Have you ever been so consumed by a craft project that you just cannot turn your attention, or your hand, to anything else? Since I learned how to make granny squares this has precisely been my problem.
It started quite innocently. My thinking was that since I enjoy crochet as much as I do I should master the staple skill of the granny square. It was quite easy to pick up (from my trusty Happy Hooker book) and once I got it, one square became two, became ten, became twelve…
It was the point of no return. I really don’t like to waste so what else could I do but keep going and make a lovely, traditional granny square blanket?
Now, the added complication is that although it began with one square from one gargantuan ball of orange wool (the same that my little crochet clutch bag came from) it needed brightening up a bit. So I added a canary yellow and a few cream squares. With the orange and yellow I could really indulge my 70’s fancy.
However, once I made the cream squares I decided that a blanket in softer, more pastel colours would look lovely too. So in came the baby blues, the mint greens and the candy pinks. The loud orange and yellow do not go with the subdued pastels so they had to be split into two separate blankets.
These two projects have taken up my every Stitched Up session for many weeks and at every opportunity (waiting for the kettle to boil, before I go to bed, at breakfast) I sneak in a quick little square. Its like a compulsion that, if I didn’t have anything else to do, I could happily occupy myself with all day, every day until it was done. Why does work have to get in the way of crafting?!
However, I fear that I must go cold turkey for a while on my little granny square addiction. My stash of lovingly collected second hand yarn from charity shops, eBay and my mum have been very much depleted. And since I’m only half way through each blanket I need to start building the stash up again. Oh well, just another excuse for a spot of charity shopping!
If you’d like to make a granny square blanket pop over to the resources page for a how to video. Be warned though, granny squares are highly addictive.
I think everything you do in crochet is addictive – look at the Ripple phenomenon – spread the crochet love!!