Stash to snuggle - A crochet blanket journey - Week 9&10 - Watching the blanket grow

 Welcome back to my crochet blanket journey!

I’m so happy to have you here as I continue working on this colourful stash blanket. Another two weeks have passed, and the blanket has grown a little more. It’s lovely to look back at the rows I’ve added and see how the different shades are slowly coming together.

When I started this project, my plan was to use only the yarns I already had in my stash. But, as often happens with crochet, the plan changed a little! I realised that I would need more of my main blue colour, and while ordering it, I couldn't resist adding a few more shades that caught my eye.

The past two weeks have been quite productive for me. I managed to crochet 17 stripes, which feels like a big achievement for me! It is always satisfying to see several more rows added to the blanket and watch it slowly grow in size.

For these stripes, I continued repeating the colours I had already used, which is helping to create a lovely rhythm throughout the blanket. I also added two more shades of pink to the pink stripes. These new shades are slightly different from the ones I used earlier, and I’m enjoying seeing how they blend with the existing colours.

With each new stripe, the blanket is beginning to look more colourful and interesting. I’m excited to see how all these colours will come together as the blanket gets closer to completion.

So, let me show you the progress I made during Weeks 9 and 10!

The blanket now measures approximately 68 inches in length and 50 inches in width, and I’ve completed about one-third of the blanket so far.  It feels wonderful to see it grow into a good-sized blanket, especially after adding 17 stripes over the past two weeks. Each new row makes the finished blanket feel a little more within reach. There is still plenty more crocheting to do, but reaching this one-third milestone is encouraging—and I’m hoping to keep up the momentum and finish the blanket by the end of the year!

Here is a close-up of the 17 stripes I crocheted over the past two weeks. I have continued repeating the colours I’ve already used, but I also introduced two new shades to my pink palette. The light pink and lavender, which are the second and third colours from the top apart from the blue, are the new additions. I love how these slightly different shades bring a little more variety to the pink stripes while still blending beautifully with the colours already in the blanket. 

And that brings me to the end of my Weeks 9 and 10 progress. With 17 new stripes added and the blanket now about one-third complete, I’m really happy with how much I’ve accomplished over these two weeks.  The new shades of pink have added a lovely touch, and I’m looking forward to introducing the other new colours in the coming weeks. There is still a long way to go, but I’m enjoying every stripe and hoping to keep up this momentum as I work towards finishing the blanket by the end of the year. See you in the next update! 

Whispers of Wisdom – #1, Take time to understand before you decide...

 “Take time to understand before you decide. A clear decision is better than a hurried one.”

Life often presents us with moments when we feel pressured to make quick decisions. Sometimes, we think we must respond immediately, choose quickly, or act before we have all the answers. But not every decision needs to be rushed.

Taking time to understand a situation gives us the opportunity to look beyond the first impression. It allows us to consider the facts, recognize the possible consequences, and think about what truly matters. A little patience can bring clarity where haste only creates confusion.

A hurried decision may give us a moment of relief, but a thoughtful decision can give us lasting confidence. This does not mean overthinking every little choice. It simply means giving important decisions the attention they deserve.

When you pause, listen, learn, and reflect before choosing, you are not wasting time—you are using it wisely.

So, when faced with an important decision, don't let pressure make the choice for you. Take a breath. Understand the situation. Consider your options. Then decide with a clear mind.

I’ve also created an embroidery pattern inspired by this quote for anyone who would like to stitch these words into something beautiful. If you enjoy embroidery and would like to give it a try, you are welcome to download the pattern and use it for your personal projects. I hope this little design inspires you to spend some peaceful time with your needle and thread while reflecting on the message behind the quote.

Embroidery Stitching Instructions

You can use the following stitches and thread strands to recreate the design:

• Letters: Use 3 strands of thread with the Back Stitch.
• Stem along the border: Use 3 strands of thread with the Stem Stitch.
• Leaves: Use 6 strands of thread with the Lazy Daisy Stitch.
• Flowers: Use 6 strands of thread with the Satin Stitch.
• Dots: Use 6 strands of thread with a French Knot, making 1 wrap.

You can adjust the colours to suit your fabric or personal preference and make the design your own while keeping the basic stitch instructions the same.

