My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Lyra "lap-ghan"

This is the first blanket that I attempted to make with the round baby blanket pattern that I mentioned in my previous post... (that blanket, by the way, was crocheted using an N/9mm hook).  This one, I used an almost-fingering weight Caron minty green/teal-ish yarn for the base color and with a mystery yarn (it didn't have a tag) that I picked up from my local yarn shop, Rabbit Moon, as an accent color.  Every 10 rows, to break the monotony, I just switched colors for a round and immediately switched back at the end.  The white ends didn't quite match up all of the time (^^') and kind of makes it look like a bulls eye a bit, but I was quite happy with the way the blanket turned out.

(A shot of the finished blanket)

Thankfully, you can't really tell it from here, and the lyre covers up the parts that don't quite match up.  I used an I/5.5mm hook, and every single stitch was half-double crochet (hdc) until I got to the edge of the blanket, then I did 3 rows of treble crochet (tr) with a final row of single crochet (sc) to tack up any loose threads.

The only reason why this is a lap afghan rather than a full sized blanket is because I started running out of the Caron! XD  Whoopsie!  I'd gotten the yarn from my sister-in-law after I thought it was perfect for another project (the aforementioned saddlebag backpack, again - that post is coming, I promise!), so it's not like I could go to the nearest Hobby Lobby or Michael's to look for more... 

Well, once I got finished with the main blanket, I had one very big challenge ahead of me... the lyre. HOW in the FLIPPIN' HAY was I going to accomplish THIS feat?!  I started out the way I always do in this type of situation - GOOGLE.... not to the rescue this time, it seems. :L  Well, what's a gal to do in this situation?  FREE-HAND IT!!! 

(A closer shot of just the lyre)

I'd already had the silver-blue on hand for the strings... If you'll remember, the patchwork granny square blanket used the Vanna White Lion Brand color for my squares to denote Derpy Hooves. I had plenty left over, and I thought it would look great, so I set it aside.  I needed yellow though... I had plenty of gold or pale yellow, but I needed YELLOW, but not a lot of it... so I picked up a ball of the needed color by Peaches and Cream.  So... now, how to go about making the lyre?  I figured I would need two pieces: the first would be the first ball and top part, the second the second ball and the curved part.  To be honest, I know I made 2 rounds in double crochet (dc) for each round ball (1st round - 6 dc; 2nd round - 12 dc) and just built off of each one until I got the necessary shape.  When the curve was long enough, I tacked it onto the ball of the second piece, then the top part into the ball of the first piece.  Then I switched colors to the VW/LB silver-blue, slip stitched (sl) then made small chains until I could reach the opposite end, made another sl and tied it off and then wove in any ends all three times.  I whip stitched the lyre down on both the inside and outside, but left the three strings free so they can be played with a bit. :)

(a shot of the Lyra lapghan.)

I have to admit, I genuinely impressed myself with the creativity on the lyre.  That happens very rarely, so I'm proud of this piece.  I made this (plus the mentioned, soon-to-come saddlebag backpack and a beanie) for one of my best friends' special day.  They were thrilled to get a blanket based on their favorite background pony!

So there you have it!  My third MLP blanket - you've already seen my second (the patchwork granny square baby blanket)... the first I gave away (to the same person, but for last Christmas) before I could get photos of it... It was based on Fluttershy. :)  They still show that blanket off to their friends! ^^

Anyway, happy crocheting!

-Z