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It s finished! 

 My Patchwork Crochet Sampler Throw ~ Started Here

Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 19

When I started this project to revive and build my crochet skills,

 it was to be 20 squares for this

Crochet Sampler Crochet Along @ The Inspired Wren

It soon took a life of its own and I added setting rectangles

 and granny squares and my own border.

I will be adding "Patchwork Crochet Sampler Throw" 

and the hastag  #patchworkcrochet 

to all my posts for this to make them easier to find. 

This crochet ...

Katniss says,

 "My turn on the crochet in progress, Mommy! 

Purrrrease?" 

Progress is being made here at "Cat on The Lap Crochet." 

This is the first round in border one on my 

Here is the Cat On The Lap, Nutmeg.

Every time I sit in my favorite living room chair to make some progress

the cat hops onto my lap.

I put the WIP away when I am not working on it or the cat(s)

 will be making biscuits on it.

Here is my first setting strip for my

 Squares Sampler Crochet Afghan

I made this strip following these free pattern instructions: 

Modern Dash Crochet Baby Blanket @ Daisy Farm Crafts

This stitch pattern is what they call a

Wide Half Double Crochet (WHDC) Cluster.

It is not a pattern stitch I recall ever seeing or hooking before

but I really like the soft thick texture and the fact it is double sided.

The written instructions are in the link above and there is also good video ...

 

To make these blocks Nutmeg and I followed this free tutorial: 

Circle to Square Granny Square @ Just Be Crafty

Where you will also find this 

Circle to Square Video Tutorial @ Just Be Crafty

Like my Solid Granny Square Blocks, 

I used up small leftover balls of yarn 

and added more colors after making the first circle to square block. 

Since I wanted my blocks to be 5 inches square,

I stopped at Round 5 so my blocks are smaller than the ones in the tutorial.

Here is Block 13 for my 

 Squares Sampler Crochet Blocks  

This is a improv of the original pattern:

7th Pattern Stitch @ The Inspired Wren Crochet Along,

which is an easy and fun bobble stitch.

Originally, I had planned to make this block in a solid pink.

 When I Started Here ~ Squares Sampler Afghan,

I had only one skein of each color yarn in my small yarn stash which was several years old.  

After I decided on my colors, I needed to find more yarn,

I had to purchase more yarn and, of course, I could not get the same dye ...

I have eleven blocks done for my 

Squares Sampler Afghan ~ Started Here

I am very happy with how this is working up. 

I am halfway though the blocks in this crochet along:

Crochet Sampler Crochet Along @ The Inspired Wren

My 12th block is done and it is on my blocking board.

I varied from the pattern in the crochet along:

Pattern Stitch 6 ~ Moss Stitch/Single Crochet Stripes.

I made a this fun ziggy-zaggy striped block using all my main colors. 

All the blocks call for a round of single crochet around ...

Blocks 9 and 10 are done for my 

Squares Sampler Afghan

,,, which means that I have half of the blocks made!

I am quite happy with my progress with is project.

Slow Sunday Stitching @ Kathy's Quilts

and I am on to the second half of the blocks. 

Happy Stitching! 

This is an easy shell pattern that is quick to crochet and fun to do.

The 5th Pattern Stitch of the 

Afghan Sampler Crochet SAL

While Block 9 is drying on my blocking board ...

The blocks word up quickly as they are composed of rows of 5 Double Crochet shells with Single Crochets between the shells. The alternating rows have the shells worked into the single crochet in the preceding row.  This make a lovely fan stitch.

I am working on the blocks while ...

This morning after my cup of coffee, I added the single crochet border to my second block for the 

Squares Sampler SAL ~ Pattern 4 ~ Vertical Ribs

@ The Inspired Wren

I had a rare late cup of coffee last night and sat up to finish the center of this block.  Then I went to bed feeling accomplished.

After I figured out how to make this pattern stitch work for me ,

I made both blocks in three days.

For my blocks I chained 38 and made 36 HDC stitches in the first row.

I started my pattern stitch with 2 SC and ...

After a week of off and on frustration,

I am resetting my effort to make the seventh block for my 

Squares Sampler Crochet Afghan ~Stared Here

I showed the pink version that I started for this pattern last week

Here.

The pink is now a ball of yarn again.

The pattern may be found in the link below:

Squares Sampler SAL ~ Pattern 4 ~ Vertical Ribs

@ The Inspired Wren

There is a video tutorial for this block and I have watched it more than once

 and it did not really help me. 

This time I followed the part to make the ...

This is what I call a "Squishy."

A squishy is happy mail in the form of fabric or a fabric object.

Squishys drop unexpectedly into your life and mailbox bringing joy.

Such arrivals happen because the universe smiled and I won a swap or giveaway

or a friend sent an unexpected gift. 

This time the luck of the draw came when I decided to join in the fun at the 

Sew-At-Home Winter Retreat in January at the 

Quilting Around the World Forum

I started (but did not finish) the Monday's Mystery ~ QATW Winter Camp 

and this qualified me to ...

My two squares are done for the third pattern stitch in my 

The third pattern stitch in the crochet sampler can be found 

 3rd Pattern Stitch Here @ The Inspired Wren

The original pattern source is for a free baby blanket pattern

Bubbles Baby Blanket Pattern @ Ravelry

This crochet stitch looks more like a "half shell" than a "bubble" to me,

but it is a fun to do and very pretty crochet pattern. 

When I finished the pattern for the first square in this pattern Here

before adding the single crochet border all around the block, the sides of my block ...

Block Design 2 ~ Basketweave Blocks

is done. This block took me longer to stitch. 

I have also been busy with other things.

The block is a bit smaller than my first two blocks,

so I decided to block it to size.

For this process I used my 

I bought this backing board at Fat Quarter Shop:

Blocking Board by Riley Blake @ FQS

It is nice dense foam and it easy to use.

The reverse side allows you to block round blocks. 

All that is needed is a foam board, pins ...

Good  Morning and Welcome to I Like Thursday!

This is my 119th post for 

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color

where every week we share the things that make us smile. 

The above photo is of my progress on my  Sampler Squares Crochet Afghan .

I am stitching the first block of the 

Block Design 2 ~ Basketweave Blocks

I have done this block before. 

If you are unfamiliar with this, here is a good video tutorial:

Basketweave Crochet How-To Video @ Happy Berry

There is an interesting fact check in this video. The video is from the UK, where what I ...