Grannies, babies and a frog



This month I’ve had fun making granny squares for blankets and my first baby items.

I had a vague granny structure floating around in my head.  It wasn’t much of a pattern but I knew the principles.  I don’t think I’ve ever made the same granny square twice - it is rather a fluid concept for me.



I wanted my next square to show some variation, so I quickly glanced at a pattern.



I didn't use the pattern directly, I just improvised.  What I wanted was the little flower shape in the centre.    


Alas I was beaten once again when the flower shape disappeared somewhat with the next rounds.   




Next time I do squares, I am going to follow a pattern rigorously to see the difference!

I'm also learning about tension and the way I crochet: it isn’t always even. 


 
And it seems my tension is tight on average (but depending on the yarn I’m sure).  So when my improvised squares did not lay perfectly flat it was time to remedy with some blocking.

Luckily I had my blocking board from snowflaking  (I do miss making snowflakes and now they are even more alluring) so this was easy.   My blocking board is just a small cork noticeboard from the stationery shop, with the plastic packaging left on.  Simply use rust-resistant pins to hold the square in the shape desired and lightly spray with water.  It’s so satisfying that working with yarn provides this flexibility.


It would have been better if my pattern and tension were all on track from the word go.  I was able to only just save these squares, thanks to blocking.











The popularity of the granny square will never die out.  It is simple, looks great and best of all, enjoyable to make.  The other bonus is that there are countless variations to try.  I feel I will always be loyal to the iconic granny square.

Time to try my hand at something new so I had a go at a baby set for a women’s refuge.  This pattern used shell stitch which was a newey for me – easy and fun not unlike rounds of a granny.




And how good is it that babies are tiny, which makes garments a breeze to finish!  I quite liked the little angel look



but I also wanted to crack the whole pattern with the sleeves so kept going.



There was also a matching hat.



Seeing the little outfit brought much delight, and the cute factor was a bonus treat I didn’t anticipate.  I’d enjoyed it so much that I started to make a second one in variegated pink and white.



However, as I progressed,   I found that I had not counted my stitches and so the sleeves could not fit in properly.  I thought about a remedy with edging but I don’t think that was a good idea.
 
On top of all this, as I was crocheting I was often frowning, thinking the variegated yarn didn’t look that good with the shell stitch pattern. 

The solution I chose was to frog the whole thing – it sounds so uneventful but actually I had never done this before.


As I wound the last of it, I became a kid sucking up a delicious strand of spaghetti.  All my problems vanished, just like that.

And I would have this nice variegated yarn for another day.