June Crochet Along Squares

Hello, June, and hello new monthly crochet squares.

The patterns selected for this month were fantastic, and I had a ton of fun making them.  The best part about them is that I made them all while outside sitting in the sunshine – such a nice break from the cold doldrums of winter!  I’m still unpacking from my move last fall (yes, it takes me that long to get myself together!), and the patio has taken a backseat to getting all the rooms together indoors.  But I have pulled out my patio table and some chairs and got an outdoor rug to put them all on.  My yard is teeming with ticks and poison ivy, and I’m still laying down grass seed to get to the bare spots growing.  It’s not exactly the lush garden of paradise that I was hoping it would be by now.  But I also have wild blackberries and grapes growing all over, and the mint and parsley that I planted last month are already thriving, so if nothing else, I’ll have some wonderfully scented fruit salad!  Anyway, I have plenty of time left this summer to get things together, and just being able to sit outside my door is a pleasure. 

Fountain of Roses crochet square

I feel like the squares I made up for this month’s crochet along reflect the warm weather as well, with the warm floral colors I selected almost taking on a watermelon-like feel.  The Fountain of Roses crochet square (follow the link for the free Raverly download) is such a beautiful square.  I made it once before for the crochet-along last year, but I ended up liking this version so much better.  But it reminds me of a watermelons every time I look at it – the pink insides, the green skin, even the dark seeds!  Well, it’s fitting for the summer, isn’t it?

The Rachel Block crochet square

The Rachel Block was the main square for June, and it was supposed to be a full 12″ square.  But the big center bloom looked so pretty that by the time I got to the square around it and found that it equaled 6″ exactly, I decided that I would leave it at that size and use it that way instead.  So many 6-inch blocks have a small motif in the center and rounds and rounds that outline it, but this great big blossom extends all the way to the lengths of the square instead, and I thought that was a nice change.  I was so happy with it that I ended up making a few mores too!

Wrap Square

And finally, the six inch block for the month is this lovely little Wrap Square.  It’s a little hard to tell from the picture, but the petals aren’t in rounds; instead they wrap around in a spiral.  I used three different colors and even though I attached them properly, it still looks a bit like three separate rounds.  But it’s not.  I usually make a couple of the 6-inch squares each month, but with the three Rachel blocks, this singleton rounded out the bunch, and so I left it that way.  It certainly is lovely enough to stand on its own!

We’re halfway through the year with the 2015 Block-a-Month Crochet Along, but for those of you who have asked me about it, it’s never too late to join in.  The 18 squares that are left before the end of the year are plenty to have a decent-sized blanket ready for someone you love (or yourself!) by the holidays, so if you’ve been wanting to join in, by all means, jump right in!

~Mellie ★