July CQJP 2015 - Experimenting with Crochet

This month I have been extending my familiarity with crochet.  The first time I tried crochet was when I was expecting my 2nd child.  That was in 1973!  I crocheted a jacket, bonnet and booties to bring him home in.  When I was getting ready to deliver they said I was having twins and my first thought was how I would possibly be able to get another set done in time and where would we fit another crib.  We do have twins in our family but that was not the time to get the news.  They were wrong.  The second heart beat they heard on the monitor was mine.  Our son weighed in at 9 lb 12 1/2 oz. which is part of the reason they jumped to the conclusion there were twins.  He wore a triple E shoe, so the booties I worked so hard to complete didn't fit him anyway.  I picked up a crochet hook maybe twice since then to make something really simple.

Back on point...  When I think of crochet I think of baby things, so here is my block complete with a baby dress and bonnet.

July Block - A study in crochet

I had already decided to work on the pink block this month since I had 3 granddaughters (and a pink hanger).  I found a pattern online that looked like one I could follow.  I actually found it through www.http://lacycrochet.blogspot.com who shared a link for this pattern by Maxine Gonser.  Here is the LINK.   Maxine's blog can be found here.

Since it had been so long since I had crocheted, I decided to try this full size with nice big needles and what little yarn I had on hand.  I discovered once I looked at the actual directions for the double stitch that I was doing the double stitch wrong.

Next I made it smaller by reducing the size of fiber, crochet hook and number of stitches.  I got the double stitch right this time.

Used up all that yarn so I tried it with some variegated thread.  I wasn't so crazy about it so didn't finish.  It was too big for my block anyway.

Sized it down some more.  Close.  I think this would be a good size for an ornament or gift tag.

Finally got it the size I wanted.  I altered the pattern slightly to get it the way I wanted.  I added a little ribbon and floral trim and then made a bonnet using similar shell stitches and border.

Closeup of baby dress and bonnet.

Below you can see the initial attempts in relation to the final size.

When I got the baby things the size I wanted I tried a few other patterns.  

Cluny lace (one of my favorite laces)

Fillet crochet

Doily medallion pattern.  Several of these are used to make a bed spread.

Dimensional butterfly pattern found online.

A flower which appeared when I messed up the last round trying to make the dimensional butterfly above.

I have to say I am really enjoying my journey this year.  I keep wanting to jump ahead to other techniques or skills I've wanted to try and this keeps me disciplined, devoting more time to each.