - a blanket doesn't count :) I have to admit I started a few weeks ago - with different colours for the broad stripes - but then I changed my mind, cause it just didn't look the way I had pictured it in my head...if you know what I mean :) So I started from scratch again and now I feel much better about my colour combo - it is three grey shades and then the broad stripes in rust-orange and pale pink repeated a few times.

Dots'n Dashes Throw

This was one of the first blankets I made when I had just learned to crochet. I really like the overlapping effect of the yarn the pattern creates. The pattern - which is free from the Red Heart website - calls for three colours to be used, but technically you can use as many as you want. The advantage of using three colours is that you can carry them along the sides of the blanket, so there are hardly any loose ends to tie in when you are done with the blanket - and I probably don't have to tell you this - if you are a crocheter - but not having to sew in a lot of loose ends is always nice :)

Crocheted Slippers

I always have cold feet - I'm one of those people who even during the summer has cold feet at times. Therefore, it's probably not that surprising that I wanted to try this pattern for crocheted slippers when I found it - while scrolling through all of the crochet patterns on the Yarnspirations website. 
The slippers really are quick to make - and look very cute, especially if you pull a ribbon through the final row once they are done.

Blue & Yellow Chevron Stripes Blanket

This blanket was a gift for my sister and her wife. They just moved to Norway to live and work - and I hope that this will keep at least one of them warm during the cold winter months. I really must get started on another blanket for them, so they can each have one :)
This pattern is the same as the one I used for my Blue Chevron Stripes blanket - link to the Lion Brand pattern is here - and I just so adore the pointy stripes it makes - I am already contemplating what colours to use for my next chevron blanket :)

Labels for my Crocheted Blankets

For quite a while now I've been dreaming about creating my own labels to put on all of my crochet projects. I think it would be such a nice last touch to put on something that you have spent so much time creating. Luckily, I found a company that lets you customize your own woven labels - and my parent's gave them to me for my birthday. The company I used is a Danish company, Scannex.dk, but I am sure you can also find one in your country if you also want to add a little personal touch to your homemade items. 

Neon pink blanket

This blanket was a christmas present for my 16-year-old niece. If you've visited my blog before then you might have seen me writing about how I wanted to make both of my nieces a crocheted blanket - the one I made for my youngest niece is right here.
(Free pattern further down).

Ear Warmer - Tunisian Crochet

This is a great little project to do if you have some leftover yarn you don't know what to do with. I spent an evening in front of the tv making this - it really does not take long. 
It is tunisian crochet - if you haven't tried it yet, then I highly recommend it. I am planning on making a tutorial, but in the meantime check out this video from Drops on how you get started. 

Pink Shades Blanket

I have two wonderful nieces and ever since I first started to crochet I have wanted to make them each a blanket. This one I made for my youngest niece who is now almost 4. It was also a great excuse for me to go a little crazy with a lot of pink colours - which I thoroughly enjoyed :) (Free pattern further down.)