The Taco Blanket

I was cleaning up around my chair and picked up the remnants of a Caron Pounder skein of Sunflower. I had pulled it out to make the blanket for a Master's Blankey lovey (which just sold from my Etsy shop last week), and didn't put it back into my yarn stash. I have been kicking around the idea of making a taco blanket, so I started to wing it...

I used a K hook and two strands of worsted weight yarn held together. I think I had about five ounces of the Sunflower and a pale yellow. Basically, I worked until I ran out of yarn, and ended up with a baby-sized blanket. I was at 12 dc between increases when I ran out.  For my second taco blanket, I went up to a bigger hook, I think it is an N, and the blanket has a better drape. Two 7-ounce skeins of worsted weight yarn gave me a blanket about 38" across. 

Row 1: 8 DC in Magic Ring
Row 2: DC increase in each stitch  (16)
Row 3: DC, DC increase, repeat around (24)
Row 4: DC, DC increase, repeat around (36) (I broke the pattern of putting one more DC between increases here, because the blanket seemed to be cupping inward)
Row 5: 2 DC, DC increase, repeat around (48)
Keep going, adding one more DC between increases, until your circle is the size you want it to be.

When I got up to 4 DC between increases, I started staggering the increases. For instance, for (6 DC, DC increase), I would do three DC, then my increase, then start counting 6 DC between. At the end of the row, instead of ending with an increase, I would have the 3 leftover. This keeps your circle from having definite points.

Hamburger Row:
With two strands of brown (one dark, one a little lighter) and K hook, DC in one stitch, 3-DC cluster in next stitch (I would count out the number of stitches to my next increase and place a marker there, so I wouldn't have to worry about counting for clusters AND counting for increases.

Lettuce Row
With two strands of green and K hook, 2 DC in one stitch, 2 TR in next, repeat around.

Cheese Row:
With 1 strand of orange and H hook, slip stitch around a stitch between hamburger and lettuce. Chain 4, slip stitch to the next stitch in same row. Repeat around.

Tomato chunks: Make 15-20 to place around on meat & lettuce layer. I used one strand of red and an H hook.
Chain 2. 3 HDC in second chain from hook. Chain 1, turn.
2 HDC in first stitch. Chain 2, skip one stitch, 2 HDC in last stitch.

Sour Cream:
With two strands of white and K hook, join with a slip stitch to the lettuce layer. SC, HDC, DC, 2 TR, DC, HDC, SC, Slip stitch. Finish off and tuck in yarn ends. Repeat at random spaces around circle.

Second taco blanket... I used a burnt orange boucle with the brown to make it look like taco meat & cheese together.

April - Hoping for better

I just realized it was April 4th, and I never put up an April post outlining my plans. Probably because March was such a miserable month, I was in a funk.

I had two craft shows in March. Both had record low sales. 😞 I had a few Etsy sales, but not enough to make up for the bad craft shows. It ended up being my worst March ever for sales.

Fortunately, my average sales for April are lower, so I won't have to work as hard to beat my lowest month, average month, and best month. I've had three sales already, which gave me a new high total for April, and the month isn't even half over!

Since I don't have any craft shows planned until fall, in April I want to focus on getting more items listed in my Etsy shop. I'm shooting for 100 new listings this month! Here's my progress:

1. Rag rug
Link to Rag Rug in my shop
2. Sunny Yellow Dishcloth
3. Chicken Butt Potholder
Just in case you're curious to see what this one looks like!
4. Angel dishcloth
5. Striped Elephant
6. Black "Chicken Butt" potholder - sold 😁
7. Little Pink Cupcake
8. Purple Penguin Gloves
9. Sleepy Dinosaur
10. Blue & Yellow Chicken Potholder
11. Rosie the Unicorn
12. Updated Ocean Playset listing with new critters
13. Sleepy Dinosaur #2
14. White chicken potholder
15. Chicken Rug #1
16. Chicken Rug #2
17. Cat Potholder automatically renewed... oops
18. Hedgehog automatically renewed... oops
19. Gingerbread Man
20. Superhero Doll
21. Spunky the Unicorn
22. Dancing Girl Doll
23. Pterry the Pterodactyl
24. Chicken/Egg Set Listing
25. Soap on a Rope Bags
26. Pizza Potholder
27. Bunny Lovey
28. Monster Pants

29. Taco Blanket

I'm only doing one CAL (Crochet-Along Challenge) in April, but it's a cute one!

Blanket section is done! 

And done...heading into Etsy shop soon! 

I also want to finish up the Pop Tarts Blanket #2 that I'm working on, get another section finished on Mandala Madness, and two motifs for the Owl Obsession blanket. (Nope on all three accounts... did a few more rows on the Mandala Madness, 0 on the Owl Obsession, and still have five small skeins of yarn to go on the Pop Tarts blanket)

Mandala Madness & Pop Tarts blanket - WIP Wednesday 4/4/18

Other goals are to get more exercise in (I'd give myself a C on this), work down my yarn stash (A on this), do some promotion of my Etsy shop on a daily basis (B on this), and keep up with housework... same old stuff that's always on my list.

So, here's hoping for a successful April on multiple fronts!

I made up this grid of 25 items to make, and have been working my way through it. When I finish an item, I move through the boxes, spelling out the item I just finished, and make whatever I land on.

Pterry the Pterodactyl