Posted in Crochet

A Blanket with Purpose

There’s something deeply satisfying about making a crochet blanket that doesn’t begin with a grand plan—but instead with a simple intention: use what you have.

That’s exactly how this blanket came to life.

The Yarn-Eater I Needed

I chose the waffle stitch for this project, fully aware of its reputation. It’s a yarn eater—no question about it. But honestly, that’s what drew me to it. I wasn’t trying to conserve yarn or stretch skeins. I wanted the opposite. I wanted to use it up. Every last bit of it.

This blanket was made with a 5.0 mm hook and about 6–7 skeins of Red Heart Bitty Stripes in the color Rainbow. There’s something playful and comforting about that colorway—soft transitions, gentle brightness, nothing too loud but still full of life.

And stitch by stitch, row by row, it came together.

Slow Making in a Fast World

In total, I completed 34 rows of waffle stitch. Not rushed. Not forced. Just… made.

This wasn’t one of those projects where I set deadlines or felt the pressure to “finish.” Instead, I worked on it over a couple of months, picking it up when I felt like it and setting it down without guilt when I didn’t.

That alone felt like a quiet act of rebellion.

Because let’s be honest—everything around us pushes for faster, more, now. But this blanket? It asked for patience. It demanded presence. And in return, it gave me something I didn’t realize I needed: permission to slow down.

Evenings Well Spent

More often than not, this blanket grew in the evenings.

Curled up, a cozy corner claimed, with a British show playing in the background—preferably a good mystery. There’s just something about the rhythm of a well-told story paired with the repetition of crochet stitches. It settles the mind in a way scrolling never does.

And speaking of that…

Choosing Creativity Over Scrolling

One of my personal goals lately has been to be more creative and less consumed by my phone. It’s not easy. The pull is strong, and the habit is real.

However, projects like this help.

Each time I chose to pick up my hook instead of my phone, I was choosing something tangible. Something lasting. Something that required me to be present rather than distracted.

Not perfectly. Not every time. But more than before—and that counts.

What Comes Next?

Now that it’s finished, I find myself wondering what this blanket’s story will become.

I may gift it. I may sell it at a craft fair this summer or fall. And if I’m being honest, the idea of selling at a fair feels like stepping into completely unknown territory. I know nothing about it—but maybe that’s part of the appeal.

A new experience. A new challenge. A new way to share something handmade with someone who might love it as much as I loved making it.

More Than Just a Blanket

At the end of the day, this isn’t just a crochet blanket.

It’s a reminder.

A reminder that not everything has to be rushed.
That using what you already have can be enough.
That creativity doesn’t need perfection—it just needs space.

And maybe most importantly, it’s proof that even in small, quiet ways, we can choose differently. We can choose slower. We can choose intentional. We can choose to make something with our hands instead of just consuming with our minds.

So whether this blanket ends up draped over someone’s couch, gifted to someone I love, or folded neatly on a table at my very first craft fair—it has already served its purpose.

It brought me back to the simple joy of creating.

And that, more than anything, is enough.

Photo by @vikkilynnstitches. All rights reserved.
Posted in Crochet

My First Set

If you know anything about me and my love for crochet, you know the C2C (corner-to-corner) stitch is my favorite. Up until now, I’ve made one scarf and several blankets using this stitch—and honestly, I’m always looking for an excuse to use it again.

One of my goals for 2026 is to focus on smaller, more manageable projects, especially wearable items. I decided to get a jump on that goal by creating my very first scarf set.

This set is made with Lion Brand Heartland Tweed yarn in Mount Rainier, using a 5 mm crochet hook. The gloves and scarf are both done in the C2C stitch. There’s no pattern for those—I completely freehanded them. The hat is a simple double-crochet repeat made using a pattern by Kylee Keller.

I absolutely love how this set turned out. It feels cozy, wearable, and like the beginning of a whole new chapter of projects. 🧶✨

© 2025 VikkiLynnStitches. All Rights Reserved.
© 2025 VikkiLynnStitches. All Rights Reserved.
© 2025 VikkiLynnStitches. All Rights Reserved.

Posted in Crochet

Finished!

My favorite thing to crochet is blankets. There’s nothing quite like snuggling under something I’ve made with my own two hands—soft, warm, and full of love. I also love giving blankets as gifts. There’s something special about wrapping someone else in comfort you created stitch by stitch.

Blankets take forever to make, especially since I work a full-time job and juggle a full-time life. Still, there’s always a deep sense of pride when I put in that very last stitch and officially declare a project done.

This blanket is one I started early in the summer. It was set aside more than once in favor of other projects (hello, WIPs). When I picked it back up, my goal was simply to finish something. From there, it evolved into a yarn-stash project—I have a TON of this yarn and wanted to put it to good use. Then it became a Christmas gift, which added the extra challenge of finishing it within a specific time frame.

The C2C (corner-to-corner) stitch is by far my favorite. It’s very beginner-friendly and works up quickly. I think this is my 10th or 11th blanket using this stitch, and I have absolutely no plans to stop making them.

