Granny Squares

A few months ago, my cousin showed my sister and me how to crochet. She made my daughter, H, a cute little throw blanket and L and I were interested to know how she did it. I had tried my hand at knitting, but at 19 (when I was in college) it gave me arthritis…very odd, so I quit. After that, I learned to weave (I promise a tutorial in the future). I have a loom, and love using it to create amazing pieces such as scarves, rugs, table runners, etc., but it isn’t as easy to find time now that I have a 7 month old. Crocheting allows me to pick it up at odd hours without waking the baby, and it is travel size! I can also work on crocheting while watching H at the same time. The other nice thing is that it isn’t as expensive as weaving…by far!

So, my sister and I went home and bought yarn and a crochet hook and tried to recreate our cousin’s technique. We failed. I looked up tutorials and kind of got the hang of it. My sister claimed I am “naturally better at that stuff” and decided she was done, for now at least. I found that I was not that interested in the simple slip stitch, and remembering my great aunt’s beautiful afghans, went in search of that pattern. It turned out to be called a granny square. I absolutely adore this pattern! I have begun a small blanket for H, and while it is not amazingly good, it is nice for my first attempt. I am hoping to make more in my future!

Cost:  Hook – $3.99, Yarn – $5.99 per color = $15.97 before tax. *  Price will vary on number of colors, size, etc.

*Note: The blanket is going to be one giant granny square. If you make a bunch of small granny squares and join them together, then you get a more traditional pattern.