In all my 63 years of crochet, I have never made a corner to corner blanket. (C2C)
Last week, I decided that it was time to make one for my folksy shop.
www.folksy.com/shops/teabreaks
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Making the blanket was no problem at all but I have a very symetrical mind and so I had to make sure that when I reached the half way point I was able to work down the second side to match the first side.
That meant that the half way row had to be either a row of a single colour or the middle of an odd number of rows.
I decided to work in rows of 3. (3 white and 3 mauve.)
Working corner to corner was fun and I can only liken it to knitting a raglan sleeve....when you reach the decreases, each row gets shorter.
When I was happy with the size I started the decreases.
I have always been a person to save time and energy and found that although all the stitch patterns I looked at had 6 ch for turning....to me, it made it loose and so I cut this down to 5 ch. With all those hundreds of blocks of trebles......think of all the yarn saved by omitting just ONE ch per block !!
ALso when on the start of each decrease row it was neater to ss over alternate sts and not every stitch ,as this helped to keep the sides of the blanket straighter.
For the edging I started at a corner with 1dc,2ch,1dc then 2ch and one dc in each row end.
I then did a second row, working 2tr1ch2tr

(yes TWO and not three) in each corner and 3tr in each ch loop (NO ch between the blocks of trs....more yarn saved).
Finally I did a third row ...again starting in the corner with 1dc.2ch.1dc and then 2ch and 1dc between each 3tr block.
On my second blanket, I did the final edging row in a different colour.
I enjoyed making the first white and mauve C2C blanket so much, that I then made a multicoloured one. I did 43 rows before starting the decreases.

Today I have started a classic granny square baby blanket....It will be in white with baby pink stripes....a lot will depend on what I feel like, as to what edging I decide to add.
I have been very busy for the last few weeks with other things and so I decided to do the classic style blanket so that I can chill out, crochet and watch tv at the same time. I am able to crochet in this style without looking....well perhaps an occasional look to make sure that I haven't made any mistakes !
I have also been sorting out my yarns and came across a few items that I made , goodness knows when...and didn't realise I still had......here is a freeform crochet purse.
This was done in a basic shell stitch using a magic ball of yarn.
A magic ball of yarn is when you take lots of short lengths from your stash and tie them and wind them into a ball, without really worrying where the colour change will come, or even which colours you put next to each other. The purse is also lined in a basic dc to stop anything falling through.

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today, the sun is shining but it is still cold outside. With this in mind I am continuing to make more infinity scarves and will list them in my etsy and folksy shops.
www.folksy.com/shops/teabreaks
and
www.etsy.com/shop/teabreaks

Today's scarf has been made using James Brett acrylic in a lovely autumn random mix of colours.
I used a shell pattern and a 7mm hook as it keeps the scarf feeling light and soft yet warm.
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Yesterday I bought some beautiful mixed fibre yarn. a mix of browns with hints of gold and soft and fluffy to touch.
I decided to make a cowl neck infinity scarf as it is still winter here and cold outside.
I have several of these scarves and I wear them indoors too as they are really cosy and easy to wear.
I always hated ordinary scarves as they were a nuisance and never quite kept my neck warm. Infinity scarves are especially good as they sit nicely around the neck without gaps.
I made this one using a 7mm hook and I choice a pretty shell pattern of Dtr's.
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Many years ago I belonged to a group called the International Freeform crochet group. In fact I am still a member.
Freeform crochet is like painting with yarn.
You can crochet any stitches, in any direction. There are no "rights" and "Wrongs". Anything goes.
Lots of different yarns are used and the results can be absolutely stunning.
You can make lots of tiny motifs and join them together or just crochet piece on piece.
Here is a tiny piece of freeform crochet that I made in luxury yarns.
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welcome to my new crochet blog.....
I have been crocheting for 63 years and have designed and created hundreds of garments and had them sold in London boutiques and at craft fairs across the UK.
I like to design my own garments and don't use patterns.
Each of my creations is my own design and unique.
I hope to be showing any of my garments and works in progress WIP's.