Colorful crochet blanket

 I'm so happy I finished a new blanket, here are a few pictures with details of the process.

First of all, these squares are not my design. I learned to crochet from my grandmother and she taught me how to read charts and how to read an actual crochet doily. So, if I see a doily in a detailed picture I am able to make a copy of it that looks fairly similar if not even identical. I saw one of these squares on Instagram, so, here we are.

I made squares with the same pattern from 20 different colored yarns and then let my son play around with them until he was happy with the result. It took him about 5 minutes to come up with the layout below.

He's only 8 years old, but he has a good eye on colours, so I went with his layout.

Notice how all the squares are a little curled? I usually don't block individual squares, only the final result gets a blocking steam/wash, depending on the yarn.

I used slipstitch joining in the backloop for the squares. I join them in rows.

Between two squares I ch1 to keep some distance and leave a little elasticity in the blanket.

This is how the back side looks when joining with slip stitches. Just make sure you use a slightly larger hook or work a little loosely like I do. 

Rows and columns joined. The ch1 between the squares makes more sense now.

...and this is how the backside looks in the corner.

An attempt to show how I join... I might need to try taking more pictures next time... and on lighter colours. 

All squares joined! Now off to make an edging. Anything can be done, from one to more rows of single crochet, double crochet, crabstitch, scalloped edge...

what I did was use 4 shades for the edging from dark gray to white .

I think it turned out quite nice.

This blanket can be found in my shop TinyOrchids.

Taking pictures of blankets...

You'd say taking a picture of a blanket you just finished is not that hard.

Lay it out on a flat surface, have good light, clean the lens of the camera :-) and then shoot away.

But how much better is this picture?

Getting cozy

 I have to admit that taking the pictures I'm about to show were not easy, but not hard either. I just needed that extra little something. Namely my little one still asleep while the sun is already up.

This is not his blanket. I just needed to take pictures of it. 

So, first thing first, take down his blanket. Thankfully the weather is still warm, and he has only a light blanket he usually throws down anyway.

Then lay the just finished, freshly blocked blanket over him. Arrange it a little, without waking the kid! I'm a professional at this!

Then take a few pictures from the best angles. Careful, the sound of the shutter can be really loud in a silent room. I was lucky this time. 

I even managed to take a few pictures of the blanket folded, to show the colors on each side. Little baby feet peeking in on the pictures are the added bonus.

And a close-up just for fun.

These kind of blankets are so fun to make. I don't plan ahead the colors or exact yarns i'm going to use. Thankfully I have enough colors in my yarnstash :-)

Most of it was made from wool sockyarn, but a few stripes are made of cotton and even sturdy acrylic. I found that this way they are more interesting for babies. Not only the colors are attractive, but touching it adds to the experience.

The first blanket I made this way was mesmerising for my then 8 month old son. Tummy time was interesting, with little fingers exploring the shapes and colors. Afternoon nap was also more fun as this is a very lightweight, warm and breathable type of blanket. And we could take it everywhere just because it was not very big.

Happy memories of my first blankie!

If anyone wants the same kind of happy memories, this blanket from the pictures can be found in my Etsy shop along with other blankets.
Or you can try and make your own. It is not as hard as it looks and patterns can be found everywhere for free.

Pig, piggy, piglet...

I love knitting.
I don't have much patience.
So, small projects are perfect for me.
That is why I love knitting small baby socks or pigs. Yes, pigs.

While looking for small items to make for my sons, I stumbled upon these beauties. It was a free pattern, so I went for a try. Let's just say, it took me many trial and errors to end up with these:

Rainbow piggy

Again, knitting is the easy part. 

At this point you have no clue how big they are... or how small.

Pictures are sooo important. Let me show you one of my first trials at taking a picture of the first piggies I made.

Pink piggy

Hmm, something doesn't look right... Ok, photoshop can help with clearing the background, but looking back at these... I just acknowledge it as one step on my path.

Now let's see if I improved anything

Autumn piggy

These became my best sellers at one point. 

Here is a little sense of scale:

Autumn piggy

Next improvement was, (besides clearer pictures, which could be taken outside in the afternoon on a white table) when I learned how to knit in beads as eyes.

New collection of pigs

This picture also shows size very well. 

Size can be shown by adding a ruler or a coin, but holding a small item in the hand seems the best for me. Yes, it would be even nicer to convince my son to hold it and stand still for 10 seconds, but I have to see that happen. 

Now back to the little rainbow piggies. In the next picture I'm barely touching it, but still you get a sense of the scale. A human hand also helps at judging the colors. Our eyes tend to adapt, and our brains recognize colors better if in the picture is a familiar object, not just plain white background.

Rainbow pig

And last but not least, a picture taken on my phone. That should really give you a sense of scale, since most people own a smartphone. Ok, most people out of the people browsing the internet. (My father doesn't have a smartphone... but he's not browsing the internet either)

Rainbow piggy

If anyone would like to see just how many colors and combinations I made so far from this pattern, you can check them out here.