NOTIONS: The Unfinished College Granny Square Blanket

I’ve mentioned here a few times that the teen is leaving for college soon. We only have one kid so we are going to be empty-nesters in about a week and half. When people say it goes by quickly, they ain’t kidding! When my son started high school I had just started this blog and wanted to learn to crochet. I must have mentioned it in a post because a reader sent me a crochet book.

Sew & Tell: vintage lace

My mom has been cleaning out closets and she recently found a bag of my grandmother’s crocheted lace, doilies and other goodies that she gave to me. 

I can’t imagine the hours and hours of work that went into each piece. The crocheting was done with very fine thread and we estimate that some of the pieces are 75 years old.

These were the threads that were in the bag. The small ball of off white thread is marked 12 cents.

This order postcard for name tape was also in the bag. 

I’m sure this piece was intended to be a table cloth or table runner. It’s the largest piece and like so many, it’s unfinished. Some things never change, I know I have tons of unfinished projects in my stash.

This lace edging has darkened with age. I’m going to try to gently hand wash the pieces and store them safely to pass down.

I believe this lace was done with a method called tatting. I added a regular sewing pin to the picture so you could see how small the knots and loops are. 

Another large unfinished piece.

Beautiful round granny squares.

More lace edging. The little vintage iron is a miniature doll or play iron. It measures approximately 2.5” in length.

I imagine evenings spent without television and computers making these beautiful lace creations. But even without all those distractions, I’m not sure I could master this type of handiwork. It’s really amazing!

Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn

Sew and Tell: granny square birdhouse

Today I'm sharing this Anthropologie Inspired Crochet Granny Square Birdhouse.

I saw this cute crocheted birdhouse on the Anthropologie site. It’s made from recycled wood and repurposed cloth – very eco-chic.

Since I’m learning to crochet, I thought I’d try to make one of my own.

Mine isn’t eco-chic but it is bright and cheerful. I made 5 granny square (4 sides and a bottom) and stitched them together.

I inserted pieces of cardboard to the inside so the birdhouse would keep it’s shape.

I used a paper plate for the roof, cutting a pie wedge out and taping it into a cone shape. The shingles are made out of burlap and glue gunned into place.

 

Side-by-side comparison. Anthro birdhouse (left)   My birdhouse (right)

Mine might not be as eco-friendly but it definitely is more budget-friendly.

Sew and Tell: crocheting 101

I started crocheting! Last week I shared a Show and Tell on crocheting and mentioned that I was planning on giving it a try.

Michelle over at The Royal Sisters left me a comment with a link to her free tutorials. Not only does she do beautiful work, she has very nice photos and step-by-step instructions.

Here’s one of her blankets.

And more of her beautiful work.

And here are mine…

It was a bumpy start but I watched a few videos and found a pattern that claimed to be easy. Most of the instructions are still like a foreign language to me but I managed to make a few practice squares.

I can see how crocheting can become addicting. What’s nice is you can make a square here and there when you have time. 

Show and Tell: pretty crocheting



Photo courtesy of Ohdeedoh



I may have mentioned this before but one area of crafting that I haven’t tried is crocheting.  I love the look of crocheted items and I’m planning to try it one day.

A reader of this blog sent me this book on crocheting. Isn’t that the sweetest! She discovered through an email exchange that I wanted to learn to crochet and thought of me when she saw this booklet “99 Granny Squares to Crochet.” Thanks Kai!

I’m a big fan of the blog Creative Jewish Mom. Sara has creates beautiful projects and makes beautiful crocheted items.  Isn’t this bunting amazing?

And this is pure genius. Care tags and extra yarn for your homemade crocheted gifts.

I love these African Flower Granny Squares from Craft Passion. I’m adding these to my “learn to crochet to-do list.”

If you have any crocheting tips you can offer me – please let me know. Wish me luck.

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