If you've read this blog regularly (as in, whenever I post, which is not regularly...), you may remember
Sharon. Sharon (The Awesome), can bake like nobody's business, quilt like nobody's business, sew anything you desire like nobody's business, et cetera. She even knits. Sharon, however, "can't" crochet. I put the "can't" in quotations because clearly Sharon
can crochet. She just doesn't. And that in no way lessens the awesome Sharon produces.
So, moving the story forward, my friend Sharon, who chooses not to crochet, inherited these granny squares from her great aunt. Very beautiful granny squares, made with skill and care. But alas, not joined.
And so Sharon asked me if I would join them together to make her a throw blanket. Of course!! And so, I pick up where another left off and the granny square throw will be revealed in 1 to 2 weeks time. Can't wait to hand it off to Sharon again, all finished and folded.
And there's a perk to joining all these squares together. Do you see what I see?
Here, have a closer look... see that (above)? On the corner? It's hard to spot, that's for sure, and I'm sure the average blanket user wouldn't see it. Do you know what it's all about?
I flipped the square over to reveal: ta-dah! Sharon's great-aunt didn't fasten off after each round. Which totally makes sense since she was just alternating between 2 colors. It honestly would have never occurred to me. Anything that results in less ends to weave in is
brilliant!
And here's all the color variations spread about. Looking good!
Moving on...
Let me show you another project I'm finishing up.
My grandma started this beautiful blanket for my little nephew a little while ago and recently asked me to join the squares together and finish it.
And, of course, I'm honored. I have a lot of memories talking with Grandma while she crocheted. She had a big, plush *blue* chair she sat in, with her legs curled up under her. And now I have my purple chair. It's the little things. :)
Call me a weirdo, but this just came from Grandma's house. And her house always smelled
so good. So I've been taking whiffs of these squares. Just, you know, every now and then. Don't judge- I'm a 12 hour drive from Grandma's house.
Gorgeous colors. :) And, since I'm on the topic of Grandma's crochet, have a peek at...
This! One of many blankets Grandma made for us girl cousins. The pink and white were to match my room, and the blue was to match my carpet. Beautiful squares! The top is textured- it's pretty bumpy.
She finished it off with a nice big border. I used to stick my fingers through the holes as a kid and just fiddle with it.
I don't recall how old I was when she made it, but I do recall her calling me on the phone to get the exactly colors of my room, so I was old enough to be speaking coherently on the phone and old enough to remember doing so... that would put me in around....6 or 7, is my best guess.
I can't believe how great the condition is after all these years. Crochet lasts forever!
I used to comb my fingers through these tassels to keep them nice and neat. Yes, I groomed my crochet. Perhaps this had something to do with seeing my very young cousin, Karen, gnawing on her tassels. Her blankets were infamous- soggy and overywhelmingly stinky. (Sorry, Karen. It's a fact. 2 -year-olds are a grody bunch. My 3 year old still wipes his nose on his pooh-bear. Uuuuuuggh.)
I do have plans to really sit down and examine this motif and write it out on the blog. How fun!
How do I summarize this post? What was it even about? Is it about crochet by people you love, or how timeless crochet is, or how durable? Is it about gift giving and keeping memories alive? Is i about finishing where others left off and keeping the beauty of the craft alive? Hmm. yes. All of those.
And now, I'll finish off.
