Crochet has always perplexed me a bit! It is just another one of those crafts that look so simple, but with no "Yoda" of the crochet world on hand to guide me and any pattern looking like gibberish I always gave it a wide berth.
It was something I had dabbled in once before, but it was so many years ago it seemed that nothing I was taught had stuck. My granny was able to crochet and once showed me how to add rows onto a granny square. The 2 photos below are of the exact piece of work we did together.
It might be quite a weird thing to say, but this little square of crochet is one of the most precious things I own. It is a lasting memory of a woman I was very, very blessed to call my Granny. It brings back wonderful memories, just as photographs do and it is something I want to turn into a cushion cover so that I can have it out on display everyday to make me smile - the thing being, I am too scared that I ruin it to even attempt anything with it, so it has sat for years while I build up the courage!
I'd also like to point out at this stage that the hideous flourescent orange and the ridiculous dark green rows were my contribution to the piece and yes - it looks very odd and not at all in keeping with the beutiful colour scheme my Granny had been working with, but that is the whole point of the square. I remember choosing the yarns, I remember talking to Granny about it, I remember where we were... it is honestly so dear to me because of the memories it brings back. I love my Granny and miss her always x
Anyway!! Enough of that or I will be blubbing....
Back to the point of this blog. I was scared to try crochet again and I didn't have a Scoobie Doo on where to start because all the books I had on the subject didn't help. My biggest piece of advice to follow, if you are in the same situation as I was, is to get on Youtube! I searched for a simple granny square tutorial and I found one that I could follow and hey presto....
The photo above displays some of the fruits of my labour! I think watching a demonstration of a physical act is far easier to learn from, rather than photos and words. Something with me just clicked anyway and I was off! Something also good about choosing granny sqares is that it taught me a chain stitch, a double crochet and a triple/treble crochet in one fell swoop, which I now realise was rather handy. These little beauties can also be combined together to create so many different things that if your crocheting ability stops at these - you could still fill your home with lots of crocheted lovliness!
The other point I would like to make is that once you have understood the basics... JUST GO FOR IT! If you try something and it turns out more like matted spaghetti than a crochet masterpiece, who cares?! Just unravel it and start again. I am not just telling you blindly to do this, without myself first diving in and giving it a go! I did this, this week and I am so strangely proud of myself and my finished article!
I bought this book and fell in love with the "recipe" (as it calls it) for a crochet string bag. I threw caution to the wind, grabbed some cotton yarn and my crochet hood and just went for it! I have to be honest, the way crochet patterns are written are quite back to front to me sometimes because I am used to knitting patterns, but if you take your time and think about it logically - you can get to grips with it. I think it also really helps to have photos of the finished project so you know what you are aiming for. This way you will understand instantly if you have strayed! haha!
I didn't have much faith in my skills to complete the bag, but not only have I completed it, I am really happy with it! I even made one slight adjustment to the pattern to make the handles slightly longer so I can wear the bag on my shoulder! Hoorah for just giving something a go!! Here is a little photo diary of my bag:
P.s. please excuse my photography and my funky pjama bottoms in some of the shots! haha! It is cold here just now and most of my crocheting time was at night in front of the fire!
