Giggles – Turtle Burger Crochet

Pattern: Mary Maxim Granny’s Little Girl No. 98071N

Check out this item in my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/538164521/girls-circular-sleeveless-shrug-vest
Practice yarn used: Bernat Giggles (3 balls) in color Periwinkle Purple

So I’ve had this pattern since maybe January (possibly December). My mother-in-law’s (Ms S) friend (Bev) bought it and decided she couldn’t do it so she gave it to Ms S who decided she didn’t want to do it. I inherited it because they know I love a crochet challenge. So here we go.

Challenge is a bit of an understatement. Headache: yes. Frustration: yes. Mind-boggling: you betcha. While the pattern isn’t exactly difficult once you get the hang of it, I just don’t recommend it for OCD people like myself. In my mind each stitch in a round or row should be accounted for and that’s not the way parts of this pattern work.

There is a pattern add-on for sleeves but I find the circular sweaters so much cuter without them. This was a practice piece so I could get used to the pattern without ruining the very delicate Mary Maxim yarn. Once Bev and Ms S saw the finished product we all decided it was a little more frilly than we were expecting and decided that for her intended gift I would just make The Lavender Chair’s circular sweater seen here.

So with so many negatives was there anything positive about this pattern? Absolutely. For one, I didn’t buy it so my money wasn’t wasted (sorta kinda just kidding). No, but really it was a difficult pattern that I can look back on with appreciation and say to myself “Brit, you stuck with something challenging and you conquered it! You’re not a quitter, you’re an OVERCOMER!” What good advice to myself for so many things in this life.

My very most favorite part of this pattern is the pinwheel center medallion. I mean it’s gorgeous!

Have you ever had a pattern that didn’t make sense that you conquered and can now call yourself an overcomer?

Super excited to find yarn at our local Dollar Tree today. I’ve never seen that before. It was name brand too. They had Red Heart Boutique Sashay, Bernat Boa, Bernat Dippity Dots, Bernat Giggles and Patons Canadiana. I’ve never heard of the Patons but it’s a very soft yarn. I did go to the website on the yarn insert and it immediately directed me to yarnspirations.com which, of course, is Bernats website so I feel very comfortable using this yarn based on Bernats reputation and having previously used lots of Bernat. Either way, who could pass up yarn for $1? Not this girl. I also called my mother-in-law and she couldn’t either. I got her 7 skeins in the Bernat Giggles. Here was the store display.

Here is what I loaded up on

I bought 6 skeins of the Patons. It’s a very pretty lavender-ish color called Med Amethyst. I also bought 3 skeins of the Bernat Giggles. The photo looks like it’s blue but it’s actually another purple called Periwinkle Purple.

So as if my dollar treasure wasn’t enough I talked myself into a potential client. The cashier mentioned she had been wanting to have a blanket made for her daughter with her name on it. I asked if she wanted it crocheted. She said yes. I asked if she wanted it in purple and she did. I said I can make it. She said “if you do then you know where I work.” I don’t think she thought I was serious but I was most definitely serious. My plan is to make a baby blanket in the Periwinkle Purple and bring it in. If she likes it I can quote her a price with the promise of appliquéing some letters for her daughters name. If she doesn’t like it then I’ll have a pretty purple blanket to do with as I please. Win-win in my book. Although her daughter has a very unusual name (Danikkah) I’m playing around with the idea of teaching myself some tapestry crochet in which the name is part of the blanket pattern. I think that looks more professional but if she doesn’t like it I’m stuck with a blanket that won’t be much good for anyone else. I might make a blanket for Turtle or Burger first and show her that and tell her to imagine her daughters name. Has anyone else done tapestry crochet?