granny square CAL ... #1

# 1 ... heart granny square  

There wouldn't be many crocheters who haven't made at least one granny square in their crochet career. All those who haven't, raise your hand .... I thought so!

Granny squares were the first thing my grandmother taught me to make. With a borrowed crochet hook and Grandma's scraps of acrylic yarn, I began making squares, huge squares, all edged in black. That was in the 70's, and of course my parents still have that rug! 😄

I'm no longer restricted to Grandma's scraps anymore, having a large-ish collection of my own nowadays (understatement perhaps). Mostly they are bright and pretty colours ... the colours I like to surround myself with. I especially enjoy the visual feast of colour inspiration I find at REDAGAPE . In last week's REDAGAPE blog post Mandy announced she was hosting a CAL (Crochet A-Long). Yes! YES! Even better, it's a casual CAL. No deadlines, no need to make every design, no need to feel locked in.
My granny squares will probably be made into a blanket, but they can just as easily be used to make bags, cushion covers, whatever.
Mandy will be posting a free granny square pattern on her blog each month.
You can read the full details and see the first pattern here .

The pattern is easy to follow with written instructions, a graph and lots of beautiful photos.
The hardest, but most enjoyable part is choosing the colours.
Do I want bold? pastel? mainly white?
I'm going with these colours below (for now anyway). There's every chance I'll break out into some blues and purples before the rug is finished though. As Mandy says, it's a casual CAL.
These colours remind me of a bunch of pretty roses.

The one colour hearts are pretty ... (doesn't this combination remind you of strawberries and cream Chupa Chups?) 

... but I think the two colour hearts remind me more of actual roses. 

The square below has been assigned to the reject pile. Not that I don't like it, just that my colour choice shifted slightly. I'll wait until the rug has progressed further before that decision is final though. I figure I'm already one up on a new project ... hooray!

This square looks so delicate, like the finest porcelain.

If you're looking for inspiration, the CAL participants on Instagram are posting their granny squares here .

With so many fabulous colour combinations on display there, it's going to be hard to stay strong and true to my roses palette!

There are another three weeks to wait until the next granny square pattern is posted. I can't wait to see it,

xo

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