Postponed for Disneyland...

We are taking our kids to Disneyland for the first time, all this week. So you will all just have to wait a couple more days for Square #13. Heading home this weekend, so watch for the next square sometime in the next week.

Hope all of your summers are off to a great start. I know ours is!

Sampler Square #12 - Rowan Berry Stitch

Designed by Laurinda Reddig of ReCrochetions

Special Stitches /Techniques:
Rowan Berry Stitch (RB): Insert hook into last stitch used, Yo, pull out of stitch, Yo, insert hook into next stitch, Yo, pull out of stitch; Yo, pull through all four loops on hook.

Pattern:This pattern is now exclusively available in the ReCrochetions Presents: Rowan’s Learn to Crochet Sampler Afghan Book. Available in Right and Left-handed Editions (see links -->). The book also contains 4 more simple baby blanket patterns and a newborn hat, and 30 complete step-by-step tutorial.

Notes: Working in 2 stitches makes the stitches much wider so we do not need as many stitches across. It also causes the stitches to form in more of a grid than regular crochet stitches, with the stitches directly above one another instead of slightly offset from the row before.

This stitch is my own variation. I have not found anyone who recognizes it as an established stitch, so I decided to name it after the small orange berries that can be found on a Rowan Tree (or Mountain Ash). My craft studio looks out at the Rowan Tree in the small memorial garden we planted for our daughter Rowan. When we started looking for the berries we realized that rowan trees are very common in our little town, in the parks, and the greenbelt just behind out house.

I cannot believe we are 3/4 of the way through the Afghan pattern already! Just four more weeks and we can start sewing those squares together. Do NOT start sewing them together now, or you will have the problem I did with my 2nd blanket, and all of the textured squares at the end are in the same row. At this point I should admit that I have caught up to my tester (and the other one had a baby a month ago), so please let me know if you notice any typos or need clarification. Thank you to all those who have joined the Crochet Along, I hope you are having fun!

Sampler Square #11 - Spike Single Crochet

Designed by Laurinda Reddig of ReCrochetions

New Stitches /Techniques:
Spike Single Crochet (Ssc): Insert hook below the next stitch, 1 row down (this means instead of inserting in the top of the stitch, you will be inserting into the same space that stitch was worked), Yo, pull loop through and up to the top of your work, Yo, pull through both loops.


Pattern:This pattern is now exclusively available in the ReCrochetions Presents: Rowan’s Learn to Crochet Sampler Afghan Book. Available in Right and Left-handed Editions (see links -->). The book also contains 4 more simple baby blanket patterns and a newborn hat, and 30 complete step-by-step tutorial.

Notes: Spikes are another stitch where the trick is in where you insert your hook. Once you figure that out, you are doing a basic single crochet stitch. Spike stitches can be made much longer by inserting your hook 2, 3, or 4 rows beneath the row you are working. Once you have a few rows of sc, you can experiment with combining different lengths of spike stitches.

On Thursday I met a mother whose 4 1/2 month old daughter was in the NICUs at both Legacy Salmon Creek and Emanuel. Her health situation was very different than Rowan's, but they used a lot of the same procedures, so she asked me a lot of questions. Her daughter was not at Salmon Creek long enough to receive one of our blankets, but at Emanuel (where Rowan spent her one day of life) she was given a quilt and afghan. It was very strange to see this tiny little person, healthy and alive, who spent a week unconscious while her parents had to wait and see. Her mother truly understands how amazing it is that most babies actually come out healthy when there are so many things that can go wrong, and what a miracle her tiny daughter is.

Sampler Square #10 - X-Stitch

Designed by Laurinda Reddig of ReCrochetions

Abbreviations Used: Yarn Over (YO), Stitch (st), Chain (ch), Single Crochet (sc), Half Double Crochet (hdc), Double Crochet (dc)

New Stitch:
X-Stitch: YO, skip first st, dc in next st; working behind dc just made, dc inserting the hook from front to back of the top of skipped st. (video)


Pattern:This pattern is now exclusively available in the ReCrochetions Presents: Rowan’s Learn to Crochet Sampler Afghan Book. Available in Right and Left-handed Editions (see links -->). The book also contains 4 more simple baby blanket patterns and a newborn hat, and 30 complete step-by-step tutorial.

Notes: The only trick to this stitch is figuring out how to insert your hook. I tried to find a good tutorial. The one in the link has small pictures, but you can click on them to make them bigger, easier to see. The Video link is much more helpful. If you still cannot get the hang of it, you can try working your 2nd dc in each X in front of the 1st dc. Working in front may be a bit easier, but looks a little different. I have simply always worked in the back, so that is how I wrote it. :) On the other hand, since I am lefthanded, a right-hander working in front of the 1st stitch would actually look more like my picture. So do what works for you, and let me know which you do. Thanks!

Rather than finishing the 2nd & 3rd versions of the blanket, this week I started 2 more!! I keep finding new yarns I want to try the pattern in, so I start a new blanket. Today I started one with Red Heart Soft, which I like working with SOOO much better than the Super Saver. I am also doing some squares with a slightly bulkier tweeded yarn in shades of blue. Several balls were donated, so I am not quite sure what brand it is, or how I will work it into a blanket with other yarns.

What yarns is everyone using? I am excited to have nearly 2 dozen of you following my Crochet Along now, from as far away as Germany, and as close as my friend just up the street. Thank you all for joining along!