Wednesday 3 February 2010

Crochet is for (Granny) Squares

A Granny Square a Day projectAlthough I do try and make a bit of money out of my crafting (haha) it's always good to be able to make something for yourself too - otherwise I find resentment builds up very quickly.. It's also really nice to have an easy, long-term, project to be getting on with in times when inspiration fails, or when you just need something to do whilst you're watching Mad Men (it's back - hooray!). So when I spotted the Granny a Day Challenge at Meet Me at Mike's, it didn't take me a minute to decide to join in.

The aim is to crochet a Granny Square every day, for as many days as you like during 2010. I signed up sometime in mid-January and I have managed to finish quite a few squares, although definitely not one a day. It's more like none for 5 days then 3 on the next 2 days!

Granny squares are great for beginners to crochet because they come along very quickly, they're very straightforward to make (some more than others though, so make sure you choose a simple pattern!) and they can look absolutely brilliant. Have a look at the Granny a Day Flickr group for inspiration - it's fabulous.

If you haven't learned to crochet yet then I highly recommend it - it's one of the most rewarding & gratifying of crafts, and so versatile too. There's lots of fantastic resources to help you on the web - here are just some of my favourite places:

A Little Bit of Crochet Inspiration

Meet Me at Mike's Crochet School - with lots of lovely video clips to help you with your skills - and it goes very very slowly so you never feel out of your depth.

Planet June - masses of tips here with loads of inspiration and patterns to make amigurumi (tiny yarn creatures)

Attic24 - a wonderful blog by Lucy who has provided the inspiration for my Granny Square colour scheme - a great place to go if you need a cheer up..

Ravelry - a brilliant online community with 1000s of patterns and people to inspire crocheters and those other people

What Not to Crochet - if you need a break from your experiments in crochet... there's a truly terrifying selection of items here

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Back to my squares... This is what I've done so far. Pretty colours aren't they? I'm using some leftover Mirasol T'ika 100% Cotton, and although this is supposed to be a stash-busting project I expect I will end up buying more Mirasol cotton because it's so lovely to work with and the colours are great. For most of the squares (which are just 6") I've used the Summer Garden Granny Square from Attic24. The others are mostly versions of squares from Beyond the Square Crochet by Edie Eckman. I've also used a pattern of my own which I am hoping to post on here if I can remember exactly what I did... My plan is not very original - I want to make a great big blanket for our bed. As I type this I'm looking at snow falling again, and thinking that this time next year, I will have a lovely bright blanket to snuggle up in on days like these. Can't wait!

9 comments:

JuanitaTortilla said...

Hmm. For as many days as you like? Sounds really flexible. So now, all you have to think up, is how big a blanket you want! :)

Gail said...

Those are goregous Ali, I saw a pic once of a blanket made with similar colour squares with all white in between and it was gorgeous.

emosback said...

I've just joined! Thanks for the idea, and the beautiful inspiration of you granny squares!

Marie said...

wow love your post. just stopping by to let you know about the giveaway that i have on my blog. I hope that you stop by and enter. wishing you a wonderful day.

Kitty Ballistic said...

I love them, such lovely, bright colours! I struggle with crocheting in anything but straight lines.

By the way, how do you get the light so nice and even in your photos?

PepperPi Pals said...

Hi there :)

I love your blog and I have awarded you with The Sunshine Blog Award!

Click here for details:
http://pepperpi.blogspot.com/2010/02/sunshine-blog-award.html

Kindest wishes
Clair

MitziMakes said...

Those colours are gorgeous!! How inspiring :)

esque said...

Yummy colors! I've been meaning to make a granny blanket! I will be teaching someone how to crochet, so I think you are right, this would be a great project for a beginner!

Ruth @ Camellia Rose said...

Yay for granny squares! They are great for beginners or if you want to learn a new pattern stitch. I have so many plans for granny blankets... but first I need to finish the myriad wips I have lying around... Great blog by the way :)