Beautiful and what a wonderful cause!

Lovely!

That is an absolutely beautiful blanket.

Very pretty!

I love that. Very nice.

Beautiful, Annie!

Gorgeous, Annie! That truly is a lovely thing you are doing. The blankets must be so comforting to the children who receive them.

Annie, mine are basic because that's about all I can do - I'm basically a self-taught knitter. I do have fun with different yarns and combinations.

Beautiful work, wonderful cause. I envy your talent!

Lovely, Annie.

Annie, thank you for your compassion and kindness toward others. Your work is truly beautiful. Both my mother and grandmother crocheted or knitted lap blankets for various places, and my grandmother pieced and quilted quilts for the children's home many years ago.

Very pretty and very kind of you to do this.

chessey, it's amazing what you can learn on you tube videos! The stitch above is crochet, corner to corner, which I learned on you tube. I prefer crochet simply because it is so much faster, esp when making blankets, though I do knit too.

I love that combo, Annie. And yes, very much like a daffodil.

Yes, definitely daffodils, but also a feminine version of Green Bay Packers colors. Maybe the blanket will go to wisconsin.

Sheesh...yeah or John Deere colors for a boy!

Oh the talent you have Annie. That blanket is gorgeous. I love the pattern and colors. Thanks for donating to such a great cause.

Wow - that is beautiful.

Idstarr, try “wanted - yarn” on Freecycle.

Annie, that blanket is stunning! Thank you for making them for such a worthy cause. My nephew was given a blanket from Project Linus when he was born.

Chessie, You don't need to make anything fancy for it to be loved and appreciated! I do basic and simple because I don't want to keep a pattern at hand while knitting or crocheting, as a lot of my work is done while DH drives, or in public when we are out at our local social club. I get in trouble if I am not working on something while we are there, and it's a great conversation starter. Everyone wants to know what I am working on now, and keeps track of the progress. Because the pattern is something I don't need to think about, or follow a written pattern, I can visit with everyone while I work on my project.

Garage and estate sales are great places to find free or low cost yarn, also. And, since I knit or crochet in public, I have been asked if I want yarn that someone has from a family member who has passed. I can usually find a home for it, so it doesn't end up in the land fill, and they are pleased to have been able to pass it on to someone who can use it.

Just gorgeous! Someone is going to be Very Happy to receive it!

Annie, you are very talented. What a beautiful design!

Annie, you do such a beautiful job crocheting and it must feel very gratifying to be able to lend your time and talent to such a worthy cause!

Such talent makes me a bit green with envy...So pretty!

Hundred thumbs up!

That’s a nice pattern, do you have a link to the instructions? I haven’t crocheted anything in years, it might make a good winter evening project. I used to make quilts, but haven’t done one of those in a couple of years either.

Saypoint, the pattern is called corner to corner (C2C) so it's worked diagonally....that's why the stripes in mine are on the diagonal. It's a very quick and easy pattern. And it can be made in any size you want. I learned it watching on-line videos. It's all only slip stitch, chain and double crochets so very basic.

The beauty of it is that it creates little squares which can then be used to make create images, monograms, etc, sort of like mosaic tiles by changing colors. And there is no right or wrong side...the image is the same on both sides. I did one of a bear as a shower gift for my GFs grandson.

Thanks for posting the name and the link Annie. I am a knitter. I do know how to crochet, but I much prefer to knit.

However, that pattern looks like something I should try. Thanks.

PS, watched the video. AWESOME pattern. Again, thanks so much for sharing!

Moni

That's beautiful! I love the color combo you put together too.

Like Moni, I am a knitter. I'd like to learn to crochet; in fact, a colleague who is very accomplished at crochet tried to teach me a few years ago, but she was very competitive in all things and I'm convinced she did not actually want me to learn, so did her worst at "teaching." I was able to create a long chain, but nothing beyond that. Perhaps I should pick it up and try it on my own. Particularly now that we're settling into the colder months, I like to have a project on my lap.

The utube videos look pretty easy to follow, even for a beginner. I’ve done both and found crochet a lot easier than knitting for some reason. I learned when I was about 6 or 7 years old. All of my dolls had little crocheted berets and beanies with ear flaps. I never became proficient at knitting.

OT That was in the olden days when people knew how to do things and passed knowledge on to their kids. My mom and great aunt between them could knit, crochet, sew, make tatted lace, garden, make cheese, pickle, can, bake, change a tire, split wood, and pick wild mushrooms.

My dad, who is approaching 80, has fond memories of crocheting potholders for his mother when he was a very small boy.

The videos on youtube are wonderful for learning how to knit or crochet as you can repeat them as many times as necessary or just review the part you didn't get. They have them starting with the very basics up to showing new techniques to the more experienced. I've been knitting and crocheting since I was a little girl and I still find so much more to learn on youtube.

My daughter married into a farming family and they're all into John Deere. That's the first thing I thought of when I saw your finished blanket, not the jonquils! Beautiful work, you are one talented lady!

How I wish I'd kept up crocheting. I could only make 20' scarves. lol. The colors are amazing. Reminds me of a Scottish tartan.

