teeny square

I just wanted to share because it was so teeny and cute.  I made it tonight and it's motivated me to see if I can make a scarf out of lots teeny ones.  Of course it all rests on the condition that I don't go blind in the process.  It's very hard to see even with the new little desk lamp I bought especially for craft evenings on the couch.

And whilst I have your attention, have you checked out the squares on the 'A Granny a Day' Flickr Pool lately?  There are some sensational crochet squares out there...make sure you take a quick look, you won't be disappointed!

Granny a Day

I have come the full circle now with my granny-squaring. After completing the molluscs I decided to experiment a little with a mini square and different kinds of stitches which didn't progress into squares as such. I'm finding that I am really inspired by the 'Granny a Day' contributions (see here). Different uses of colour, stitching and patterns have sent me into a whirl wind of ideas and possibilities and have led me a little off course as a consequence!! I know I am not the only one out there that has little half finished projects lying around... BUT!!! I am not going to let that happen this time!

I have come the full circle and are back at the beginning again and determined to finish what I started! I am aiming for a blanket either large or for dolly use depending on how I go. I have decided to crochet a large square, mainly to practice getting the tension right, and will add the smaller 'mollusc' squares around the edge as a border. So it's a plan - now let's hope I stick to it.

A Granny a Day

Well I just got back from a weekend at the beach. My mother-in-law has a holiday house in Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula, (Victoria, Australia) and it has been a long time since we last visited. The house is located not far from the back beach which is absolutely stunning.  We went for a couple of walks to the beach and my girls loved being chased by the waves and getting their clothes wet. We managed to catch an incredible sunset (see pics here) and it was great to get away from the city before going back to the daily grind tomorrow =( .  I have been lucky enough to have the last week off work so I have had lots of time to create and do the things that I never get the time to do. It's a little sad to think that I have to rewire my thinking into work mode again but there's not a lot I can do about it.  C'est la vie.

Any way, back to the topic of the post... When packing for the trip I decided that I'd better take something crafty to do in my spare time. We don't really have the room in the car to take the sewing machine and overlocker so this time I decided I'd take down some wool and crochet hooks and try my hand at making a granny a day. (Flickr pool here)

I learnt how to do granny squares at school when I was about 10 years old but pretty much haven't made one since then. My grandmother was a sewer and knitter so I never really got much practice in crochet at home. I downloaded Attic24's instructions as per Pip's post and crossed my fingers that I'd be able to follow it without needing a video tutorial.  As soon as I started it all came flooding back to me and, well, I think the photos speak for themselves... =)

All in all I ended up making 11 squares over 2 days - a little obsessive compulsive - but I enjoyed every minute.   I also couldn't resist adding a bit of glitz.  I am a sucker for sparkles, in fact nearly every cardigan I own is sparkly in some way.  It's sad I know, but  I'm a seventies child.

 

Whilst I'm here I'd also like to show my appreciation to Pip (Meet Me at Mikes) for coming up with the idea to make a granny a day (and make-along!).  When our lives are busy we either don't often have the time to be creative or end up suffering from creative-block and don't know where to start.  It's great to have someone leading the way and keeping us motivated.  Even if my granny squares end up in the "will finish one day" pile I still have these great photos (subjective licensing applies!) of mollusc grannies clinging to rocks and I have revived my crocheting ability.  It's a win-win situation.  Thanks Pip.