Sampler Throw

When I first started to learn to crochet I was getting myself in a right tangle.  I wasn't really sure what I was doing or how it should look.  In fact, getting beyond the first row was an achievement.  When I did manage to get past that, it wasn't a pretty sight.

It was clear that if I was going to succeed in this hooking business, I needed extra help.  So I subscribed to the Art of Crochet magazine and a whole new world opened up to me.  It really is very easy.  The pictures were clear and I could see what I had to produce.

The first square was a textured square and it looked very complicated, to me.  However, it was just alternating double and treble crochets.  I was very pleased that mine looked like the picture  (see below).

Textured Square

I quickly moved onto square number 2.  I'm sent 4 weeks at a time so I didn't have to wait to do the next one.  Eeeeek.....scallop  lace square.  How was I meant to do that.  Well it turned out to be very simple as well.  Although, my first attempt was huge as my tension was too loose but the second attempt was much better (see below)

Scallop Lace Square

So onto week 3 I went, feeling super confident and enthusiastic.  It was time for the granny square.....that's okay I thought but then saw that I had to change colours.  Argghhh, not done that before!  But it was easily explained and worked out fine.  Although you can just see where I joined in the new colour between the pink and the turquoise (see below)

Granny Square

Week 4 - this was a simple treble crochet with a cross-stitch diamond on the front.  I do cross-stitch so thought that would be simple enough but it took me forever to get it right....not sure why!!  (oops it's on it's side)

Treble crochet Square with diamond motif

Week 5 - another treble crochet square but this time with a cross-stitch X

Treble crochet with X

Week 6 - was starting to get a bit bored with treble crochet and cross-stitch.  Well this week certainly taxed my brain; it was a ribbed pattern. On one row you did a relief treble front stitch and on the next row, a relief treble back stitch.  Such a nice effect.  I suppose it would do well on cuffs of jumpers or mittens.

Ribbed pattern square

Week 7 - Another new stitch - half treble crochets with a  star motif  (another one on the wrong angle - just turn your head sideways lol )

Half treble square with star motif

Week 8 - This is a mixture of trebles and bobbles.  Took me a couple of goes to be happyish with it.  I still don't think the dimensions are right - it has come out much larger than the others and the top and bottom spaces are different.  I'm tempted to remove one of the rows below the red bobbles (or to the right in this pic as it has come out sideways again).

Coloured bobbles square

That's it for the moment.  I have been doing the cushions in between these and a blanket which I'm about to tell you about in another post :-)

I have got a bit behind this project so have decided to catch up on it.

Week 9 - I quite enjoyed doing this one, even though it had the dreaded cross-stitch in it.  The background was a simple half treble crochet and then quite a nice Aztec design on the front.  I think this one turned out much better than my other attempts.

Half treble crochet with Aztec design

I have only just realised that my pattern is not correct - it looks as though that top 'wing' is floating and should be attached to the 'box' like it is at the bottom - I shall have to correct that!!!!

Week 10 - A completely new stitch to learn - the open mesh pattern.  This turned out much smaller than the others.  However, it was a nice one to do.  May have to come back and make it larger.  All the squares are supposed to measure 13cm x 13cm.  I've always thought that I crocheted tightly but it appears that for some stitches I do (double and half treble, mesh) but others maybe not (treble, scallop) as I seem to have less rows than in the pictures.

At the moment I am just making the squares up and will go through them when I have done them all and see which ones are the correct size or close enough not to matter and then redo the ones which are way too small or big and then block them all before assembling.

Week 11 - This was another chance to try colour changing.  It was double crochet with 6 boxes with different colours.  The thing that bothered me most was that the 'boxes' looked  frayed as you can't get sharp lines with crochet but it was nice to do something different and certainly made me think about it. As you can see, some turned out better than others.

Double crochet with colour blocks

Week 12 - another granny square - I do like doing these though, so it wasn't a problem. This one was treble crochet in the centre and then the rest were half treble crochets.

Turquoise granny square

Week 13 - I am really not happy with the way this one has turned out and will have another go at some time.  It was a treble crochet background with a cross-stitch diamond on the front.  The diamond is awful and because I have an uneven number of rows it looks off-centre again.  Still, here is the first attempt......

Week 14 - oohhh a bicolour diagonal square - this was in treble crochet.  Looks rather good.

Bicolour diagonal trebles square

Week 15 - I was a bit worried by this one as it had more cross-stitch on it and so far they have been my downfall, so I had a big think about it before doing it.  The square is treble crochet again.  This time I think the cross-stitching looks okay......well, I'm happy with it anyway.

Trebles square with man motif

Week 16 - This was a square of half trebles with a star motif.  Nothing new but it was made faster by experimenting with my Clover yarn guide.....the downside is it strains a tendon in my wrist.  I'm hoping that it will get better with time.

Half treble square with star motif