Think Pink Lapghan - Part 1

I have been wanting to do a Crochet-A-Long for a while now, but when I was looking at other CALs I discovered something wonderful.  Most of the CALs I looked at were just multi-post tutorials.  Hey, we've already done that!  Several times!  So, having a big CAL lost some of it's shiny fun excitement.

On the other hand, I do love having giant multi-post projects, so I'm going to go ahead and spend the week on this project.  I spent a lot of time trying to decide what we could do that really NEEDED more than one or two dedicated posts.  I knew that I wanted to do something to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I wanted to make something special to celebrate my grandma's struggle with breast cancer this year.  

Think Pink! Finished blanket measures 41" square.

Once I decided to make a small blanket, it all kinda fell into place.  I have been crocheting like a mad woman, trying to get this done in time for today's post.  I've got to finish the edging still, so I'll post a picture of the finished project when I get it done in tomorrow's post.  (edit: Picture added!)

**I feel like I need to put a disclaimer on this project, because it's a lot more advanced, and art-y than my usual projects. So if you like clean lines and 'quick and easy' projects, this isn't going to be the project for you.  I used a dozen different shades of pink on this one, so it's not a cheap or 'one skein wonder' type of project either.  It's a lot of expense and time.  I've spent about 30 hours on it.  Also, it is a wonderful project to express your creativity, so I am NOT going to show how to make the exact blanket in the pictures.  It will be up to you, and your own interpretation of the instructions.  You will end up with your own version, one that you created from your own vision, and it will be lovely.  This one is an art class, not a recipe.  Okay?  Okay!**

Now that I've scared off pretty much everyone, let's get to the fun stuff!  My Think Pink blanket (can I just call it a blanket?  It's a small blanket.)  is made up of 9 squares.  We're going to work on the first 5 squares today (I'll end the post with a preview of the 4 squares we're going to do on Tuesday and Wednesday).  These are easy 11-row granny squares, so have fun with them.  

Each one should be different.  When I bought the yarn for this project, I picked a wide variety of worsted weight (size 4) pinks.  I picked pink acrylic yarn, pink cotton yarn, pink eyelash yarn, pink ribbon yarn and pink wool-blend yarn.  I even got some pink sparkle yarn.  I looked for lots of different shades and textures, so that there would be lots of contrast between the colors to create more visual interest.  (Basically, the more shades and textures you use, the better this thing looks, and the more fun you have coming up with cool combinations of yarn in your squares.)  No, you don't have to use 10, or more, different yarns to make this project, but it will look better if you do.

If you are a compulsive yarn-stash type of person, go raid your stash first before you head to the store, okay?  This is the PERFECT project if you've got weird lengths of yarn left over from something else.  You can use as little as a single yard in this project.  Stick to pinks, although I added a little red to the mix which added a pop of interest that I couldn't have gotten with an all-pink-palette.

Think Pink Basic Granny Square
12" square
(Make 5)
I used a variety of yarns, and switched colors on my whims.  Don't do more than 4 rows in a single color.  Eyelash, boa and ribbon yarns are fun for this, but may throw your gauge off a little.  If it's only one or two rows, don't worry about it.  If you do a whole square in fun textured yarns though,  just make sure the square is 12".  The size is more important than the row count.
I used a G hook

 ch 4, sl st to first ch to form a ring
R1: ch 3 (counts as dc), 2 dc, *ch 1, 3 dc* three times,  ch 1, sl st to 3rd chain from beginning of the row to close round.
R2: work 2 sl stitches so that your hook is next to the next chain space, (3 ch, 2 dc, ch 1 to form a corner, 3 dc, ch 1) in chain space, [*3 dc, ch 1 to form a corner, 3 dc, ch 1* in next chain space] three times, sl st to 3rd ch from the beginning of the row to close round.
R3:  work 2 sl stitches so that your hook is next to the next chain space, [3 ch (counts as dc), 2 dc, ch 1] in chain space, [(3 dc, ch 1 to form a corner, 3 dc, ch 1) in next chain space, (3 dc, ch 1) in next ch space] three times, (3 dc, ch 1 to form a corner, 3 dc, ch 1) in next ch space, sl st to 3rd ch from the beginning of the row to close round.
R4:  work 2 sl stitches so that your hook is next to the next chain space, [3 ch (counts as dc), 2 dc, ch 1] in chain space, (3 ch, ch 1) in next chain space, [(3 dc, ch 1 to form a corner, 3 dc, ch 1) in next chain space, (3 dc, ch 1) in next ch space, (3 dc, ch 1) in next ch space] three times, (3 dc, ch 1 to form a corner, 3 dc, ch 1) in next ch space, sl st to 3rd ch from the beginning of the row to close round.

Continue in pattern, adding one 3 dc cluster to each side in each round, until the piece measures 12" square (approximately 11 rows)

Uh, I'm sure this could be more elegantly written, but writing a granny square pattern is really damn hard.

Okay, so check out this last 'square' with me.  I got all fancy with a bulky ribbon row near the end. If you notice in the other squares, the bulky ribbon rows in the center don't really effect the square-ness of the squares like my experiment with an outer-edge ribbon row did.  This is okay, it will get less ruffled and more 'in shape' as we add our edging on Thursday, and put it together with the other squares.  No worries if the squares get wonky.  The goal is to have fun and express ourselves artistically.  It will all work out, I promise!

And a quick preview of what's to come (so you don't go out a buy a ton of yarn before you know if you like my artistic aesthetic or not) :

See you tomorrow!

xoxo

Want to see the rest?  Click on the links below!
Think Pink Lapghan - Part 2
Think Pink Lapghan - Part 3
Think Pink Lapghan - Part 4
Think Pink Lapghan - Part 5