New Bernat Crochetalong - did you see this?

[Gardener]

Does anyone ever feel as if Bernat had several different people come up with their squares? I have fiddled around with gauge more on this project than any other. My 63 square afghan required minimal hook changes (which is lucky because I was a beginner). I'm just getting cranky about it and wanted to complain somewhere. Back to your normal fun banter

 

I've actually thought this about quite a few projects that are done in squares. It seems like lots of different people do the test patterns, and they all have a different gauge. Although I have to confess, sometimes I can do the same pattern a few days apart and they come out different sizes.

[bigfunfam]

no i agree, the gauge is wonky... some come out too small, some come out big... its been strange. hence why we felt the need to block a few of the slightly small squares, cuz they came out a tad smaller than others, especially the mitered ones. So now we have a 6 square blocking "jig" as we saw it called before. hopefully it works! we are going to have to experiment a bit.

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and here is a pic of my clue 6... they aren't as defined as i have seen some but i am not unhappy with them. definitely chunky though!

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now back to finishing my mitered squares... so much work still! but i wouldn't do it if i didn't like it...

 

Your blocking "jig" is really cool.

 

I have all my squares finished, and all the ends woven in. I normally don't block anything, but this time I'm going to have to I think.

[imanurse55]

:clap Clue #5 mitred squares are officially DONE!!!!!!

 

I just have 3 of the 4 clue #6's to do, but the first one went fairly quickly so I should get all caught up by the weekend and then be ready to tackle clue7 over the weekend!

 

Wonder what Clue 7 will be? Only a few more hours........

[marpan79]

Good evening ladies

 

I now am caught up with my squares and have all up to and including clue 6 completed I do however have 1 tail on each of the 16 squares for clue 5 to weave in and then 2 tails for each of clue 6.....I'm going to do each as I block them

 

Nice blocking contraption Erica. I stacked some towels (thick enough for my pins) and am using a piece of plastic canvas for sizing and pinning. Not perfect, but serves the purpose

 

Sorry about your bathroom Nicole, but at least you got some good crochet time in

 

OK, now I can't wait for the next clue

[Sockmad]

Finished my bulky of clues SIX and have one ww done. Waiting to see clue SEVEN and then going to bed! Have to be up by 5:30am in order to be to my job training on time at 7am! Plan to work on my mitre bulkies tomorrow,of course it ALL depends on how easy clue SEVEN is!

[yarn_geek]

Clue #7 is up. Sneaky Bernat people; we are doing 45 squares instead of 48. Looks like another easy one.

 

I'm all caught up with my squares; just need to weave in all those ends and take pics. (I still might redo some of the wonky mitered squares.) I meant to get all that done and post pics the past few days, but I've been trying to get my laptop back up and running. I got the BSOD last Wednesday, and have spent the better part of the past week trying to figure out if it was a virus, serious hardware/software problems, or what. So far, it looks like I've got it fixed (knock on wood).

[imanurse55]

:yay Woo hoo!!! Only 1 large granny to do this week. I'll finally get caught up!!!! Clue #6 went quickly so I should be able to get the three of them done tonight....or I just may do Clue#7 tonight and then go back to the 3 clue #6's!

 

Happy Hooking everyone!!!!

[marpan79]

for the new clue....I suppose this one will be the middle Maybe I'll knock this out tomorrow We will see how it goes I'm excited about making 1 larger sqaure

[Gardener]

I'm a little disappointed that this clue is another granny. We've already done granny's. I was kind of hoping for something a little different.. However, we'll all get a chance to get caught up.

[nicolep]

Nicole- OH my, reading your post and thinking about how much worse that plumbing issue could have been! Glad it's all fixed and you got a "bonus" crochet out of it.

 

 

I agree. I'm so thankful it wasn't worse. Other than the pipe, nothing was damaged.

[Braxxi]

This may be a crochet blasphemy ...I really don't like classic granny squares! I tend to stay away from patterns with holes in them for afghans.

 

That being said, I did finish my BIG granny square...and it is the FIRST square that has come out right using the J hook with no changes on my part:faint! As someone else said, I think we know what teh center of our afghans will be.

[nicolep]

This may be a crochet blasphemy ...I really don't like classic granny squares! I tend to stay away from patterns with holes in them for afghans.

 

That being said, I did finish my BIG granny square...and it is the FIRST square that has come out right using the J hook with no changes on my part:faint! As someone else said, I think we know what teh center of our afghans will be.

 

Heresy!!! Sacrilege!!

 

Seriously though, I don't like them either. I debated on whether to make a "solid granny" instead of the traditional 3 dc shell granny. In the end, I decided to go with the pattern as written. If, when it comes time to join, I don't end up liking how it looks with the other squares, I can quickly whip out a solid granny.

[Sockmad]

I had serious reservations about the WHOLE Crochet-Along because I really HATE doing squares! All that weaving together gives me nightmares,it's why I usually do Round Ripples now,however this has been so much fun and I am learning some new stuff,plus commiserating with my fellow Villers helps tremendously! Oh and I did a ww clue SIX last night and this afternoon I realized I did it in the WRONG color! Ah well at least I have gauge now!

[paulam01]

finished square #5 of 16. in clue 5

[jennyh]

The sink in the bathroom was clogged. It had been draining slowly. Yesterday, it stopped draining all together.

 

You could have just poured some Coca-Cola down the drain--it's pretty acidic and will eat through pretty much anything. I heard the delivery truck drivers use it to de-whatever their engines....probably a myth.

 

glad you got a day for hooky though--those usually feel good.

 

edit: just realized the pun.... :lol :lol

 

blocking contraption...

 

I love that you chose the word contraption. It sounds so...I dunno--cartoon evil villainous. And the contraption looks good too!

 

I have fiddled around with gauge more on this project than any other.

