October
2, 2004 -- "Gingham Checks" afghanOne
of the nice things about being pregnant is getting to slow down and turn to activities
I normally have little time for. I've been spending a lot of time with yarn and
crochet because it isn't demanding so I've been getting through projects much
faster than normal. The
gingham is a baby/toddler blanket I recently completed this month out of leftover
blues from last year's Xmas afghan I gave to Whit: 
I
just wanted to use up the yarn and try a new pattern. It's from Best Baby Afghans
from Leisure Arts but if you know how to do a basic granny square you really don't
need the pattern book and you really aren't limited to the size of the blanket. 
You
just make as many squares as you feel like, whipstitch into strips, then whipstitch
the strips into a blanket. Go around the edge in single crochet and then again
in doubles or trebles to make it ruffly. Weave all the loose ends in. Choose
your overall color (ex: blue) and then get yarn in a light, medium, and dark version
of it. I used Red Heart worsted weight with an "I" hook. Then decide
how long the blanket will be. In my case it was 9 strips of 11 squares each. I
started the first strip with a light blue square and then alternated it with the
medium blue. On the next strip, I started with the medium blue and alternated
with the navy. The rest of the strips follow the same strip patterns so when laid
side by side the illusion of a gingham check is created. Piece o' cake! | 