Granny Squares are Great!

I'm still a noob when it comes to crochet.  I've been steadily working my way up to more complicated projects.  I had always looked at a granny square and thought "That looks hard!  I better wait to try that till I'm a little better at crochet in the round..."  But really it has been quite easy, and I regret postponing my attempts.

One day at the store, I was looking at acrylic yarns and thought "Screw it, I'm going to start a blanket."  I picked out a color palate I felt was pleasing to the eye and bought some yarn to start.  I went with Caron Simply Soft yarns, in Pagoda, Persimmon, and Heather Grey.  I can't seem to capture the true colors with my camera.  The pagoda is much more green than it looks, and the persimmon is much more orange/coral than it looks in the photos.  I need a better camera!

It's much easier to do a granny square than I previously assumed, especially when you get in a groove.  It takes me a little longer sometimes because I frequently attempt to watch a show while I'm crocheting.  There's lots of eye movement from my hands to the screen, and it slows me down quite a bit!  9 squares completed, only about 90 more to go!

I originally thought I would keep my first blanket attempt, since I knew there would be some measure of trial and error.  I've made some mistakes.  The first two squares were more difficult while trying to figure out the pattern and what worked best with tying off and changing colors, etc.  And in one spot, I have 4 double crochets instead of 3...I didn't catch it until I had tied everything off....oh well!  When I picked out the colors, I was thinking that my mother would love them...and sure enough, I asked her if she wanted this one and she was thrilled.  So my mom will get the first blanket ever made by her first daughter! 

Since I still haven't had any progress on getting a client started up again with my counseling, I continue to not be working at all.  I'm up to 2 months, where I'm technically employed but do not have a client to work with.  This has been stressful, but I'm trying to keep my mind off of it by crafting, cleaning my house, and cooking awesome dinners.  I don't have much space to craft, so the dining room table gets overrun.  This is what it has looked like for at least a month:

I'm finishing up quite a few video game related pieces.  During this last month, I lost some steam...I've been slacking on putting the final touches on some of the items, but hopefully I'll be finished up by the end of the week.  I also get sidetracked by crochet projects which are easier in a lot of ways...they are often less steps, less cleanup, and more instant gratification.  Completing one project before starting another, should really be a goal of mine!  

Enough chit chat, back to crafting!  Hope to have some more pictures up soon!

Crochet, Free Time, and Social Media.

This is my most recent project:  a bubble stitch dishcloth.  This pattern is pretty easy.  While I have the time off of work, I'm trying to enjoy it and be productive.  I've been learning new crochet stitches and taking time to learn to read patterns.  I regret not learning how to crochet from my grandma Tessie while she was alive.  She managed to pass on a love of trashy romance novels, and the joys of gin (the card came).  The red and white granny square blanket she made me as a child, is still one of my most treasured possessions.  But I take comfort knowing I will be able to carry on the tradition of creating things with love, for family and friends.

When there is extra time, there is usually extra thinking...which in my case, can be both good and bad.  It's given me the opportunity to do some self exploration about what I want in life, but it's also given me the time to dwell in the past or worry about the future.  In particular, I've been thinking a lot about old friends and how I have very dear friends that live in the same city, but I haven't seen (not even for coffee) in over a year.

This lack of socialization tends to be an overarching trend in my life.  I'm aware of the reason why....I'm a classic introvert.  I enjoy spending time at home alone, and it takes a lot of energy for me to reach out and make an effort to socialize.  Compound that with the fact that I talk to people for a living (I'm a counselor), and you have a person who wants very little contact with people during down time.  This explains why I married a fellow introvert, who spends a lot of time in his own head...I don't mind at all.

I love that Facebook is around and allows me to keep in some kind of touch with friends who I probably would have let slip away.  However, there's a catch.  The thing about social media like Facebook, Twitter, and this blog, is that these sites give you a illusion of social connectedness while sitting at home all day by yourself.  It isn't real.  No one can deny that sitting down with a friend for coffee and a hug, is MUCH different than clicking a button to like someone's post on Facebook.  Your brain gets some validation from the "likes" and "retweets", but it is a hollow feeling over time.  I need those friendly thumbs up and "lol's" in real life too.

I am working on putting forth more of an effort to reach out to my friends, and family too.  My friend Bryan used to call me "worst friend ever", and there's some truth in that!  For those who have known me a long time, I want you to know that even though I may not call or visit frequently, I still cherish you dearly and will always welcome a stop over, a lunch date, or a call should you choose to initiate.


"A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil; but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small, silly presents every so often - just to save it from drying out completely."  ~Pam Brown

Ravelry and the death of my free time.

I am proud of myself for making a "to do" list for today, and getting some items checked off that list.

Since starting to teach myself crochet, I've learned a great deal through watching videos on YouTube and checking for tips through Google.  How to Crochet - For Dummies has come in handy many times.  But in the midst of getting things done yesterday and today, I've found a new way to procrastinate in Ravelry.com.  My user name is Porkyporkerton, if anyone reading this is on there. I could spend hours browsing patterns for projects.  It seems like it has opened a new world of possibilities for community and project planning.  The site even allows you to keep track of your hooks and yarn stash!  Come check it out if you haven't already!

This is what I'll be working on first:  Waffle Dishcloth!  I've come a long way from being stuck on single crochet and simple square coasters (see pic).  I look forward to working on a granny square afghan sometime soon!