Crochet Sampler Square Blanket: Square 3, Filet Shells

Another Friday, another square in my Sampler Blanket! I hope you’re enjoying stitching the squares along with me.

I’ve moved on from spring green for today’s square (remember, I’m using up scraps of yarn for this project), and I’ve made my Filet Shells square in teal. This yarn is Mainstays Basic (the Walmart brand) that I’ve had in my box for a long time. (My yarn stash is confined to boxes in my closet because our home isn’t big enough for me to have a “yarn room” like so many others. Someday! In the meantime, at least my boxes are pretty.)

So… Filet Shells. This stitch is the longest row repeat of the blanket so far (future blocks will get shorter again), but it’s one of the easiest. I hope you enjoy stitching it up with me!

sampler blanket square 3

Filet Stitch

Shell Stitch: (2DC, ch 1, 2DC) in same stitch

Using a J hook, ch 37. Switch to the I hook for the remainder of the square.

Row 1: DC in 4th ch from hook and in each ch across. Ch 3 (counts as DC). Turn.

Row 2: *Sk 2 DC, shell in next st, sk 2 DC, SC* Repeat across. Chain 5 (counts as DC+ch2), turn.

Row 3: *SC in ch1 space of next shell, ch 2, DC in next SC, ch 2* Repeat across, ending with DC in the last SC. Ch 5, turn.

Row 4: *DC in next SC, ch 2, DC in next DC, ch 2* Repeat across, ending with DC in 3rd ch of turning chain. Ch 5, turn.

Row 5: DC in next DC. *ch 2, DC in next DC* Repeat across. Ch 1, turn.

Row 6: SC in first DC. *Shell in next DC, SC in next DC* Repeat across, ending with a SC in 3rd ch of turning chain.

Repeat rows 3-6 three more times, for a total of 4 repeats.

Border: Join your border color into one corner with a slip stitch. Ch 1, then SC, ch 2, SC into that same corner space. Single crochet around the square making sure you end up with 36 total stitches between the ch-2’s of the corners. On the raw edges (sides), this will be 2 SCs for every DC on the edge.

And that’s it! It seems complex because there are so many rows in the repeat, but just take it one stitch and row at a time, and you’ll be fine. Next week’s pattern is a lot simpler, and if you read my post on my Blazers Blanket, it will be very familiar!

Blessings,

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Blazers Blanket

I recently finished up a blanket showcasing the logo of my favorite NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers.



48D4CB1B-DE3E-4853-AE82-12E2A8885769

For this blanket, I looked in Google images for a pixel graph, then I stitched it up using the corner-to-corner method. I set it aside for a while then to work on other projects (including the Mickey Mouse blanket and some of the sampler squares). One of my sampler squares caught my attention as a wonderful design – so easy and somehow outrageously satisfying – and knew that I wanted to use it for the border of the blanket. It was a simple half double crochet, chain 1 repeat. Perfect for TV or audiobook time!

B133BC95-C3E7-4112-A118-31BB387A2CA5As a bonus, once I finished the blanket and posted a picture on Instagram, an old friend contacted me and commissioned a blanket for her son. It will be a similar design, but with his favorite team. 

Have you ever stitched anything in honor of someone else?

Blessings,

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Crochet Sampler Square Blanket: Square 2, Diamond Blocks

Welcome back to my Crochet Sampler Square blanket project! Did you make Square 1 with me? If not, you can find it here.

Today I have the pattern for the second square for you. It’s called Diamond Blocks, and is quite pretty. You might begin to notice a pattern with today’s square – all of the blocks will begin with a chain of 37 and have a single crochet border of 36 stitches on every side. This will make it easier to sew them all together at the end.

But without further ado, here is the pattern for Diamond Blocks.

sampler blanket square 2

Diamond Blocks

SC=single crochet

DC=double crochet

ch=chain

sk=skip

st=stitch

Shell=(DC, ch 5, DC) in specified st or ch. Shell made.

~*~*~

With a size J hook, ch 37. Switch to a size I hook for the remainder of the square.

Row 1: DC in 4th ch from the hook and in next 3 chs. *sk 2 chs, shell in next ch, sk 2 chs, dc in next 5 chs* repeat across. Ch 3, turn. (ch 3 counts as first DC of following row)

Row 2: DC in next 4 DCs (remember to skip the first one because the ch 3 accounted for it). *ch 2, SC in 3rd ch of shell, ch 2, DC in next 5 sts* Repeat across, ch 3 (counts as DC), turn.