A decision made with clarity is often far better than one made in a hurry.

Flower Embroidery #23 - Fly stitch flower | Easy hand embroidery flower design for beginners

 Welcome back to another beautiful flower in our flower embroidery series!

For the 23rd flower, we are creating a simple and pretty Fly Stitch Flower. Fly stitch is a versatile embroidery stitch that can be used to create delicate petals, leaves, and many decorative patterns. When worked around a centre, this simple stitch transforms into a lovely little flower.

I enjoy how easily basic embroidery stitches can be turned into beautiful floral designs. This Fly Stitch Flower is another easy addition to our growing collection and can be used to decorate handkerchiefs, table linens, bags, clothing, and other embroidery projects.

If you are following this flower series, I hope you enjoy stitching this design and adding it to your collection. So, pick up your needle and thread, and let’s begin stitching our 23rd flower!

VIDEO TUTORIAL BELOW

Pattern for the design

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This design fits a 2.5" x 4" box 

Stitches Used

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Flower - Fly stitch - 3 strands

Centre of flower - French knots - 6 strands, 2 wraps

Leaves - Lazy daisy stitch - 6 strands

Leaf vein - Pistil stitch - 6 strands, 1 wrap

Stems - Back stitch - 3 strands

And here we have our 23rd flower – the Fly Stitch Flower, completed with just a few simple stitches! 

I hope you enjoyed creating this little flower and found the tutorial easy to follow. It is always wonderful to see how a basic embroidery stitch can create such a charming floral design.

If you are enjoying this series, do keep following along as we continue adding more flowers to our collection. You can also experiment with different thread colours and combinations to give each flower your own personal touch.

Have a happy time with your needle n thread!

Flower Embroidery #22 - Cast on stitch flower | Easy hand embroidery flower design for beginners

 Welcome back to the Flower Embroidery Series!

I’m happy to have you here as we continue our journey with the 22nd flower design — the Cast On Stitch Flower. This beautiful stitch creates lovely, looped petals with a soft and textured appearance, giving the flower a unique look. Follow the video tutorial below and learn how to create this charming flower step by step.

VIDEO TUTORIAL BELOW

 

Click here for more flower designs

Pattern for the design

This design fits a 2.5 x 5 cm box.

Stitches Used

Flower - Cast on Stitch - 6 strands, 12 wraps

Centre of flower - French Knots - 6 strands, 2 wraps

Stems - Back stitch - 6 strands

Leaf - Fly stitch - 6 strands

Your Cast On Stitch Flower is now complete, with its looped petals adding beautiful texture and character to your embroidery. 🌼 It’s wonderful how a single stitch can create such an interesting floral design. I hope you enjoyed learning this new stitch and adding another special bloom to your growing collection.

Have a happy time with your needle n thread!

Flower Embroidery #21 - Long and short stitch flower | Easy hand embroidery flower design for beginners

 Welcome back to the Flower Embroidery Series!

I’m happy to have you here as we continue our journey with the 21st flower design — the Long and Short Stitch Flower. This stitch creates a lovely blend of stitches that gives the petals a smooth and natural appearance. Follow the video tutorial below and learn how to create this beautiful flower step by step. 

VIDEO TUTORIAL BELOW

CLICK HERE FOR MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS

Pattern for the design

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This design fits a 6 x 6 cm square. 

Stitches Used 

Flower petals - Long and short stitch - 3 strands

Centre of flower - Satin stitch - 3 strands

Around satin stitch centre - Stem stitch - 3 strands

stems between leaves - Straight stitch - 3 strands

Tip of these stems - French knot - 3 strands, 2 wraps

Leaves - Satin stitch with Back stitch stem - 3 strands

Your Long and Short Stitch Flower is now complete, with its smooth, flowing petals giving it a soft and graceful look. 🌼 This stitch is a wonderful way to add more depth and a natural feel to your floral embroidery. I hope you enjoyed learning this new technique and adding another beautiful bloom to your collection.

Have a happy time with your needle n thread!

Flower Embroidery #20 - Lazy daisy Flower tipped with French knot | Easy Hand Embroidery Tutorial for Beginners

Welcome back to the Flower Embroidery Series!

