I needed a quick break from making all the squares, so I made this pink plumeria! The pattern is from the brilliant mind of June Gilbank. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn and an E hook, and it took me about 3 hours (mostly because I was having trouble putting them together in the proper shape). I would like to make some more of these flowers, preferably smaller, though I'll need some very thin yarn and a minuscule hook!
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I was excited to do this pattern, but mine didn't turn out as squarey as the photo. My pattern turned into shells, unfortunately. I think it's because the green yarn seems a bit thicker and stiffer than most of the other yarns.
I used an I hook with Red Heart Super Saver Hunter Green yarn.
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This pattern is a bit shelly, but I like the outlines formed by the front posts. This square also turned out very straight, and I can only guess it's because I've finally been doing 3 ch = dc at the beginning of a row. Sometimes it works and sometimes it's too much. I haven't figured out when 2 chains or 3 chains are better yet, though.
I used Red Heart Super Saver Turqua yarn with an H hook.
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This pattern called for 11 stitches in the repeat, so I had to make it sideways. It's interesting, and surprisingly not too "shelly."
I used an H hook and Red Heart Cafe Latte yarn.
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This stitch has an interesting pattern! I had trouble reading the instructions properly and so I ended up with the wrong number of stitches several times before I reread the pattern and then it made sense. I didn't pick yellow yarn specifically for this pattern, but once I was done I decided this stitch should be called "Beehive" instead. I'm actually very surprised at how straight this square came out!
I used Red Heart Bright Yellow yarn with an I hook.
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I was really looking forward to doing this stitch, but mine didn't turn out as well as I'd like. It doesn't look too bad, but it's not as neat as the book's photo. Perhaps I should have used a smaller hook (seems to be an ongoing trend). However, I feel like I learned more about previous row stitches again as well as interpreting patterns and experimenting with possible variations (aka trying to figure out what the pattern wants), as I was confused for a while in the beginning and had to start over.
I used a K hook with Red Heart Super Saver Medium Purple yarn.
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I wasn't very impressed with this stitch's picture, but I really like how mine turned out. It turned out far too narrow, even though that's not how it started. For the first time, doing 3 stitches (instead of 2) for the first dc of a row made it shrink on one side, and once I increased to 3, the side straightened out. Hopefully it won't look too bad when stitched together with other squares.
I used Red Heart Super Saver Carrot with a K hook.
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This stitch looked intriguing in the photo, but when it came to doing it myself, it became tedious and the end result was fairly unimpressive. It didn't take long to make the square at least.
I used an I hook with Red Heart Super Saver Amethyst yarn.
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This pattern was fairy easy to work, and didn't take too long. The only thing I had trouble with was where to put my hook for the Xs, as it wanted me to stitch in the sc below the dc. After a few rows I figured it out though, and now I've mastered that! I think that will help me when doing other sorts of long spike stitches that require going around the post of the 5th dc of the 3rd sc one row below the previous tc in the last row. Well, maybe not that one.
I used a G hook with Red Heart Super Saver White and CraftSmart Value Bright Red.
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I know I've said I hate shells, but I really abhor lacy shell stitches. This one has a total of two pairs of front post double crochet every other row, and they hardly stand out against the overwhelming shelliness of this stitch. I was tempted to quit several times. I get frustrated at these lacy shells and find them just so boring to crochet and boring to look at when I'm finished. I'm not looking forward to the other shell stitches in this book, and I'm actually confused as to why the author decided that this was considered a "post stitch."
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Woot! A quarter of the way done!
This was fun to whip up. I like the front post split treble crochet stitch, and I like the stitches that create a pattern with only post stitches AND NOT SHELLS.
I used an I hook with CraftSmart Value Grey yarn.
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I really like the patterns created by front and back post double crochet, so I was excited to do this one. Textured Diagonals and Posted Chevrons are two of my favorite patterns so far, which were quite similar to this one.
It took me a long time to get the first few rows started. I had no idea which stitch to work into 2 rows below. It's easy enough to find the right post in double crochet, but single crochet is much harder! I think it's safe to say that I am now (finally!) a self-taught expert at finding the right stitch. It's surprisingly hard, and I didn't realize I didn't know how to do it until this pattern.
This square is sideways because the repeat is 12 + 14 stitches, so I had to do it VERY tight with a G hook to do it along the 7" side, which didn't turn out well. Instead I did about normal tension on the 9" side with a K hook, which turned out to be just about right. My only regret is that I didn't get very many branches in the square.
I used Red Heart Super Saver Burgundy with a K hook.