Row 3: Sk next DC. *Shell in next st (the middle one of the 5), sk 2, 2 DC in ch-2 sp, DC in SC, 2 DC in ch-2 sp, sk next 2.* Repeat until you have 5 sts left (including the turning ch). In the final 5, sk 2, shell in next, sk 1, DC in top of turning ch. Ch 4 (counts as DC+ch 1), turn.

Row 4: *SC in 3rd ch of shell, ch 2, DC in next 5, ch 2* Repeat until the last shell. In the last shell, SC in 3rd ch, ch 1, DC in top of turning ch. Ch 3 (counts as DC), turn.

Row 5: DC in next ch 1-sp and in next next SC, 2 DC in ch-2 sp. *sk 2 DC, shell in next DC (the middle one), sk 2, 2 DC in ch-2 sp, DC in SC, 2 DC in ch-2 sp* Repeat until you get to the last ch-2 sp. At that point, 2 DC into the space, DC in SC, DC into each of the top 2 turning chains.

Repeat Rows 2-5 3 more times, then end on Row 2 (18 total rows).

Border: Join your border color into one corner with a slip stitch. Ch 1, then SC, ch 2, SC into that same corner space. Single crochet around the square making sure you end up with 36 total stitches between the ch-2’s of the corners. On the raw edges (sides), this will be 2 SCs for every DC on the edge.

See you next week for Square 3!

Blessings,

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Crochet Sampler Square Blanket: Square 1, Lattice

Over the next few weeks, I am going to be making a crochet blanket using a series of different stitch patterns, each stitched up into a square. When all of the squares are done (I’m not sure how many yet; probably 24 or 30), I’ll sew them together to make a blanket. I will be sharing my squares, along with their patterns, here. My goal is to release either 1 or 2 patterns per week. I would be delighted to have you stitch along with me! I will be using a variety of 4-weight acrylic yarns (using up what I have on hand, mostly) and a size I crochet hook, but you can use whatever you like. Keep in mind that yarn weight and hook size can change up the size of your squares considerably, so you might want more or fewer depending on how big they turn out. Mine are about 10 inches.

Keep in mind a few things if you decide to crochet with me. First, whatever yarn weight you decide to use at the beginning, keep with that same yarn weight throughout the project. This will help keep your squares fairly uniform. Additionally, use the same hook sizes throughout for the same reason. And finally, use the same yarn fiber throughout. You could probably get away with mixing fibers with similar washing instructions, but it’s best to keep things cohesive just in case. You wouldn’t want to mix acrylic and wool, for example, and forget that you’ve used wool, machine wash the blanket, and end up with severe puckering because the wool has felted while the acrylic did not.

Here is the first square of the series, Lattice.

sampler blanket square 1

Lattice Square Pattern (American crochet terms)

DC=double crochet

SC=single crochet

ch=chain

sk=skip

Using a size J hook, chain 37. Switch to size I hook for the remainder of the square.

Row 1: DC in 4th ch from hook, SC in same ch. *ch 2, sk next 2 chs, work (DC, SC) in next ch* Repeat all the way across the row. Ch 3, turn.

Row 2: In only the DCs, work (DC, SC, ch 2) all the way across. Skip all SCs and ch 2 spaces.

Repeat Row 2 16 more times (total of 18 rows).

BORDER: Join new color yarn in any corner. Ch 1, SC, ch 2, SC in same corner space. SC to get 36 total stitches (including the corner stitches) on each side. In every corner, work SC, ch 2, SC. When you get to the last side, remember that you’ve already worked the final SC; it was the first SC of the border at the beginning. Join to this stitch with a slip stitch.

That’s it for the Lattice Square! I hope you’ll join me next time for Square 2!

Blessings,

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SchoolhouseTeachers.com review (2021)

Disclosure: I received this product free through the Homeschool Review Crew

ST.com review 2021

Once again, I am taking part in the Homeschool Review Crew in 2021. The year is starting now, with a review of the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com!

