A Pinch of Katy: crochet

This project has been a bunch of blocks slowly accumulating in a bag for so long, I can hardly believe that it's finally finished. I am so excited!

I was first inspired to make this blanket when I saw this tutorial. It was free at the time, but now it's on her Etsy shop. I really liked the idea, but I wanted the bobbles to be further apart. I improvised my own motif for the blocks, and I'm really happy with how they turned out. I wish they were a little closer to the actual proportions of legos, but I still really like them.

Once I had 120 blocks (phew!), I joined them together with single crochet on the long sides into 10 rows of 12 blocks each. Then, I joined each row together with single crochet. Finally, I did a single crochet all around the blanket. The nice thing about joining this way is that I was able to crochet in all the yarn ends, so I only had one yarn end to weave in at the end. Nice!

My nephew is coming into town this weekend (which is who I made this for). I'm so excited to give it to him. I hope he likes it. His mom (my sister) thinks he will, so I'm hopeful.

I also got a shipment of yarn in the mail yesterday - some Drops Safran. I've used this yarn before, and I love it. It's 100% cotton that's so soft and shiny, and look at those colors together. Don't they look nice? I can't wait to get my hooks into those.

I'm definitely a year-round crocheter--I can't even go a day without getting a hook in my hand--but it can be hard to find inspiring projects for the summer. In that vein, I have rounded up a collection of summer top patterns, a couple of shrugs, and some things that are just meant for inspiration.

Patterns

Festival Fancy Vintage Top

This free pattern from Coats and Clark was originally published in 1956. Some things never go out of style, and with vintage being so in right now, this seems like a great choice.

Botanical Pullover

This beautiful pullover is on sale for $3.85 right now. It would be great over a sundress or as a swim cover up.

Muse tunic

I like the look of this tunic in the Summer 2013 issue of Interweave Crochet.

Tango Tunic

This tunic from the Spring 2013 issue looks quite pretty as well.

Beatriz Shrug

This gorgeous shrug was published in the March 2013 edition of Inside Crochet. An electronic version of the magazine can be purchased in the Apple app store or on pocketmags.com.

Hannah Tee

I am loving this t-shirt from the June 2013 Inside Crochet. This pattern and the one before it are enough to make me want a subscription to the magazine.

Clarice

The pattern for this top is available for $6. I love the stitch pattern in the body.

Lizzy's Lace Mantelet

This gorgeous shrug is from the book Austentatious Crochet. All the designs in the book are inspired by Jane Austen, and all the ones I've seen are so beautiful and romantic. There are quite a few in the book that would be good for summer. You can download the Kindle version here or buy it in print here.

Striped French Sweater

The pattern for this cute striped tee is available for free here. Click on the Cami/Tee picture link to find the pattern. Pierrot, the Japanese yarn company that puts out this pattern, has a ton of cute, free crochet patterns. I highly recommend checking it out.

Miranda Crochet Summer Top

Is this not gorgeous? The pattern is available as an instant download by Queenieamanda on Etsy for $5.50.

Ruby Cropped Cardi

The pattern for this cute cropped cardi is published in Blueprint Crochet Sweaters by Robyn Chachula. She is a great designer. I own this book, and I can recommend it highly. It can be purchased here.

The Cropped Tank Top

I think this tank by Sara Dudek is super cute. She also has a t-shirt version of this pattern and several other very cute designs. The pattern is available as a $5.00 Ravelry download.

Unchain My Heart Tunic

Another great tank top, this one is by Doris Chan, who is awesome. I love the mix of a lacy stitch pattern and the post stitches.

Starlet Top

This pattern, available for $5 as an instant download, is by Elevenhandmade. Check out her shop to find many other unique, fun, and funky designs.

Rainbow Crochet Shrug

I think this shrug is so pretty, as are the other shrug patterns in BernoliesDesigns. This one is available as a $4.99 instant download.

Flowers and Tiles Top

This pattern is available as a $6 Ravelry download. It's such a cute motif pattern, and wait until you see the neckline.

Inspiration

Roots and Feathers

This mesh crochet top originally came from Forever 21. A nice comfortable and casual look, it seems easy enough to make something similar. I love the pockets.