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Another shells, luckily we've had a nice break and I was ready to tackle this one. I started out very frustrated though, and it took about 8 or 9 rows before the square started to look like anything other than a giant jumble of yarn. Overall, it's very stretchy and it looks best when stretched a bit, and even then the stitch is still pretty textured. One interesting thing is that the front and back look quite different, which I do like.
I used Red Heart Super Saver Pale Yellow with a K hook.
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The Split Front Post Double Crochet stitch is a good one to have in my repertoire, but this square is honestly very boring. There's not much to say about it, as the stitch wasn't used in any creative way, as it was in Oddysey.
I used Red Heart Super Saver Burgandy and a K hook.
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Argh, single crochet takes a long time to make anything, though I do have to admit it took far less time than yesterday's square. I wish the pattern were more pronounced on this one. It's hard to see the raised stitches even from up close.
I used Red Heart Super Saver Spring Green and a J hook.
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Day 20! Woohoo!
This stitch took a long time because I had to use a small hook and more stitches in the beginning chain. The crossed posts look pretty cute and the back has some textured ridges that add to the effect.
It was hard to get the right gauge, so I ended up using a G hook with Lion Brand Pound of Love Pastel Green.
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This stitch was pretty easy, just double crochet with a few front post double crochet every other row. Nothing special, but it's good to have done just for gaining inspiration for future stitches.
I used an I hook with Caron One Pound Royalty.
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Yay, another day of not-shells, and more to follow! This stitch looked quite intriguing in the book, but unfortunately fell flat in my rendition. In fact, my square looks almost nothing like the picture in the book, and the only recognizable element between the two is the columns of posts on the front, and the book's are much less pronounced than mine. Perhaps the name of this stitch refers to the possible crude dragonflies or butterflies that the stitch creates? Alas, we may never know.
I used Red Heart Super Saver White with a J hook.
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This stitch was pretty fun and easy to make, though the square turned out much too small even after I added more chains. I was glad to make something that didn't include any shells! There is a lot of texture to this stitch, as each row has elements that protrude outwards and are recessed.
I used an H hook with CraftSmart Value Navy yarn.
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I was excited to do this pattern even though I hate shells. When complete, it actually looks more like hearts than shells. If I had done a longer stitch in the middle of the shell instead of a single crochet, they would look much more like hearts, just in time for Valentine's day! This stitch would be pretty as a blanket, but takes a long time to change colors after every 2 rows. If you wanted to carry the yarn up one side it might take less time, and you'd save even more not having to weave in four strands of yarn for every row of boxes.
I used Red Heart Super Saver Amethyst and Red Heart Super Saver Turqua, with an I hook.
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And just for fun I made a pompom out of the scraps!
Another shell stitch. Joy. This one was very quick to come together. It's fairly simple, just shells and posts alternating... again. Well, they can't all be gems.
>I used a J hook with Red Heart Super Saver Bright Yellow.Front
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I was not very excited to start this day's project because of the shells. The title of this stitch was more descriptive than the picture given in the book. The stitch is basically alternating shells and "boxes" of front and back post double crochet. Perhaps I should have picked a brighter colored yarn, but the pattern is incredibly hard to actually see. I don't think picking brighter yarn would have done much, as the book used a green yarn for their picture and it's still difficult to pick out the different parts. I also used a K hook, maybe a tighter stitch would have been cleaner.
Overall this pattern is completely underwhelming, though fairly quick to whip up. I used a K hook and Red Heart Super Saver Cafe Latte.
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I was excited to start this stitch; it looked pretty cool in the picture. It was a little hard for me to figure out which stitch I was supposed to work into (patterns are often inconsistent with their wording), but in the end I think it turned out great!
I used a G hook with Craft Smart Value Bright Red. The pictures make it look pink but it's actually red.
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Did you spot my missed stitch?
I liked the look of this stitch so I was excited to start it. Luckily, the stitch is incredibly easy, though it had 4 different rows to remember. I should have used a brighter yarn so the pattern would show up better. I really like the way the front post double crochet together made V shapes in the spaces. The other nice thing about this stitch is that the square was already finished before I realized it; I almost made too many rows!
I used an H hook with Craftsmart Value Gray.
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Another shells stitch! Shells are definitely not my favorite type of stitch, so I wasn't looking forward to doing this one. I even messed up pretty bad at one point... see the bloopers section below. The pattern called for an 11 stitch repeat plus 15 stitches extra for the starting chain, and though the 11 x 2 stitches was the right size for the square, it turned out WAY bigger, almost exactly the size of the longer edge, so it's a sideways pattern this time!
I like how the shells are pronounced on the back, and this stitch works up very quickly, but overall I don't care for it. I have no idea what the practical use of this stitch would be. I used a K hook and Red Heart Super Saver Hunter Green.
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Bloopers! I skipped a stitch... or two...