In case you’re unaware of SchoolhouseTeachers.com, it is the homeschooling curriculum home of The Old Schoolhouse magazine, and it is awesome! There is way more on there than I could ever write about in a single post, so I’m going to go over just a little bit of what we’ve been using.

history of hanukkahSince it was the beginning of December when we first got started with this year’s review, I started by doing the History of Hanukkah study with my younger kids (Grasshopper, 8, and Dragonfly, 5). Hanukkah ran from December 11-18 last year, so we did the history study in the week leading up to it. The unit study included an 18-minute video, a 65-slide ebook/powerpoint presentation, a 2-page student comprehension worksheet, and a printable dreidel game. I took a couple of days to read the ebook to the kids and we discussed the content as we went. When we’d finished, they watched the video, and we felt they were ready to celebrate Hanukkah!

Moving forward, I’m super excited to explore the School Boxes for my kids. These are full curricula, designed like the “box sets” you can get from other companies, except they are entirely digital. I’ve never had the ease of a full curriculum for any of my kids (except when we reviewed one last year, but we stopped using it for a variety of reasons), and I really love the idea of not having to piece-meal a curriculum. SchoolhouseTeachers.com has school boxes for all grades, Kindergarten through 12th, and when I say it’s a full curriculum, I really mean it! Check out the topics available:

K school box

K English sample pageAnd that’s just for Kindergarten! Each of those topics has a downloadable teacher’s guide. The guide tells you everything you need in order to teach the subject, from a list of the supplies to a weekly curriculum guide to keep you on track to the specific links for the lessons on the main site that you need to teach the lessons. It really is all-inclusive!

I didn’t look at all of the school boxes, just the ones I needed for my kids (K, 3rd, 9th, and 11th grades), and they are all just as amazing. The 3rd grade box is the same as the Kindergarten box, but it also has “History-classical” as an option. The 9th grade box includes math, literature, writing, spelling, science, traditional and classical history, and art. The 11th grade box includes the same subjects as 9th grade plus geography.

My teens are largely self-sufficient in their schooling when given the proper assignments, so I will be sending these PDFs to their emails (along with my login information so they can access the website) and keeping track of what they’re doing through regular checking in. I am so grateful to have access to these complete curriculum resources!!

But what if you don’t need a full box curriculum? That’s okay too! SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a fantastic place for “filling in the gaps,” which is how we’ve used it in the past. They have hundreds of classes for students of every age, in every subject imaginable. Even if you just want something for a short-term unit study, they have it! You really can’t go wrong with a membership.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is also a fantastic place for printable planners. The main planner available this year is the Smart Mama planner, which includes a interactive budget to help you track household expenses and is otherwise completely customizable. It has the ability to help you make transcripts for your older kids complete with including your digital signature in case you need to send those transcripts off to someone.

Other members-only benefits include the option to get a FREE tote bag (just pay S&H) as well as a free print subscription to The Old Schoolhouse magazine (as long as your membership stays active).

If you sign up by the end of the month (Jan. 31, 2021), you can get access to every single thing on the site for $139 a year, $16 a month, or $24.95 a quarter (automatically renewing in all cases). It’s normally $224.97 for the annual subscription, so it’s a substantial savings this month.

For more information on SchoolhouseTeachers.com, head over to the Homeschool Review Crew blog where you can read an introductory post as well as over 100 reviews (some blogs, some Facebook reviews, and some video reviews).

Blessings,

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Mickey Mouse C2C Blanket

I recently finished my biggest (yarn) project ever! I made this Mickey Mouse blanket for my mom for Christmas using the crochet corner-to-corner (C2C) stitch. There are a variety of ways to do this stitch, and I went with the double-crochet, chain 3 method. This made for an enormous blanket! It ended up being nearly 6×7 FEET! (The pattern is 80×100 pixels.) I used Big Twist yarn from JoAnn. I don’t remember the exact skein counts, but I think I ended up using 7 of the black and 3 of the white. Could’ve been more, though (I know it wasn’t less). I used my Clover Amour size I-9 crochet hook. The pattern is from Pixel Hooker, and it took me about 8 weeks to complete (though it wasn’t my only project the whole time).

mm blanket 1

mm blanket 2

I even used my pompom makers to make some Mickey pompoms for the corners! To do this, I made one big pom and 2 small ones for each corner, then hot glued them together in the shape I wanted.

mm blanket 3

What’s the biggest knit or crochet project you’ve ever made?

Blessings,

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