I mentioned before that my Mum taught me to crochet when I was a child. If she started me off doing a circle then I could make it grow, but that was where my skills ended! My Mum was a knitter, and I have shared before that we made a blanket together – she knitted squares and I crocheted them, and then she sewed them altogether and added a border.
I do have a better picture, but I can’t quite locate it and the lighting isn’t good enough to take another right now. I do love this photo also though – the plaque was bought by a friend I consider family, for my 30th birthday, which we knew would be the last one my Mum would be here for as she was very poorly. The love and thought behind this gift is what makes it so special, and it lifts me every time I see it.
Although I come from a family of knitter, it remains a skill I have never mastered. I can just about knit a row, but my tension always ends up far too tight and I drop stiches. I don’t think I’ve ever managed more than a square (or a very small scarf for a teddy!) before giving up! I have this jumper my Grandma knitted for me when I was younger – how brilliant is this:
Now we’ve ascertained I don’t have these skills, but crocheting did come quite naturally to me. Whilst pregnant and feeling sorry for myself (I had dreadful nausea with my second), I decided to pick up crocheting again. Using a crochet hook my mum had and some of her spare yarn, I made a big circle blanket, and fell in love with crochet. I bought a book which taught me a range of crochet stitches and simple patterns and was great for getting started. I also decided to make a baby blanket, and so started looking for blanket patterns and stumbled across Lucy at Attic24. The free patterns were a bonus as I was still getting started, but they were so easy to follow with lots of pictures too that they were ideal. I’ve always loved being crafty, and so I enjoyed picking my own colour palettes. I decided on nice bright rainbow colours, and so I crocheted a cosy stripe rainbow blanket for my youngest. Naturally, the eldest wanted one, so I let him choose his own (remarkably similar!) colours, but used a slightly different Attic24 pattern, the ripple.
I love both of these patterns and the bright colours, and they have been much loved blankets. Sadly my eldest has always had a penchant for sucking teddies ears/the edges of blankets, and after a few years of love his blanket is a bit worse for wear! I am currently working on a new one for him, but more about that in another post!
