A Crochet Crazy Life on the Other Side of the Atlantic Ocean

Springtime was waiting for me when I arrived in Germany yesterday. After 3 1/2 years here, I'm familiar with the earlier arrival of spring, which comes about two months before its arrival in the Chicago area. The warmer temperatures, the green grass, spring flowers and flowering trees were an especially welcome sight after the cold, harsh winter I experienced in Chicago this year (more about that in this blog post).

Even though I don't sleep on the long flight over (I'm just not one of those people who can fall asleep in moving vehicles), I always make myself stay awake the entire day for a faster recovery from jet lag and a quicker adjustment to the seven-hour time difference. To keep myself busy yesterday, I went out to say hello to my favorite, familiar country walking path.

Narcissus and daffodils are blooming everywhere.

Front yard gardens made me smile with their colorful displays.

This poplar tree-lined path is a favorite, peaceful walking place.

The path around the old abbey is pretty no matter what the season.

The birds were singing in the cherry tree and forsythia in bloom across the creek.

Freshly tilled fields mean the farmers will soon be planting.

I wasn't the only one enjoying the fresh spring air.

Apple blossoms in bloom...what's not to love about that?

Even with a long trip from Chicago to the Rhine area of Germany, I still made time for crochet. Even if it's only for five minutes, I need to have a hook in my hand and work with yarn. Crochet is something I enjoy, but it's also part of who I am. Last night I finished a project I began last week in Chicago and also worked on in-flight -- a cotton infinity scarf for my daughter, S.

And I finally began my much-anticipated Cath Kidston inspired Giant Granny Rectangle Afghan! I've been drooling over the yarn I purchased and am delighted to show you the beginnings of the project.

Finally working with these skeins...

....ta-dah! The beginning of my afghan!

I've been here for about 30 hours (10 of which were spent sleeping) and now you can see what I've been up to....besides spending time with M, of course! What have you been doing the past couple days? Are there any signs of spring where you're at?

A Weekend in Pictures

Many happenings have made this a wonderful weekend. On the blogging front, I started my first Link-a-Long with a link widget on Friday (you can still add a thumbnail picture and blog link here and I hope you will!). The temperatures have risen ever so slightly as spring draws nearer. I had a fun overnight with the oldest of the littles (my children's children) who is nine and as fun and honest as a nine year old can be! And progressed on a few crochet projects and made some exciting purchases.

Here's my springy, child-centered, and yarnily awesome weekend (thus far) in pictures.

It warmed up enough for a walk...the first outdoor walk in a month!

Oh joy, oh joy! The first robin of spring!

Teaching nine-year-old M to play Crazy Eights

Breakfast with my little friend

We laughed and enjoyed Mr. Peabody and Sherman

To go with an upcoming room redecoration I'm planning on with Cath Kidston colors.

Bought the burgandy to go with the beige for a quick chunky lapghan.

Yarn for an upcoming Giant Granny Afghan in Cath Kidston colors.

Start of chunky stitch lapghan in beige, taupe and burgandy.

Continued work on my upcoming poncho pattern!

As you can see, it's been a wonderful weekend with much-needed signs of spring, some solo time with the oldest of the littles and a few hours tangled in yarny goodness. Come join my link-a-long so we can see what you're up to. What happenings have been filling your weekend?

Giant Granny Square

After a long break of many years, I started crocheting again a couple years ago. I've always been crafty, and while my kids were growing up I sewed (and sold) clothing, coverlets and draperies. A couple years ago, I picked up crochet again as a way to relax and relieve stress.

The first project I decided to tackle was something with granny squares. Why not? Granny squares can be used for a variety of crochet items, you get instant gratification by whipping up a square or two, and the color combinations are endless. I wanted to learn and make something at the same time (I don't like to waste time), so I followed a Youtube tutorial for granny squares to get me started. I highly recommend Crochet Geek for many different crochet tutorials; and she does have one for granny squares.

The first project I tackled was a baby afghan for my daughter R's son. Looking back at it now, it's not the prettiest thing in the world (hence no photo!), but it was good for a start. Then I made my granny square scarf and got lots of compliments on that.

One day, I was surfing the internet for ideas and stumbled across something called a Giant Granny Square Blanket. I was hooked!! Literally and figuratively! To make a Giant Granny Square you just keep making rounds until you reach the desired size of your blanket, instead of making a bunch of small, individual squares. I chose a palette of appealing colors to keep myself from getting bored. Here's the finished product. Since this Giant Granny Square doesn't have a home, it is for sale.

This Giant Granny Square Blanket is made with acrylic yarn in shades of blue, green, yellow, tan and off-white.

It measures 42 inches by 42 inches (107 cm x 107 cm) and is perfect as a large crib blanket, for a toddler bed or draped over your couch as a lap afghan.

You can get more information on my page, Custom-Made Crochet for You.


Making this Giant Granny Square was such a zen-like experience that I've no doubt, I'll make another one.