Crochet is for (Granny) Squares

Although 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 ******* 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!

Finally got a few new things into my Etsy shop

Gosh my Etsy shop was looking sad and dusty. The online equivalent of one of those sad shop windows with displays of kitchen roll and dead flies...! I've finally had a chance to list a few new things, so I hope you'll forgive a little promotional post.

Here are the new things:

A toddler (12-24 month) sunhat using gorgeous Michael Miller Zoology fabric.

A toddler (12-24 month) sunhat using funky Kaffe Fassett Fan Flowers fabric.

Some tawashi veg scrubbing / dishwashing cloths.

There's more to come, but that's enough advertising for today!

Actually that's not quite true because I also wanted to write about some brilliant yarn that I'm using for my granny square swap gifts. I am a huge fan of the yarns and the ethos of The Mirasol Project. I've used their Miski baby llama yarn before - it's gorgeously soft and fluffy and comes in a great range of colours. This time I've invested in some of their T'ika 100% cotton. Again, there are some great colours, and it is an absolute joy to crochet with. And great to feel that by buying the yarns I am supporting the textile heritage of Peru. You can read more about the Mirasol Project and their yarns on the project blog. It makes really interesting reading.