Stained Glass Afghan update

I have not finished the afghan yet, but I am pretty excited about my progress. I have used up a ton of variegated yarn (And admit it, when the project is done,sometimes variegated yarns are hard to use up!) I have not finished off the "squares" or joined them yet, but you can get a general idea of the direction I an going in! The nice thing about recycling yarn for this project is that I know what each yarn came from- this one was from Jodie, that one is Patric's hat, that one is a hat I made for Laura, etc etc. So I am collecting memories as well as making a cozy afghan!
I figure I am about a third of the way done, so as my projects unfold, look for me to lean toward variegated yarns, so I can recycle them! ^__^

Washing Up

When I was doing my spring cleaning, I found some cotton yarn I had gotten and decided to make some new washcloths. But I can't decide which pattern for them I like best. At the moment I am leaning toward a roundish one as it seems to fit the hand very well. I also made one in that pattern smaller, for use as a facecloth.
What are your favorite washcloth styles and why? there are gazillion patterns- the really fancy ones I never bother with because they look pretty but uncomfortable to actually USE...

Showing off the Goods

I wanted to talk a little about presentation of crafts. It is VERY important and I was not even aware how much until I made a cute little peach hat with bunny ears. It was a commission and I was so confident that it would look adorable! I wanted to take a photo before I sent it off, in case I did not get to see a photo of the hat on the baby. There are no babies at my house, so I borrowed a baby-doll of similar size and took the top photo which is cute.
And then I saw the photo of the real doll baby wearing the hat! Oh HOW cute is that? I realized on the spot that your model for a craft product does not change the product but it enables you to show off exactly what you had envisioned. I KNEW that hat was adorable but the bottom photo shows everyone what I had in mind when I made it so much better.
So, now I need to figure out where to find models for various sized hats more easily! ^__^

For this hat I used Caron's "Simply Soft" 4 ply acrylic yarn. It is a basic beanie with white picot trim, and small bunny ears, also picot trimmed

I also want to thank Rae LeGrone for allowing me to publish the photo of her darling daughter in my blog.

Poppets

Still working on three things at once. The weather here has been lovely and i ended up using the dowels I had purchased for the mobile to make plant stakes. I will go get more soon ^__^
Another project I designed recently are Pocket Poppets. They are little "dolls" that are freestanding with a big pocket. The idea is to write a secret, or a goal, or concern on a paper and then let the poppet carry it for you. You can put it on your desk, windowsill or nightstand, wherever will help you the most, and she will gently remind you of your goal.. These require scraps of yarn and can be made in a variety of colors. I thought she was fun! Anyone want the pattern?
i was also thinking they would be cute as a Tooth Fairy helper, the child could put the tooth in the pocket.

Vintage Pattern for Vintage Yarn

I was scanning photos for my mother-in-law and fell in LOVE with the afghan on the couch in the background of several photos. Just LOOK at those colors! Looks like stained glass yes? I wanted to try and recreate it but I thought, what were the chances that Grandma still had the afghan? Well turns out the chances are pretty good!
I took some vari yarn (Red Heart 4 ply) up and a size H hook, and was able to successfully copy one of the six sided blocks- and I plan to make more! I have not yet added the black, figure i will wait until I have more then one finished, and add the black all at once. what a COOL way to use up some yarns! i have tried to write the pattern down, I am new at writing patterns so forgive me if I am not exact.
Ch6, join.
ROW 1 DC 18 in a circle, join.
ROW 2 here you make the 6 sides. Single DC two, then DC twice in one, chain 2. Repeat five more times. You will have 6 groups of 4
ROW 3 Two DC in one, then DC two single posts, then DC two posts in one, Chain 2 and repeat five more times. you will have six groups of 6
ROW 4 Two DC in one, the DC four single posts, then DC two posts in one, CH 2
and repeat 5 more times. you will have six groups of 8.
ROW 5 Two DC in one, the DC six single posts, then DC two posts in one, CH 2
and repeat 5 more times. you will have six groups of 10.
ROW 6 Two DC in one, the DC 8 single posts, then DC two posts in one, CH 2
and repeat 5 more times. you will have six groups of 12.
ROW 7 Two DC in one, the DC 10 single posts, then DC two posts in one, CH 2
and repeat 5 more times. you will have six groups of 14.
ROW 8 (USE edge color)Two DC in one, the DC 12 single posts, then DC two posts in one, CH 2 and repeat 5 more times. you will have six groups of 16.

Save the scraps of yarn for fringe. Join the sides, then add simple DC edge in edge color, and add the scraps as fringe and you have a classic!

When I finish the afghan, I will post the photos. I suspect it will take a while, since I want to recycle various yarns into it.

Thank you to Katy Griffis for use of her photos and blanket, and to her Mother-in-Law for making the orig Stained Glass afghan all those many years ago! I can tell you it was made with Red Heart Wintuk 4 ply yarn because I found the EXACT SAME yarn on it that Jodie gave me from her Maw-Maw Gilda! What a small world!