Ravelry Pattern Hodgepodge Butterfly Afghan

   When I heard that my cousin and his wife were going to decorate their nursery with butterflies I began "favorite-ing" oodles of butterfly patterns on Ravelry... I LOVE butterflies, and I wish more parents would use them in their daughter's nursery theme.

     When I first saw the pattern for this afghan (which is made up of squares) I knew that it would be perfect (granted I would do some tweaking). I decided to only make 25 square (instead of the 35 the pattern called for...16 of square #1 and 9 of square #2)) since the time before the baby shower was running out.

     I also used a different butterfly pattern because I couldn't get the one from the afghan pattern to lay flat.

     After I saw this edging the scallops would not do. Somehow I couldn't get the butterfly edging to look right (so either I was doing something wrong or there was a slight error in the pattern) so I edited so that it reads as follows:

dc cluster = ch 3, yo, insert, draw up, yo, draw through 2, yo, insert in same st, draw up, yo, draw through 2, yo draw through all,

Tr cluster = ch 3, (yo 2, insert in same st, draw up, yo, draw through 2, yo, draw through 2) 3 times, yo draw through all, ch 4, sl st in same st

Antenna st = ch 5 tightly, ch 1 loosely (later you will cut this ch), ch 5 tightly, sl st in same st,

Butterfly= dc cluster, ch 1, tr cluster in last ch, antenna st in same st, ch 1, tr cluster in same st, dc cluster in the same st, sk 4 st in round 1 and sl st in 4th st

Notes: In between each of the butterflies you sc 10... Of course I had to tweak this too, instead leaving it basic I repeated this in between the butterflies:
(sl st, ch 2, sc in same st, sc 1)

 I guess I can't be perfectly happy with anything because after the first couple of squares I changed the pattern so that I would finish the first corner at the beginning of the round instead of doing half at the beginning and the other half at the end, which caused the corner to stretch out and look uneven. (like the upper left corner of the square above)

I even sewed the squares together differently than the usual whip stitch. Instead I used the flat braid join method that I found here and I used the tips from here.

Granny Square Bag

Here is a really simple idea that I found a while back...

 Just take three granny squares that are the same size...

 Fold them in half diagonally, sew the edges together (as shown below) and add a handle to make a bag! I'm sure you could use blocks other than granny squares to get a unique designs. For my squares I decided to change colors every two rounds...

You can also use an extra square to make a flap as shown  here (the place I originally found the pattern)

Cute Turkey Pillow/Square

This is the first pillow I've made...the only reason I made it into a pillow is because I didn't have any other patterns that measured up and I thought a whole afghan of turkeys would be overwhelming. Here's where I found this adorable pattern http://dayna.tdgservices.com/ShowPattern.aspx?PatternID=34

 

 Enjoy!

Simple Cutesy Afghan

This was my first afghan with squares. It is very simple, easy but also tedious because you have to sew a lot of seams.

My favorite effect is the scallop border. It was not my own pattern. “(sk 3, dc 5 in next st,)as many times as needed."

Here's the link to the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgqBr3vmlmE

 My aunt taught me how to make the granny squares orally and then I wrote it out. Here it is:

Size: 4x4

Tools:

Crochet hook size I/9

Scissors

Yarn needle/darning needle

Supplies:

Approx  12yds of worsted weight yarn

Abbreviations:

Chain=ch

Slip stitch=sl st

Double crochet=dc

Ch 4, join w/ sl st

Rnd 1: Ch 3, dc 2 in loop,  ch 2, *dc 3 in loop, ch 2* repeat from * to * 3 times,  join w/ sl st

Rnd 2: Ch 3, dc 2 in loop under  3 ch, ch 1, dc 3 in corner loop, ch 2, dc 3 in same corner loop, ch 1, *dc 3 in next corner, ch 2, dc 3 in same corner, ch 1,* repeat  from * to * once, dc 3 in next corner, ch 2, join  to beginning w/ sl st

Rnd 3: Ch 3, dc 2 in loop under 3 ch, *ch 1, dc 3 in middle loop, ch 1, dc 3 in corner, ch 2, dc 3 in same corner,* repeat from * to * twice, ch 1, dc 3 in middle loop, ch 1, dc 3 in next corner, ch 2, join  to beginning w/ sl st, tie off weave in ends

You may notice in this pattern that it is actually just "Dc 3, ch 2, dc 3" in the corners holes, dc 3 in the other holes and ch 1 in between." you can continue this for as many rounds as you like, this just happens to be for the 4" square.

Butterfly Afghan

This is probably my favorite afghan so far. It was a really quick and easy pattern.

I did tweak the first corner of each round "Ch 3, dc 1 in corner hole" and then finish the round as if this were the entire corner, when you reach the end of the round you won't have to slip stitch instead "dc 2 in corner hole, ch 2, sl st in the 3rd ch from the beg." just as you would with a granny square, this also makes it so you can't see the slip stitches in the final product. Although the first corner hole will be a slightly different shape. (in the 2nd picture, in the bottom right you may notice that those holes are a little bigger) Note: this is a 12in square

The square is not my own pattern. Here's where I found it along with other inspiring patterns. http://yarncrazy.blogspot.com/2009/05/butterfly-garden.html

This is the video for the 3-D Butterfly to sew on to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_0L152d1oc&p=C8B6ACC17E98D42C  (also not my own pattern) I hope you enjoy!