The pattern is still entertaining, with enough repetition where I can whip out a square from memory whilst watching television (or, the most recent season of Orange Is The New Black on Netflix) but because each round incorporates a different stitch, or set of stitches, it's not mindless work.
Last week I'd hoped I would be starting to sew my blanket together, but that was apparently too ambitious of a goal. Instead, I am continuing to plug away at making my granny squares - but I've made a lot! Although, while the stack is continuing to grow, it has got some more growin' to do. The pattern is still entertaining, with enough repetition where I can whip out a square from memory whilst watching television (or, the most recent season of Orange Is The New Black on Netflix) but because each round incorporates a different stitch, or set of stitches, it's not mindless work. I did break down and buy a skein of navy blue yarn, which does slightly defeat the purpose of being a stash-busting blanket. I'm also tempted to purchase some purple. Yay or nay? I do like the rainbow effect, but I also want to rein it in a bit.
I've been thinking about granny square blankets a lot lately, during my quest to stash bust. The crochet patchwork square blankets of my childhood were made by my grandmother and her mother before that, and were distinctly 1970s in their color choice: brown, orange, and avocado green predominated. Fashion is absolutely cyclical, and I reckon that color theme is due for a comeback at some point, but it was firmly unfashionable during my teenage years - ultimately known as the years when you decide what is and isn't 'cool.' As a result, until recently, crochet blankets were categorized in my mind as perpetually old-fashioned, like the bustle or a pair of bloomers. The current renaissance affecting crochet has led to a rethinking of the traditional patterns, and granny squares have been re-imagined by so many creative people, often with a modern twist on the old stand-by. White seems to predominate now, often with bright, cheerful colors, and almost fits into that (slightly obnoxious) trend of 'shabby chic.' However, with thousands of hand-made stitches, what could possibly be shabby about a crochet blanket? I especially like those granny squares that are BOLD - both in color and design. I don't have the skill (or guts) to pull off something so loud, but I love seeing the soft-spoken granny square re-imagined as the in-your-face, not-your-average-granny square, with a bite. Tying in granny squares with computer pixels seems slightly retro - it reminds me of an Atari game - but somehow looks totally modern as well. And those colors! I seriously suggest that you check out the link to the blanket above, as there are too many amazing blanket creations to show here. We all should respect and bow down to the greatness of the granny square, which will be recycled and restyled for many generations to come.
I've really fallen out of habit when it comes to Work In Progress Wednesdays, but now that I have Wednesdays off, I don't really have an excuse. I tend to spend these days knitting (or, lately, crocheting) anyway. I try to stay motivated to get out an explore the world a bit more, but... nah. I like knitting! I'm particularly excited to be house-bound today, because it's 108°F (42°C) today! This weather is more suitable for iced tea than hot tea, but both are acceptable beverages for knitting. For this WIPW, I'm sharing a granny square blanket that I started this week, which uses up leftover skeins of aran weight acrylic yarn that I had floating around. I've always wanted to turn these leftovers into a granny square blanket, but I finally found a pattern that I like: Sunburst Granny Square by Priscilla Hewitt. However, the last granny square blanket I attempted was quickly aborted when I realized how much time it would take to sew in all of the ends! As a compromise, all of the squares are made in two colors, with some white Red Heart making up the outer-most row.
I used to be much more a yarn snob, but lately I've found the cheap craft store acrylic perfectly useful for household items that I expect to get a lot of wear. Perhaps this is due to lately finding a few brands which are of a rather high quality, with a rich and interesting color palette. Or, I've been converted because most of my recent projects have been intended for babies, and goodness knows that wool is wasted on them. Still, I am a lover all of animal-based fibers, and I'm planning on using pure wool for my next sweater project. I hope that next week, I'll have some photos of the squares being sewn together. What are you working on this Wednesday? My current work-in-progress (erm, well, one off them) is for a baby, which is a bit of a novelty for me. Although knitting for wee ones occupies a large part of Ravelry's pattern database, and most craft stores with a yarn section will have a full selection of baby yarns, I've never had much need to make tiny versions of jumpers and socks. However, the idea of knitting for babies has always been very appealing to me, for a few reasons:
When my college roommate told me she's expecting a little girl this summer, my first reaction was absolute joy: she and her husband will make excellent parents, and have been looking forward to starting a family. My second - and stronger - reaction was excitement that there will be a BABY TO KNIT FOR. I hope this kid likes funky handmade knitted/crocheted clothes and blankets, because she's going to turn into a catalogue model for the baby section of Ravelry. First up: a crocheted blanket. I've made this pattern before and loved the results. My initial thought was an off-white with a dusty rose and light pink. However, my former roommate is very proud of her Irish roots, so I thought that a little green might be appreciated.
Stay tuned for further baby knits! The first thing I ever learned to do with yarn was crochet. My great-grandmother taught my cousin and me to make crochet chains, but somehow we never go to the next stage in crochet, when you work into a stitch. As a student at university, keen to figure out what I had never learned, I found a book on crochet and taught myself to single chain. I was never the most avid of crocheters, but it seemed that every winter, when the rain would start* I would catch the crochet-bug again. I mostly made coasters or placemats - I liked the round shapes. Once I decided to be bold and made a doggy jumper out of granny squares, but I never got around to attaching all of the squares and the poor pup never got the jacket. So, the crochet started the yarn love, but I set it down when I went to Edinburgh. The next time I was to pick up any yarn, it was for knitting, and that held my interest for quite some time. Crochet has a very different look to it from knitting. I think knitting really suits clothing, especially jumpers and cardigans. I have seen many, many brilliant patterns for crocheted jackets, tops, skirts, and socks, but knitted stockinette stitch is always going to be the "classic" look. It somehow manages to stay in the background, so that garment shaping and colorwork can be highlighted. Crochet is the more bold of the two. The fabric it produces can be quite thick and dense, so it is inherently suited for different uses. But crocheting is brilliant for making shapes, circles, openwork - it does all of these things beautifully. So, being able to crochet means I can open up my style even more. And now that I've started crocheting again, it seems I still like those round shapes.
* Oh California - aren't you cute, with your rainy "season" instead of "all-the-time." |
Mo Made This!
Knitting, crochet, sewing, baking, reading, and other domestic pursuits. Archives
January 2018
Categories
All
|