Granny Squares
Two weeks ago my lovely mum and dad came to visit. They pottered about, drank lots of coffee, did puzzles with the children, took everyone out for giant ice creams, hummed a lot (my dad), and crocheted without cease (my mum). And this (the crocheting) was what I had been waiting for. You see, a year ago, my lovely parents came to visit, at which time my mum taught me how to crochet granny squares.
Living in such a chilly locality, winter is much more bearable with throw rugs on the sofa to snuggle into. A couple of years ago I bought throw rugs from
So when mum came back, we had a refresher course, and all the girls sat around, crocheting feverishly, because it turns out that granny squares are kind of addictive. I even turned out another two over the course of two hockey games on Saturday morning. And here is a thing I discovered about craft. It is a great conversation starter. A couple of hockey mums who I knew only to say hello to were intrigued enough at what we were doing to increase our acquaintance status to friendly conversation status. Nice. Thank you nana craft. See, those nanas know what they're doing when they knit on buses. Networking.
What I love about granny squares so far:
They are small and portable. Unlike knitting a throw rug, these little honeys fit in a handbag.
They provide a sense of accomplishment. I can finish one in an hour. I know I need to make about 500 more, but it's like crossing items off a list, which we all know is very satisfying.
They only require tiny amounts of wool. Each round, or square is a different shade of brown, grey or cream. This means I can buy any tiny little ball of wool at op shops, or find half balls or bits and pieces at garage sales or left overs from friends' projects and it will all look like it is part of The Plan. In fact most of the wool I have so far is from one of those huge, hand-knitted jumpers made of hand-spun wool that make you look like an actual llama when you wear one. I found this one at an op-shop years ago, and unravelled it and rolled it into balls, because I had convinced myself I was going to knit a whole farm-yard of animals for the children. I knitted some chickens then got inexplicably tired. I now have lots of cream and light brown balls, but have run out of grey and dark brown, so will have to go prospecting for more.
They are addictive. 'Just one more round,' I tell myself at bedtime, time to cook dinner, time to clean the bathroom etc. This is possibly the only way I can actually finish this project, because I am not naturally a 'finisher'. I am generally more of a 'starter' and then a 'languisher'.
So I need back-up here. Do you think that maybe you could gently nag me every couple of weeks to keep me on track? Perhaps I could keep a running 'square tally'. So far there are 17 squares, a knitted headband and a duck feather in my basket.
Wish me 'duck'.
Comments
I'm glad you like my granny squares. Maybe we can all have a go and all have lovely snuggle rugs next winter (I am ever optimistic!)
My mother is a crochet- queen too. I have a throw she made crochet pieces the size of pot holders. So toasty and comfy on the lounge.
Heather, surely there must be a granny-type person around who could show you how to make granny squares? I think all the groups visiting nursing homes are missing a trick. Instead of going there with a class of kids to sing at them, we should take our kids to learn vital nana crafts.
"Made by loving hands and not a machine" Exactly. That's what I'm after. Except the story of this rug will be, 'Children, this rug was completed by me after extreme nagging by my friends..' :)
Maybe a gold coin/other reward to self each time you make one? Short term rewards can be a good way to get going on a long term project...