I’m happy to have you here as we reach our 20th flower design — a Lazy Daisy Flower Tipped with French Knots. This pretty variation combines the soft, looped petals of the Lazy Daisy stitch with tiny French knots at the tips, giving the flower a lovely detailed finish. Follow the video tutorial below and learn how to create this charming flower step by step. 

VIDEO TUTORIAL BELOW

CLICK HERE FOR MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS

Pattern for the design

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Stitches Used 

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Flower Petals - Lazy daisy tipped with french knot - 6 strands 

Straight stitch inside each petal - 6 strands

Centre - French knot - 6 strands, 3 wraps

Leaf - 3 straight stitches - 6 strands

Stem - Back stitch - 6 strands

Your Lazy Daisy Flower Tipped with French Knots is now complete, with the tiny knots adding a beautiful finishing touch to each petal. It’s lovely how a simple variation can give a familiar flower a completely different look. I hope you enjoyed stitching this little bloom and adding another flower to your growing collection.

Have a happy time with your needle n thread! 

Stash to snuggle - A crochet blanket journey - Week 7&8 - Adding new colours

Welcome back, dear readers! After a short break, I’m happy to be back with another update on my crochet blanket journey. Last week, I was down with a fever and wasn’t able to work on the blanket or share my usual progress update. Now that I’m feeling better, I’m glad to pick up my crochet hook again and continue this colourful project.

Although there was a pause in my weekly updates, the blanket is still slowly growing, one ripple at a time. So, let’s take a look at the progress I’ve made and the new colours added to the blanket this week. 

Two Weeks of Progress – Nine More Stripes

Over the past two weeks, I managed to crochet nine more stripes onto the blanket. It feels wonderful to see the blanket steadily growing, especially after taking a short break from my regular updates.

During these two weeks, I added two new colours to the blanket. After introducing these colours, I decided to start repeating the colour sequence from the beginning. I’m looking forward to seeing how the repeated colours create a consistent rhythm throughout the blanket as it gets larger.

The bright blue continues to be the connecting colour between the different shades, while repeating the earlier colours brings a sense of balance and continuity to the overall design.

With nine more stripes completed, the blanket is gradually becoming a colourful collection of all the shades from my yarn stash. There is still a long way to go, but I’m enjoying watching the pattern develop one stripe and one ripple at a time. 🧶💙

When I started this blanket, I thought I would be able to finish the entire project using only the yarns from my stash. I was happy to make use of the colours I already had and see how far they would take me.

But as the blanket grew, I realised that my main colour—the beautiful blue I have been using throughout the stripes—was not going to be enough to finish the blanket. So, I had no choice but to order some more blue yarn.

And then came the real temptation! 😄

As every crocheter will understand, once you start looking at yarn, it is almost impossible to buy just what you need! While ordering the blue, I spotted a few more colours that were very similar to the shades already in my stash, but with slight variations. Of course, I couldn't resist adding them to my order!

So, what started as a simple order for more blue yarn turned into a few extra colours joining my blanket journey. Now I'm excited to see how these new shades blend with the colours I already have and how the blanket will look as it grows.

Sometimes, having a little more yarn is not a problem—it simply gives us more possibilities! 

The picture above is a close-up of the stripes I have crocheted over the past two weeks. 

You may notice a couple of new colours making their way into the blanket. The mustard yellow, which is the third colour apart from blue, and the dark brown, the fourth colour apart from blue, are both from my new stash.

And that’s not all! I have also added a few new shades of pink and green to my yarn collection. They are slightly different from the colours I already had, but I think they will blend beautifully with the existing shades.

I’ll show you these new colours once I add them to the blanket. For now, they are patiently waiting in my yarn stash for their turn! 😊

It’s always exciting to see how a few new shades can bring a fresh look to a project that is already taking shape.

I have now completed about one-third of the blanket, and it feels wonderful to see the project slowly taking shape. With all these new colours waiting to join the blanket, I’m looking forward to watching it grow even more. My hope is to keep crocheting steadily and finish this blanket by the end of this year. Let’s see if I can make it! 

Until then, happy crocheting and happy creating!