Crochet

I love to crochet! Over the past few years it's become a great hobby sometimes bordering on obsession.

I learned to crochet a few years ago, while I was in college. I can't remember exactly when it was, probably Sophomore or Junior year, I know I was living in the apartment, and I don't think it was Senior year. For some reason I want to say it was around Christmas break, but I could just be imagining things.

My friend, Erin, worked at Campus Safety, and I spent a lot of time there chatting with her on her many night shifts. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure we probably spent more time hanging out at Campus Safety than we did in our own apartments, even though we only lived a floor or two apart (this depends on what year it was, since I moved up a floor between soph. & junior years)!

I remember I had decided I was going to teach myself to crochet, probably after seeing something Erin had made or just talking about it. I picked up a how-to book, hook, & yarn, I did my best to figure it out. No such luck. So Erin told me to bring my stuff over to Campus Safety on one of her shifts so she could teach me how. I distinctly remember sitting in a chair by the window, chaining away for my blanket.

Looking back on it now, I'm pretty certain she was teaching me double-crochet, but I somehow managed to make up my own stitch. Even now, I look back & can't figure out what I was doing. I remember getting so frustrated because I kept catching an extra loop when I tried to pull through, but kept going anyways.

Over the next couple years, I kept working on that one blanket, just a little here & there. Then a few years ago another friend, Delia, said she wanted to make a patchwork blanket to donate somewhere (I can't remember exactly what for now), and she wanted as many people as possible to send her squares of a certain size. I decided it was a good time to pick it back up, and jumped back in.

I did some looking around on the internet since I couldn't remember exactly what to do, and this is when I found out how I had apparently picked things up incorrectly from Erin. It turns out crocheting could be so much easier than I had made it for myself!

Delia also sent me great instructions for a granny square pattern when I was having troubles getting my squares the correct sizes. I loved making granny squares, and over the next couple years made quite a few granny square baby blankets for friends & family when a little one was born. I even made a huge blanket for my husband (approx. 6'x9' - he's tall!), but still just from granny squares I had sewn together. Granny squares & simple scarves were my go-to "patterns" for quite a while.

This "crochet season" (I usually only crochet fall-spring, it's too hot in the summer!) I decided to try out a pattern I had picked up a year or so ago for a flame pattern blanket - basically just zig zags (Emily's blanket, more on that later). I loved it & realized I was sick of my usual granny square. I set out to find more patterns, and after good success with one (Emma's blanket), I started playing around with the pattern and came up with my own variations. I'm working on the first one right now, and am really excited to see how it turns out. I've got a couple more ideas in the works & am really anxious to work on them. Unfortunately we're getting to the time of year when I have less time to crochet, but have thankfully have set myself a deadline for the next two blankets.

So far my only 3D project was a bunch little stuffed construction cones I made a couple years ago for my team at work. I'll do a separate post on those later. I would really like to work on some hats this summer, but we'll see how ambitious I really am! I also have another idea in mind for those construction cones, but I have to get through these next couple blankets first. One thing at a time! My problem is I get excited about a new idea or project, and suddenly don't care about what I'm currently working on anymore. This is one reason that as much as I hate having to sew a bunch of squares together, it's still better than getting bored on one big blanket. With smaller pieces, there's a sense of accomplishment that comes with completing each individual square, and then the satisfaction of finally getting to see the full finished project.

Until next time...