I have a confession to make. I haven’t worked on a Project Linus blanket for a little bit. I’ve been working on crocheted Christmas gifts. There are some that I can’t show because I think those friends read this blog, but I can show you some other projects.

I decided that I had a lot of crochet cotton so I made some dish cloths.

I decided that since I’d made some dish cloths then I also needed to make some scrubbies.

This fall JoAnn Fabrics had a really great sale on fleece so I bought some yardage for lap blankets. I then found some border patterns and crocheted around them.

I think they turned out okay. I’ll give you a closer look at the borders.

First we have the Atlanta Braves blanket.

The pictures are kind of dark due to my poor lighting, but you get the idea.

I did more of a ruffled border for this blanket.

Next, I worked on a Steelers blanket for my friend’s husband (and kind of for her, too).

The interesting thing about this blanket is that on the reverse side it’s got a faux wool backing so it’s extra cozy. I found an angular border that I felt went really well with the Steelers’ logo.

In this picture I was trying to show that there’s also a black toothy border along the very outside edge, next to the yellow.

The last one to show is an Air Force blanket for my step-niece. She just graduated from Air Force basic training and she is being assigned to a base in Colorado.

The colors in the yarn that I used for the Warm Embers Cardigan were perfect for this blanket so I used it even though it was chunkier than the pattern really required.

It’s a nice ruffle, though, so I left it. Also, I don’t think that the recipient will really mind.

As you can see, I’ve been slightly busy, but then I decided that there was another project that I needed to do before Christmas. As a special little treat to myself, I decided that I wanted a sparkly top for Christmas Eve. I looked through all kinds of patterns and then finally found one.

This appeared in the Summer 2017 issue of Crochet! Magazine. I knew exactly what yarn I wanted to use…. Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in Metallic Black.

I can picture it with a black skirt and a red turtleneck. Won’t that look great??

To make this I have to make 12 large motifs, 32 medium motifs and I don’t know how many connecting wheels. A few weeks ago I posted about substituting yarn in blanket patterns and I mentioned that when it comes to garments you have to pay closer attention to gauge. I want to show you why.

Here are four of the twelve large motifs that I have to make. Can you spot the obvious issue?

This might be a better picture. I tested my gauge and it matched. I changed hook sizes because the pattern called for a #3 light yarn, but my choice is a #4 worsted. I crocheted the left motif with a tighter stitch. The finished motif is suppose to measure 6.25″, but lacking the finished round you can see that the motif on the right is almost that size already. If I don’t pay attention to the gauge then it’s not going to fit like the design shows in the picture. What I’ll probably end up doing it pulling out the larger motif and recrocheting it with a smaller hook and a tighter stitch.

I just wanted to give you a visual of how important gauge can be when making a garment as compared to a blanket.