Hogs & Kisses Afghan

The Journey Begins!

It is time to begin the Hogs & Kisses Afghan! Below I will be describing the materials used, the beginning process, and the inspiration for this Afghan. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Step #1 - The Inspo

Every idea has something that inspires it. Whether it's the perfect man walking down the street, a groovy song that makes you feel good, or a word spoken by a stranger. There's inspiration all around us, you just have to see it, hear it, or feel it.

The inspiration for this Afghan came from my love of pigs (they're soooo cute! 😊), some ADORABLE pjs I own (which can be found here), & a beautiful crochet stitch: the Feather stitch.

I also found this SUPER gorgeous Lion Brand Mandala yarn and was like, "This would be perfect!"

Step #2 - The Materials

As mentioned above, I found some gorgeous yarn. Well, I wanted something feminine but still soft enough that it wouldn't irritate the skin. BOOM! Lion Brand Mandala yarn in Sparkle & Sequins versions. I'm super excited to have found these since they are the EXACT same colorway, but with different sparkles (one has a metallic strand woven in & the other has sequins attached.)

I also need a hook (Duh!) and, since I plan on it being a warm blanket & I want bobbles, I have decided on a 4.0 mm hook. Now, I'm simple, so I like the Susan Bates Silvalume hooks that you can get from any craft store. However, if you're into the fancy hooks, you should give Furls hooks a go as I have seen many a fellow crocheter buy one, use it, and get hooked. (Pun intended 😉)

I also plan on backing this Afghan with fabric once finished, but I haven't gotten that far yet. I promise to update you on that step once I reach it. 😊

Step #3 - The Process

Now it's time to begin the process of creating the Afghan. To begin, I have to create to graphs for each square, minus the feather squares. I decided on 13.5" squares since I would have less squares to make & I could still have a decent size Afghan. (I will not be putting pictures of the graphs here since they will be included with the final pattern.)

To create the graphs, I went to Stitchfiddle.com , logged in to my account (if you don't have one, I recommend making one), and clicked on "create new graph". I then selected the size of graph I wanted & began adding the color to the squares I wanted as bobbles. I did this for both the Hog square & the X square. Once I had these ready, I began to type up the pattern. Currently, I have the Hog & X squares typed up, but I need to finish typing up the feather square.

As I am typing the pattern, I am also physically crocheting it. So, as of this very moment, I have the Hog square finished & the X square started. I hope to have the X done within a couple weeks (I mean, I have a 3 year old so...it gets a bit crazy sometimes.) Then I will move on to the feather square. Once I have those finished, I will have to create the many other squares of each in order to attach them and make a final Afghan. But, the details for that will be in a future post. Stay tuned!

Until Next Time!

And that is the beginnings of the Hogs & Kisses Afghan! Please join my blog to stay updated on future posts for this awesome journey!

Be well & stay awesome, my friends! 😎