Granny Square Scrap Afghan

I've been diligently working on this granny scrapghan since before Christmas, and I'm so happy to share it with you today!

This project is the ultimate stash-buster and, truth be told, that was my main objective with this crochet afghan.

Take a look at how it came out!

The afghan is a simple crochet granny square that I completed with worsted weight yarn and a size I hook. The finished size of the piece is 72" (that's six feet!) square, and it is a generous size for snuggling.

I'm especially proud of the border, so I will share the free pattern for that below so that you can try it on your next afghan!

Scrap Crochet Afghan Border

For the eight color crochet border shown:

Row 1: With final color from afghan (white shown), SC in each stitch around, placing 2SC, 2CH, 2SC in each corner space. Join with a slip stitch to first stitch. Finish off.

Row 2: With color 2 (lime green shown), repeat row 1. Finish off.

Row 3: With color 3 (royal blue shown), SC, CH, SC around, placing SC, CH, SC in each corner space. Join with a slip stitch to first stitch. Finish off.

Row 4: With color 4 (turquoise shown), SC into previous row (row 2) in each CH space, CH around, placing SC, CH, SC in each corner space. Join with a slip stitch to first stitch. Finish off.

Row 5: With color 5 (pink shown), repeat row 4, SCing into row 3. Finish off.

Row 6: With color 6 (lavender shown), SC in each SC and CH around, placing SC, CH, SC in each corner space. Join with a slip stitch to first stitch. Finish off.

Row 7: With color 7 (yellow shown), DC, CH, DC (V stitch made), CH, V stitch in each corner space. *Skip two stitches, V stitch* Repeat from * to * around, completing other corners as the first corner. Join with a slip stitch to first stitch. Do not finish off.

Row 8: With color 7 (yellow shown), SC in first V stitch of corner space, 5 DC in CH stitch between V stitches in corner space, SC in next V stitch of corner space (corner made). Repeat 5 DC in V stitch, 1 SC in next V stitch around, completing other corners as the first corner. Join with a slip stitch to first stitch. Finish off.

Row 9: With color 8 (purple shown), *SC in first three stitches of V stitch, CH 3 in same space, join with slip stitch to first CH stitch (picot made), SC in same space and in remaining two stitches of V stitch* Repeat from * to * around. Join with a slip stitch to first stitch. Finish off.

Long-time readers of the blog might recognize some of these colors from past projects that I've featured. I've linked the projects to the colors below. The colors I used in this project were as follows with two rows of white between each color change:

• Lime green yarn (2 rows)
• Hot pink yarn (3 rows)
• Lavender yarn (4 rows)
• Aqua yarn (2 rows)
• Purple yarn (1 row)
• Orange yarn (1 row)
• Turquoise yarn (3 rows)
• Red yarn (2 rows)
• Royal blue yarn (3 rows)
• Yellow yarn (1 row)
• Magenta yarn (4 rows)
• Baby blue yarn (2 rows)

You can make one of these today with the leftover yarn you already have! Scrapbusting at its finest!

Product Review: Hay Max

You might remember that I recently discovered yet another thing I seem to be allergic to- Christmas! Well, it seems that just about everything has my "seasonal" allergies going bonkers lately.  And I hate to just keep popping allergy meds, especially since so few of them seem to do much for me anyway. So it was recently that I started looking into alternative forms of allergy relief.  And in doing so I stumbled onto a new-to-me product that I am really liking.  It's called Hay Max and it's not a medicine at all.  

It's more of a balm that you just literally rub at the base of your nostrils (or just inside) and it traps minuscule allergens from making their way into your nasal passages.  If you aren't breathing them in, they can't bother you, right?  Simple concept, and yet surprisingly effective! 

I have been using the "Pure" version of Hay Max.  It has no color and no scent.  There are also "Lavender" and "Aloe Vera" versions too.  Of course, when you blow your nose or sneeze, you should reapply the product.  It's a small package and fits easily in my purse so I just carry it with me, and it's easy to have on hand. 

I found mine online and honestly have never looked for it in stores.  I'm not sure how widely available it is at local retailers.  When I initially discovered Hay Max, it was a British fellow who was blogging about it and singing it's praises.   

It sure it worth a try, and I promise it works!

This post contains affiliate links.

Decluttering Your Whole Home in 15 Minutes a Day

New year, new goals!  One of my New Year's resolutions always seems to be home organization and decluttering- which, let's face it, is an ongoing task, but the new year always seems a good time to start this task anew.  

This year, I stumbled onto a new-to-me site that helps you organize your life in a mere 15 minutes a day- the Declutter 365 Challenge.  Of course, some tasks will take a little more than 15 minutes- some less. But the idea is that you break your tasks down into manageable ones so that you can actually accomplish them.  At the end of the week, you have quite a bit to show for your efforts.  This works a lot better than saying to yourself, "I have to clean up and clean out my whole house."  Now THAT'S a big effort with no set place to start or direction on how to accomplish the task exactly.  The Declutter 365 challenge gives you a small task to work on each day.  Of course, the idea is that you maintain your good work and reevaluate as you go to make sure you stay on track.  

If you visit the Declutter 365 website, you can register for free to receive your daily tasks.  Once you do this, you also gain access to a printable calendar that you can print off to keep you on track.  You can also sign up to "join" their Facebook group.  By doing so, you will receive your daily task in your Facebook newsfeed.  And others comment and post their before and after pics there too that you can use as inspiration for your own efforts.  There is strength in numbers, right?

I have been completing my daily tasks for a few days now, and it is super easy to work in 15 minutes chunks of time on small tasks.  So far, I have set up a donation box to discard items that we will end up donating or reselling later.  I have organized my kitchen sink area, and cleared our kitchen counters and island.  Today's task is the kitchen table.  I believe tomorrow is organizing my kitchen towels and utensils.  And then we move on to the cabinets and fridge next week.  Once the kitchen is complete, the tasks will take us on to another part of the house.  

Aaaahhhh, I can feel our home breathing a sigh of relief already.