Lovely! So beautiful and useful :)

I used up most of my yarn stash years ago making log cabin afghans. I only had to buy black for the edging. I gave several away and they were well liked. Very easy to knit or crochet.

Elizabeth, that's so lovely and cozy looking...can you steer me toward a pattern? I've never seen that in knit or crochet before. I went rather nuts making the bedspread in a quilt pattern out of granny squares with tying ends and sewing squares together...all 768 of them. So glad that's over!!

I went looking and found the log cabin pattern on youtube...looks like a great "stash buster" and will definitely be making it. Thanks so much!

What a talent! I wish I could knit or crochet. Annie, very nice blanket and awesome cause. Thank you.

One of the best things about a log cabin is that it is 12 or 16 large squares to sew together. You also don't need to follow a chart or written pattern so you can work fast. Very portable.

Squares an be as large or small as you like. Lots of patterns free on ravelry.com.

Oakley, if you could make scarves, you can make other things! Use YouTube for a refresher course if you need to.

Ida Claire, if you were close to me, I would do my best to teach you, though I'm not the best teacher. But if I couldn't, I know several others who do teach it, and do it well.

Elizabeth, that log cabin is beautiful! I did a log cabin quilt 32 years ago, that will need to be taken apart and repaired. I tied it, instead of quilting it, and after being used all these years, it needs some TLC.

Annie, your granny square quilt is also beautiful! Lots of work for sure.

Katlan, same offer goes to you, if you were close. Or anyone who we might be close to in our travels.

Elizabeth, I use ravelry.com quite often!

I’ve been looking at patterns and instructions online and I’m shocked at the cost of yarn these days. One pattern for a throw called for $90 worth of yarn. Is that right, or did I miss something?

How much yarn was required to make the project? The cost of yarn, like everything else, has gone up. I don't know how long it's been since you bought yarn, but, yes, making an afghan is not inexpensive.

It was a pattern on the redheart website, and you could buy the yarn right there. 20 skeins for a 72 x 72 afghan. It’s been 30 yrs. since I crocheted anything.

Thanks for sharing the links Annie. It is wonderful that you share your talent with others, particularly the children.

Saypoint, I don't use expensive yarns for these afghans...mostly I use acrylic as it's not expensive and it's the most washable. A lot of what I'm using is from my stash so it's low/no cost. But if you start looking at angoras and cashmeres and hand dyed and such, the yarn costs can go up. Remember too that if the pattern is coming from a yarn company, they're going to want to sell you the more expensive stuff as that's their business. But if you go by yarn weight and head to Jo-Anns or some other chain craft store when they have a sale on and/or coupons, you can make it for a lot less.

Thanks for posting this, I was inspired to start a project that will keep me from going insane during these long evenings, at least for a while. I’m also going to look in the Project Linus. Basket weave afghan in Aran fleck. 4 rows in, lol.

Saypoint, that's a very nice pattern and that yarn is so pretty!

In addition to project linus, hospice is always looking for lap robes as are many nursing homes. I joined a knitting group (or stitch and b*tch as they are sometimes called) and some ladies are making scarves for various charities, and others make and decorate chemo caps. One gal is starting to make crafty items for her senior center holiday sales. So lots of options, lots of needs.

If you're interested in a knitting group, check out your area libraries and senior centers.

Saypoint, that will be very pretty! As for the price of yarn now, I do watch sales for big projects like afghans. I will say, though, that if it's for a sweater or socks for me or DH, I don't use acrylic yarn, and use a wool or wool blend, which is a LOT more expensive, though I do try to find the least expensive that will still look nice and drape properly for the project. I do quite often pay $20 for sock yarn. BUT I have been wearing the very first pair of sock I made 17 years. So looking at it that way, that pair of socks has cost me pennies per wearing. I do have to repair the bottom of the heels on those and a couple of other pair after catching the bottom on a screw in threshold plates. So, I guess my point is, I don't just look at initial cost, but cost per use, also.

Our local knitting circle has participated in Warm Hands, Warm Hearts, a program that was started about 18 years ago by our local hospital's chaplin's wife, who is a long time member of our circle. She is a retired teacher, and had a child who had no hat, so she went home and knitted a hat for that child. It snow balled from there into many knitting/crochet groups making hats and mittens to donate to our local hospitals emergency rooms for the nurses to provide hats and mittens to those who come in with out hats and mittens in the winter. We all look for yarn at yard sales, and often will have it donated to us from various sources. I've even been knitting in the laundramat and been asked if I could use free yarn! The employee had been cleaning out her aunt's home after the aunt's passing, and hadn't been able to bring herself to put it in the garbage. She lived right down the street and immediately called her DH to bring me THREE big garbage bags of clean free yarn! Of course I took it to our next meeting and shared! We also make blankets for local children in distress at a special short term home that takes in children who may be from a single parent home, when that parent can't care for them for whatever reason. Our hospital just put on a thank you dinner for us, and told us we have contributed over 32,000 hand made items in 18 years!