Afghan Square # 8 - Zig Zags

It is so past time to update :) Sorry for being so slow on this. In August we were spoiled with another wonderful guest teacher! Pam Keville was kind enough to design this pretty square for the afghan project. This is a fun square with a nice zig zag pattern to it. Pam, we appreciate your time and talents that you generously gave to the afghan project! This is a lovely addition to the project and the finished squares were just awesome. We can't wait to see everyone's finished afghans :) Have a great day!

<3 Jenny

Afghan Square Set #7 - The Rib Took a Walk Around the Block

July brought us a flurry of afghan squares. We had Robin's beautiful Cable Calamity at the beginning of the month and finished up the month with the Ribs pattern set. The Rib Took a Walk Around the Block featured two designs. There was Boulevard (my favorite) and Avenues. It's been really fun to see these squares in different colors and yarns. And this time we even got to see Avenues transformed into a purse! Too fun! I am definitely going to have to make one for myself. The afghan project has been a lot more labor intensive than I was expecting but it has also been a rewarding experience. We are so glad to have everyone join in the experience and we are really looking forward to seeing the finished afghans at the end of the year! Have a great night!

<3 Jenny

Block #6- Cabled Column Calamity

Congratulations, ladies and gents! You made it through our most advanced block yet! I am so proud that you all didn't run into more problems and it seems that most of you coasted right through without a snag (pun intended!) I created this design, not only to satisfy the hunger of those who needed more challenging designs to work on, but to instill the confidence in those of you that thought you couldn't do it. Seems that the tutorials for Cables on the KK and Cables on the Kiss Looms that I put together to help you all was really worth it and now you have little (or big, depending on how you view 25 and 27 page tutorials) booklets to carry with you to help you with cables from now on. :)
I would say that this class has been the most rewarding one for me to teach, yet. :D And the only recurrent question/problem that came up was about those stretched out looking stitches, which was normally solved by pulling the slack out from behind and redistributing the slack to surrounding stitches. I have seen several pictures of some really gorgeous cables and I am so very proud. :D

Live, Love, Loom
Robin McCoy

Square #5 - Little Lacy Flowers

June brought us pattern # 5 in the afghan series and our very first guest teacher!!! Stephanie McElheran of Loomy Daze Designs was kind enough to design the Little Lacy Flowers square for the project and spent a week with us as we learned to loom lace. We really appreciate your help with the afghan project, Stephanie. Thank you so much for sharing you time and talent with us. It was so fun to see the photos of finished squares as the class drew to a close. We hope you are all enjoying the afghan project and learning new techniques. Have a great night!

<3 Jenny

Square #4 - Wobbley Bobbley

The class for square number 4 recently ended. The pattern was Wobbley Bobbley. I think the class went really well. Bobbles are not my absolute favorite addition to a project but they were something I did want to conquer. So I set about writing up a pattern with bobbles in it. I'm really pleased with how the square turned out. And the pictures that have been posted over in the Loom Class Group have been really great. I am so proud of everyone's work. Next month we will have our very first Guest Teacher! I'm so excited! I love that we are learning so many new things together. Have a great night!

<3 Jenny

Third class finished and can't wait for the fourth!

The third class for the Lattice block pattern is over and done with and yet I am already hearing that people need their afghan block fix and can't wait for block #4! That is exciting to hear b/c I expected that people would get bored and tired of making blocks and this proves to me that I was sooooo wrong. I am glad that everyone is enjoying the classes and getting the most out of them. :D Join us at the end of May for the fourth class and we have the fifth class lining up for June as we speak.



Keep on loomin',
Robin McCoy

Excerpts from Jenny on tips for decorating Block #2

(Written April 13, 2008)

Today kicks off the second Project Afghan/Lapghan class over at the Loom Class Group on Yahoo. The pattern is Flowers in my Baskets. It is a simple basketweave pattern decorated with flowers. The pattern describes how to embellish the square with embroidery. Not everyone enjoys embroidery so we wanted to talk about a few other options for this square. The first and simplest option would be to leave the square undecorated.

As you can see, this square looks nice without the embroidery. However, if you are feeling like doing a little decorating, there are a few options. You can follow the pattern and embroider on your square.
The drawback with this option (in my opinion) is that the embroidery creates a right side and a wrong side for the block. The wrong side could be left as it is or decorated by adding some pretty fabric shapes or squares.

Another option for this block would be to make Loom Blooms with the spool knitter and tie them on to your square. I really like how this turns out.
I love this option because both sides of the square are adorable. The loom blooms are tied on the square with double knots. Then make a bow and double tie that too. They should be quite secure. This is how it looks on the other side.
A final suggestion would be some Simple Crochet Flowers. These can be attached with the same method as the Loom Blooms and so both sides of the square would be attractive with this option too.
For an afghan that needs to be less feminine, the block could be embroidered with sunbursts, stars, leaves, etc. - or just left undecorated. We hope you are enjoying the afghan project and we look forward to seeing your finished squares. Have a great day!


<3 Jenny