Granny Time?

So, it's about two and a half weeks until Christmas.... can that really be right? Yeah. I think so. Yikes!

It's getting down to the wire for holiday knitting and general making of things. Time to decide who's going to receive a handmade present and who's getting something store bought.

I've been thinking about these crocheted Granny Square Slippers from the Purl Bee a lot. I have some Manos laying around... this could happen.

Right?

photo via The Purl Bee

Hexagon Love

The lovely and sweet Pip, of Meet me at Mike's, has posted a new tutorial on how to crochet hexagons!

So cute, right? I learned how to crochet granny squares from one of Pip's tutorials so I'm excited to learn how to make hexagons too. I think you could make a few of these in red and green and give them as Christmas presents with a little loop tied at the top. Little crocheted tree ornaments? I bet they'd be a hit.

p.s. Remember those crocheted pearl necklaces I made a few months ago? I've made some more... They are for sale at Treehouse along with some of my knit stuff. Hooray!

Crochet Weekend

For a long time, I didn't really want to learn crochet. I didn't like the way it felt to hold that little hook and I also thought that knit fabric was prettier than crocheted fabric. I enjoyed (and still do enjoy) working on my giant granny square blanket but I didn't have a lot of desire to learn any other crochet methods.

Lately, though, I've been giving crochet another chance. There are some really cool things about crochet; you can get a lot more sculptural, because there is only one "live" stitch, and you can do a lot of free form stuff.

This weekend I have been crocheting.

I have been making some big stuff with this giant ball of yarn. I'll probably show you what I'm making with this tomorrow. Also, the yarn ball is way bigger than it looks in this photo... do I have giant hands?

I have also been crocheting some dainty, delicate stuff.

These necklaces are vintage faux pearls with crocheted cotton threads. I really like how they've turned out and I've got plans for more... It has been so rewarding to work with materials and techniques I'm totally unaccustomed to and see such a lovely result.

These necklaces are available for sale at Treehouse. You should swing by!

Have You Heard of Olek?

Art star and crochet master?

I'm not feeling very eloquent this morning so you can just go here for more crazy-coolness.

And if you live in the New York area, there are a few neat events coming up this month...

Check it out!

Above photos are from Olek's website.

Summer Grannies

When I finished knitting my crazy socks the other day I needed a new little project. It had to be small enough that I could work on it on the subway (without annoying the people sitting next to me) and I also felt like I wanted to work with cotton because it's been so hot outside...

I remembered that I had a desk drawer full of balls of DK weight organic cotton. It always seems to go on sale after summer and I always grab a few.

I'm having a really nice time making these granny squares. They make really nice little kitchen towels or fancy washcloths. I think a few people will be getting these as gifts when I go home to Minneapolis next week...

The one below is my favorite. It is made of three similar shades of yellow in the center melting out into green on the edge. I think this one might have to stay with me...

The hook I'm using is a size I, if you're curious. And the squares are just 2 rounds each of 4 colors. If you'd like to learn how to make granny squares you can check out Pip's tutorial here. It's how I learned.

Growing

The granny is getting bigger.

My hand is there just to give you an idea of how big the blanket is so far. And the colors in this photo aren't really quite right. The part that looks black is really a nice chocolate brown, and the red stripe is really more raspberry.

Right now I'm trying to decide if i'll pull my sick self out of bed to go out and buy more yarn...

Granny Snow Day

Hi!

Are you having a nice weekend? I am.

It snowed all day Thursday and Friday.

I didn't have anything to do on Friday (well, everything I had planned was canceled due to weather) so I stayed in and learned how to crochet granny squares. Yes!

I used Pip's lovely tutorial. At first it was tricky and I started, ripped out, started, ripped out a few times. It seems to be how I usually learn things... After a few false starts I was off and running! And then it seemed I couldn't stop...

I started this one with some of the organic cotton yarn I use to knit my horses for the shop. After using this yarn to make the same things over and over it was really neat to see it turn into something totally different. I think this will become a giant granny square afghan inspired by the one over at the Purl Bee.

Riding the wave of granny square love, I dug some junky acrylic yarn out of the closet and whipped up a couple of pot scrubbers too.

Also, some pretty merino wool arrived in the mail today. I bought this at Halfday on Etsy. Oh, I love merino...