tiny happy

another world

I embroidered this phrase as a motto - another world is possible. I haven't felt like sharing much on here, as the darkness of what is happening in so much of the world - in the Middle East - Gaza, especially, in other war zones. On a much smaller scale, here in Aotearoa our new government has just announced its plan to undo so much of the progress achieved here in the last few years.

This small meditation on avocado-dyed linen quotes from Arundhati Roy. The full phrase is: “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” 

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I've done a little making over the past month or so. It's been a busy time at work so I've not done as much as I would have liked! But imminent projects are simmering away in my mind and I think the summer break will be a good time to crack into some of them.

I made these little slippers for friends with a new baby girl. The yarn is a cotton-merino blend from Knitting for Olive and the pattern is the classic t-bar sandal from Debbie Bliss - I have an old copy of this book that I often turn to when baby knitting is in order.

And I finally finished that crochet blanket I've been blogging about since forever! I wrote more about process in this post, in case you're in the market to make something similar. I've already started another blanket because I really missed this project once it was done.

Ginger kisses! I remember having these, from the local bakery, as a special treat when we were kids. I recently made some to take to an event and they were delicious. Quite light with a gingery-cinnamon 'cream' (icing) inside. They're my new favourite thing to bake for a fancy afternoon tea or party. I used the recipe in Alexa Johnston's Ladies a Plate book - you can find this particular recipe here.

In music news, I recently bought some bluetooth headphones for walking home from work in the summer evenings. I've been enjoying listening to the new album by Sufjan Stevens - Javelin. This coming weekend, I'm excited to go to see The War on Drugs who are playing in Wellington. And then the next evening - Handel's Messiah by the NZ Symphony Orchestra. What is this lucky life?!

And finally, I wonder if you've noticed the new layout for this blog? I have been meaning to re-jig this page for ages and last week I finally did it. Mostly it just means larger photos and text - I hope you find it an improvement!

See you again soon friends and thank you as always for reading.

M x

making a granny square blanket

For years I was convinced that I lacked the inherent skill to crochet. My patient mum, an accomplished crocheter, tried to teach me dozens of times. I stayed up late trying to learn from YouTube videos (even the ones that promised 'anyone can crochet - this video is for absolute beginners!') My sister tried to help, a few friends encouraged me, and I got books out from the library. I really wanted to make a granny square blanket and I knew that crochet would be a wonderful way to use up all yarn leftover from my knitting projects.

Eventually, it was an evening spent with my five-year-old niece that gave me the inspiration to try again. She was sitting on the floor, watching Netflix and casually crocheting a giant granny square from yarn scraps in a basket, almost absent-mindedly with her eyes on the movie. She said 'come on Aunty, look it's easy!' and her beautiful, colourful blanket-in-progress motivated me to try again, this time with more patience.

I started out with granny squares to use up my favourite 4-ply leftovers. Most of these were locally hand-dyed yarns in silk and merino that I had used in shawls and garments. Once I had a few squares, I realised they would make a beautiful blanket so I kept them, along with all my fingering-weight yarns, in a basket. This way I could carry them around easily and add to the blanket gradually over time.

I worked on these squares on buses, trains and planes, in my lunch break at work and even at the laundromat in the middle of winter.

Last month I finally finished this 2-year project. I am so happy with the completed blanket and it keeps us warm on the sofa. I hope my story of persistence encourages you to have another go at crochet, if, like me, it's something you've struggled to learn. I've described my process below. And yes, I already have another one on the go!

Materials

I decided on using fingering-weight (4-ply) yarn for this project consistently, in order to maintain a consistent gauge and drape. While I did use leftover yarn (merino, silk, alpaca, possum and blends of these) I was quite careful to 'colour-manage'. I tried to stick to a harmonious colour palette: greys, pinks, mustard and olive greens throughout.

I chose a charcoal-grey (nearly black) alpaca yarn to complete the final round of each square and join them at the end, for a consistent look.

I used a 3.5mm metal hook, and worked my clusters somewhat loosely, for a drapey, airy texture.

I also used a beautiful handmade wooden trug basket to keep my project together and easy to transport.

Method

I started out by learning how to crochet a classic granny square, using this photo tutorial.

I chose a new colour for each round of crochet and tried to balance light and darker tones. Altogether I made 16 squares.

I worked a total of 15 rounds for each square, then a final round in my unifying colour (dark grey yarn). Then I wove in all the ends, and soaked and blocked them so they each measured approximately 27cm square.

I knew I didn't want to sew the finished squares together, because I thought that would be tedious! I also wanted to avoid a stiff seam between each of the squares so I did some research into various joining methods. There are lots of options for both sewing and crocheting the squares together.

After the squares had dried, I laid them out into a 4 X 4 grid and joined them using the dark grey yarn again and 'the continuous method' explained in this great video.

I worked another round of granny clusters right around the edge of the whole blanket in dark grey, then few rounds of single crochet in pink and dark grey to finish.

Finally, I blocked the whole blanket outside in the sun. It measures just under 1.5 metres square.

I hope I've inspired you to give this a go if it's something you've always wanted to try! For a faster project, you could choose a chunkier yarn such as DK or worsted, and a bigger hook. You could also make one really big square, avoiding the need to join them up! That's what I did for this blanket.

You can see more pictures of my process here on Ravelry. Happy crocheting!