In Defence of Crochet

Let’s play a word association game.
I say: Crochet.
You say: ……?
I bet many of you said, or at least thought, Granny.

This is ok, you can think what you want. And some will know that the Granny Square, an old and sacred part of the whole crochet tradition, is enjoying a fashion resurgence. But it’s not all about Granny Squares. And it’s not only grannies who crochet.

I was a child when I first learnt to crochet. My Great Aunt Mary, who was a prodigious crocheter of large granny blankets, taught me. As far as I’m aware, neither of my actual grannies ever crocheted.

There are so many things you can make other than a Granny Square. For me it’s about the craft, not so much the finished item. You might want something simple and repetitive, to help relax and unwind.

Or in the case of this blanky here, that took many years of my life to complete, you might want a challenge, something with new stitches to learn and complex design.

Or other times you have a project with purpose – make a baby blanket for a new arrival in the family, a cute little amigurumi critter for a friends little one, or as I volunteered to do, make a table full of yellow beanies for our trivia team of minions.

All we need is a Competition Reality TV show that can popularise crochet like The Great Pottery Showdown did with pottery and we can save this wonderful fibre craft from a possible slow extinction.

Blanky Specs

• This blanket is made using Rowan Wool Cotton yarn, and Drops Cotton Merino, when I took too long making it and the Rowan was deleted.
• The interior section is Sophie’s Garden designed by Dedri Uys from Look at What I Made.
• The middle rows are Around the Bases designed by ChiChi Allen from Keito Palette.
• The outer rows are either repeats from Around the Bases or my own design. I had trouble finishing this blanket. I just kept going making up more rows until I could mentally and physically put her to bed.

Ravelry link to Sophie’s Garden Pattern

Ravelry link to Around the Bases