 

I shouldn't even begin to tell you because I could be sitting here typing all day long on that very particular subject!!!!!!!!!!!! exclamation points to infinity. I'm still on clue...uh, 4? Just started the one that's called "Stripey Square" with a color change in every row--I'm pretty sure it's clue 4. Let alone every other square where I've taken a whole day of crochet-time to figure out what hook to use to get 8" and as many stitches as I'd like (I'm quite particular with this project for some reason and want to match the pictures Bernat posts...) Anyway, for the stripey square, I've tried a J and I didn't even finish the rectangle because I knew it'd be a rectangle. I used an I and it tured out to be 8" wide and 9" tall. I've started with an H, and after 4 rows, 7.5" or so wide and as tall as the first four rows of the I rectangle. I think for that one, I'll just hafta modify the patt if I want 8x8, which I do.

 

FURTHERMORE! for the first two grannies, I used a 3.75mm (that's right!!), a 4mm, AND a 5mm all on the same square. bah! I'm beginning to wonder if the yarn sold in different places is manufactured differently and it's not necessarily the pattern testers or gauge as much as it is which "shipment" of Bernat Softee Chunky I have--most likely it's a little bit of all the things. ya know?

 

It's been challenging at times to maintain positivity with this project, but I just make sure to give myself some space from it the moment it becomes unpleasant. (which could also have something to do with why I'm still on square 4 )

 

...and it is the FIRST square that has come out right using the J hook with no changes on my part:faint!

 

well, that's relieving to hear....

[nicolep]

You could have just poured some Coca-Cola down the drain--it's pretty acidic and will eat through pretty much anything. I heard the delivery truck drivers use it to de-whatever their engines....probably a myth.

 

glad you got a day for hooky though--those usually feel good.

 

edit: just realized the pun.... :lol :lol

 

 

 

Coke will eat through about anything. The problem, though, was that the pipe was so corroded that rust was blocking the water from getting through. Anyway it went down, the pipe was going to burst!

 

Another fun thing along the lines of what Coke will do is that peanut butter is highly flammable. It's considered a hazardous material when it's being shipped. Trust me, this stuff will burn forever! I had to try it when I found out that it burn so much. I dumped some on the street and set it on fire. It burned until all of the peanut butter was gone.

[nicolep]

I had serious reservations about the WHOLE Crochet-Along because I really HATE doing squares! All that weaving together gives me nightmares,it's why I usually do Round Ripples now,however this has been so much fun and I am learning some new stuff,plus commiserating with my fellow Villers helps tremendously! Oh and I did a ww clue SIX last night and this afternoon I realized I did it in the WRONG color! Ah well at least I have gauge now!

 

I am the same way. I almost didn't do this CAL for the same reasons. I like making squares. I just hate putting them together. In the end though, it sounded too fun to sit out. I'm glad I joined in on this one. I've been having so much fun. Even to the point that I am considering my disdain for afghans made from squares. I might not dislike it as much now.

[jennyh]

Another fun thing along the lines of what Coke will do is that peanut butter is highly flammable.

 

yeah, my dad gets a thrill out of eating PB&J and drinking coke because it gives him that burny thing. To quote a movie, "I like the idea of it more than I actually like it." re: coke/sodas but I enjoy the occasional soda.

[imanurse55]

Jenny- Your posts crack me up- you have a great way with words!!

 

Braxxi- Glad to hear that you got the right size square!!! I'll stick to the I hook for this one and see what happens

 

Sockmad and Nicole- I'm with you- I like making squares, it's the putting them together that isn't that much fun! But it's been a blast commiserating with everyone as we get through this!!! That's the best part!

 

Off to grab hook and yarn and tackle yet another square!

[nicolep]

Hi, gals!

 

Here's my clue #7 square. I had to leave out round 12 or the square would have been 17 inches. I'm not re-doing the entire square to get that other round added. It looks perfectly lovely without the round anyway.

[Braxxi]

I had serious reservations about the WHOLE Crochet-Along because I really HATE doing squares! All that weaving together gives me nightmares,...

 

 

I had my second thoughts on this CAL too. I am still dreading having to sew all these together, but the way they did this has been a lot of fun. I think I could get to enjoy doing squares if they all did them this way...lol.

[tigrix13]

Hi, gals!

 

Here's my clue #7 square. I had to leave out round 12 or the square would have been 17 inches. I'm not re-doing the entire square to get that other round added. It looks perfectly lovely without the round anyway.

I had to do the same thing to get mine the right size! And I also think it looks good without it.

mine is a little wavy though, but I think a night on the blocking board should straighten it out fine.

can't wait to see everyone else's!

and now... still more mitered to be done... nose to the grindstone haha.

[tigrix13]

so I went internet trawling... learned that the last two rows (12 and 13 in the pattern, 11 and 12 in my square) are not the same! I might redo mine later... but right now I like it so its not a big deal.

just a warning to anyone that hasn't finished yet!! don't get complacent like I did haha. woops.

[imanurse55]

Hi, gals!

 

Here's my clue #7 square. I had to leave out round 12 or the square would have been 17 inches. I'm not re-doing the entire square to get that other round added. It looks perfectly lovely without the round anyway.

You are absolutely right Nicole- It does look perfectly lovely!!!

 

Think I 'm going to do mine tonight! Then go back and finish clue 6- didn't do any last night- ended up watching some college football and then reading for a while and then actually getting a good night's sleep!

[imanurse55]

so I went internet trawling... learned that the last two rows (12 and 13 in the pattern, 11 and 12 in my square) are not the same! I might redo mine later... but right now I like it so its not a big deal.

just a warning to anyone that hasn't finished yet!! don't get complacent like I did haha. woops.

thanks for the head's up. But I think a large granny, done just like a regular ole granny will be fine too!