In between the storms today I nipped out to pick a small posy of flowers – you can tell how warm it is, my paving slabs had already dried and I tiptoed in my bare feet to pick a few flowers to make a simple posy for my fireplace.  I don’t pick in the spring, I leave the flowers and buds in the garden and even in the middle of summer I love to see an abundance of flowers which picking them would all too quickly thin out.  But after the storm and feeling like the summer had broken I wanted to bring a little of the sunshine into my home, even for just a little while.

For a while now I have been crocheting a granny square blanket.   I fell in love with the pattern a long time ago and bought the book whilst browsing in John Lewis with my friend Diane.   I think she was slightly horrified at me wanting to do a simple granny square blanket, but it called to me so strongly I just knew it had to be mine.   And I bought the wool and slowly I have been making granny squares, all 130 of them.   They actually proved to be a bit of a godsend during the more stressful times at Uni, one could relax without having to think, it became my turn to rather like knitting socks did.

The pattern is called Granny Squares Throw by Marie Wallin in Rowan Purelife Home, crocheted in Rowan Renew on a 5 mm hook.  (I preferred the tension of a smaller hook)

When I had nearly finished the squares (I had 30 to go) I happened to come home and was able to go to my knitting group to ask them if they could decipher the instructions on how to join them, which they did and luckily I have been able to remember what I was taught.

So now I am joining them up and it is going very well.  The length of the blanket is going to be 6ft 6″ which even though it is on a smaller hook is longer than the pattern so I was right to trust my instincts, I’m not sure of the width just yet.

But there have been revelations.  Notably with my tension.

You see, being a newish crocheter, the first squares were very loose compared to the last squares.  And I hadn’t noticed this at all, because I had packed the squares away as they were finished, it was only on getting them all out together to spend an evening sewing in ends that I noticed.

That is quite a difference.

But hey, its a blanket, it will keep me warm and its part of the hand made nature of it all.  And hopefully it will all ease in together and after a while, it will all be forgotten whilst I snuggle on down with my hot water bottle of a cat purring on my chest, a steaming cup of milky hot chocolate at my side, icy gusts of wind rattling the letter box as Jack Frost dances past.