Caron yarn is also a favorite of mine. It’s soft and squishy, washes well, and truly stands up to the test of time.

So here it is—the finished product, made with Caron One Pound yarn in white, using a 5mm crochet hook

© 2025 VikkiLynnStitches. All Rights Reserved.
© 2025 VikkiLynnStitches. All Rights Reserved.
© 2025 VikkiLynnStitches. All Rights Reserved.
Posted in Crochet

Creative Catch Up

Against my better judgment, I started a 2025 Temperature blanket. I decided to do monthly granny squares instead of daily. Each month is one huge granny square and at the end of the year, I will join them all together to create one blanket. I have to say, I’m not as vested in this project as I hoped to be. I started it because “everyone was doing it” and I wanted to be counted among them. However, I made two major mistakes and have lost passion for it.

The first mistake is my color scheme. I loved the colors scheme I choose (color chart #3 found here on Kylee’s website) but I foolishly inverted them from their original order.  So my warmer months are actually much darker colors than the cooler months. I also decided to use the average daily temperature instead of a high or low temperature. This has resulted in much fewer color changes so it’s not nearly as colorful as I hoped. I’m still going to finish it but it’s not a project I have any passion for.

These are the winter colors for my 2025 Temperature Blanket

I also bought a pattern from Mel’s Homemade Craft called The 9 Square Granny Throw. Using Lion Brand yarn and the colors suggested in the pattern, this blanket worked up and was completed in a very short amount of time. As in under two weeks! That’s a first for me but I love how thick and squishy it is and I love the colors!

After that, I knew I needed to pick a WIP and complete it. Last year, after falling in love with Caron’s Simply Soft yarn, I bought a bunch in blues and silvers and began creating a rectangular granny square blanket. This was one big square instead of several small ones joined. My older daughter’s boyfriend has a mother who is very thoughtful. Each year, she helps him pick our cards and gifts for me for my birthday, Christmas and Mother’s Day. Shelby wanted to honor that with something homemade and after I found out her favorite color is blue, I designed this blanket.

Then it got put on the top shelf in favor of other projects. So once my 9 Square Granny was complete, I pulled this out and decided to get moving. I played with the colors going in and out instead of repeating and completed it with a simple single crochet border once around. Shelby shipped it and the feedback has been very lovely!

Since then, I’ve made a handful of dishcloths for Emilie at her request. I have a TON of cotton yarn that needs to get used up. I love making small projects like dishcloths and the like but for some reason, working with cotton yarn is not my favorite. It makes my hands tired. I also started a simple double crochet throw with this beautiful Red Heart Bitty Stripes yarn in Mermaid.

Still wanting to document the temperatures for 2025, I bought an embroidery pattern of a tree. Each leaf represents one day of the year. It’s a much smaller project and one I can catch up on easily. I also already had a whole bunch of thread gifted to me two Christmases ago that haven’t been touched so now I’m able to use some of that for this project.

In addition, I did a yarn re-organization which you can read about here.

So, I have been creating and it’s been so great! I have a ton of ideas including a yarn/fabric book for Sophia and tummy time blanket for her (and those who will come after her).

Happy creating!

Posted in Crochet

The Great Yarn Reorganization of 2025

I’ve never bought yarn without a purpose in mind. My creative flow is get an idea (or buy a pattern), buy the yarn and complete the project. Every skein had a purpose.

Then Joann Fabrics announced it was closing its doors.

Like so many, I was devastated. If I’m being honest, I didn’t go into the stores that often. When we lived up in Grayslake, my girls and I would go to the location in the area. But since moving to Orland Park, I only went into the store here once and it was so dirty, I left really upset. But I did shop a lot online! Boxes upon boxes, each for a specific purpose, were delivered.

It was my daughter, a baker and creative person herself, who told me she’d visited the store by her home and the deals were unreal. Still, I decided not to as I had patterns waiting to be worked up and didn’t think I could house anymore.

I was wrong. She convinced me to go and “just buy the yarn. Buy all the yarn.” So I did. I filled two shopping carts and collectively came home with more than 10 bags full of yarn. No patterns. No Pinterest ideas. No Instagram ideas. Just me, my own creativity and my pocketbook (which did sputter on each trip).

All this yarn was so beautiful! So many ideas! But I needed a place to put them all. I already had laundry baskets, two bins under my bed and 4 bins in the storage room full of yarn. I also had all this.

Add the Joann hauls and you get something close to this….(and that wasn’t even all of it)

So, I spoke with others who live with me about this situation and came up with a solution. We have a loft. While it’s furnished, there was a whole wall that was empty. We filled that empty space first with shelves I bought from Walmart. They’re the Furinno Turn-N-Tube shelves. I love these shelves. They’re a quality product at a decent price and they were perfect for what we needed.

So first we filled the space with shelves. Then we filled the shelves with yarn. All my yarn and all in one space. I couldn’t be more happy with the end result! And having it all organized helps my creativity even more. I can see all my colors at the same time, choose what I want for what project and plan, plan, plan for the rest. I also loved how cozy it made our loft.

The moral to the story is when in doubt, just buy the yarn!