Granny Square Doll Blanket

I have an amazing group of friends who donate doll blankets, clothes, and accessories every year for the donation and since I've added the baby doll snuggle snacks and the larger doll sleeping bags I haven't been making as many doll blankets.

Both these are projects that I can take with me when I have appointments or I'm going some place where I'll be sitting for a bit.

However, I found myself having finished with those items and time to work on blankets. I started with my seed stitch go to pattern but it was fighting me and I decided not to fight back. At some point I'll return to the blanket and figure out where I'm going wrong but I need a stress free blanket project and the giant granny seems to work. I finished this one and am about half way through a second one.

Easy Peasy Doll Blanket for 2021

I have some wonderful friends at Crochetville who send me doll blankets each year for the doll donation. However, I still make a few to add to the supply each year. They are relaxing projects and a great way to target yarn I want to finish off from my stash. This Lion Brand Yarn Ice Cream Yarn, Tutti Frutti has been hanging out in my stash for some time.

I always end up buying more than I think I'll need for a project and when I was done with the baby blanket I made with this purchase the remainder went to live in my stash. I finished off a ball and have another ball I started on but recently I thought I saw another skein hiding out. That being said a dent has been made and another doll blanket is ready to go out with this year's donation.

I used the Easy Peasy Seed Stitch doll blanket pattern from Annabelle' Afghans set which you can purchase here. I used an I hook for this project.

I just started the Tisket a Tasket pattern for my next doll afghan. I keep a doll blanket as a "travel" project. I don't travel much these days but I do find if I have to wait in the car before going into an appointment or I'm on a zoom call these are easy patterns to work on while waiting.

The one adjustment I made this time around is to list the stitch count in my phone notes so I didn't have to carry the pattern with me at all times. In the car it was easier to check my phone for the stitch count than it was to reach down and dig through the bag to find the pattern and read the notes about the stitch count for the row. I don't remember stitch counts when I haven't seen a project for a while so a quick refresher maximizes the time I work on the project.

Pink Seed Stitch Doll Blanket

Doll blankets used to be my traveling projects but with COVID I'm not traveling much these days and taking a project with me isn't a healthy choice. However, I have been visiting with family and doing some other stuff via teleconferencing and thus the doll blankets are being worked on during those times. I also find they are a nice relaxing project between some of the other projects as most of these require minimal counting and monitoring to keep the project in check.

I'm continuing to work on reducing my stash. I had picked up some Red Heart Super Saver Ombre Jazzy when it was on sale during my travels as I really do have a thing for striped and variegated yarn. This has larger stripes than I'm used to working on but I suspected it would work for blankets.

This is a simple crochet seed stitch project. I like it because it is quite relaxing and easy on my hands. The border is a chain stitch border. I make it large enough to fit the 18" dolls but it goes in a bag of doll blankets that can be used for any donated dolls or stuffed animals that come into the doll donation.

I haven't picked out the blankets that will be donated with the 18" dolls yet. Other than the Lil Cutesies doll all the baby dolls have their blankets in their donation storage bags. I have a bag per doll to keep the stuff separated to make sure each doll is getting enough items. At some point I'll decide which blankets will go with the two 18" dolls for this year. I'm just not ready to pick yet.

Doll Blanket

I've been reading lots of posts lately about crocheting in public or do you take your crocheting with you. Well I do. I'm not good at waiting with nothing to do. I will sometimes bring a book or my Kindle to read, but depending on what I'm waiting for I can find it hard to concentrate on reading. I do find simple crochet projects work well during these times.

The challenge is sometimes I'm working on projects that don't "travel" well. Sometimes it's because the project needs to be fitted to a doll. I won't travel with a doll. They are heavy, awkward to manage in public, and let's be honest it just draws unnecessary attention. Sometimes I'm working on projects that need to be sewn together and that isn't something I enjoy doing when I might have to stop unexpectedly to move. I also can't count on having a place to lay out complicated directions so having a project with fairly simple directions and repeats is an ideal travel project.

Last fall when I was working on the Big Sister project I came across a perfect project that met my needs. The Little Angel Layette had an accompanying blanket which I didn't need for the Big Sister project as I'd already made a blanket for the doll. However, the pattern was perfect for my travel requirements. At the time I started this the fall I didn't have any projects on my hooks suitable for travel. I needed something I could take with me that would be simple to work and made me feel I was accomplishing something while I was dealing with wait times.

The day before an appointment in the middle of December I pulled this out and measured it against an 18" doll and realized it had reached the length I needed for it to be included in the doll donation. I finished it off. I was working on a doll changing pad at the time so that met the requirements for a simple travel project. I didn't start another doll blanket right away but there will be another one there soon I'm sure as it is nice to have a project with no deadline.

Technically I could have pushed and finished this blanket for the 2019 donation but I had plenty of blankets for the 2019 donation and this gave me a low pressure project finished for 2020. I've enjoyed having a project that doesn't have a deadline. I worked on it only when I was "traveling" and left it alone when I was home until it was time to finish it off.

Granny Doll Blanet

Another thoughtful girt from a Crochetville Fairy Godmother. This blanket is for my doll donation project. I love granny squares, but I never have the patience to make them all the same size and then to assemble them all together.

The high school students can add another state to the states and countries that have donated to their project.

Easy Peasy Doll Afghan

I got this pattern from the 2015 Crochet Calendar. You can now purchase it as part of a pattern set here. I try to make sure every 18 inch and Baby doll donation leaves with a blanket so I try to start early. I find before and right after Christmas are a good time to get them out of the way. This time of the year, simple is a good choice for me. I find myself having to focus even on simple stuff to keep stitch counts correct.

I started this one while waiting for someone getting some routine testing done. I had it about half done since the testing ran long. It was the perfect choice since I couldn't have concentrated on a book in the waiting area, but the predictable stitch and counting the stitches to make sure the rows stayed even helped pass the time.

Just a note for myself and for those who are interested I used worsted weight yarn and and an I hook to get the size I wanted for the doll. I did not change the stitch count.

I love Michelle's blanket patterns and look forward each year to the new pattern in the Crochet calendar to try something new.