Crochet

I have been getting back into crochet over the last couple of years.

Why?

• I blame Cath Kidston. A while ago now, I saw some lovely crocheted blankets in one of her shops. When I looked at the price tag I nearly fell over. I remember saying, slightly outraged, "I could make that!". And so I decided to try and make something akin to the granny square blankets my grandmothers made for me.
• Secondly, I am on a never ending mission to 'soften up' of my husbands very masculine flat and create a 'cosy' atmosphere in the previously Spartan and cold lounge room.
• And finally, it is nice to have something different to do on the tube to work. I love reading, but I have peaks and troughs with it as with anything, and it is lovely to be able to pick up something else. 

My crochet pedigree

My nana taught me the basics of crochet when I was young and I can vividly remember creating long crochet strings with my French Knitting doll. My nana really is amazing with her hands and creating things. I think it is where I have got my crafty bug from. The spare room in my grandparents rooms was jam packed with sewing machines, material, patterns and sewing models. My granny had a similar stash of wool and knitting needles, in fact I can remember my granny breaking a knitting needle in half and sharpening it on the concrete outside to made a pair that were suitable for my size (at the time I remember her saying to call her 'Supergran', and she was). So there was a lot of yarn in my childhood.

How I rekindled my crochet romance

Initially, I bought one book and hopped on YouTube to look at videos but kept getting myself muddled. It was around that time I discovered the Make Lounge and they were just bringing out two crochet courses (their offering has since grown). I enrolled on the Learn to Crochet: Fashion Accessories and the Crochet Amigurumi Toys courses. There were lots of 'Oh, that's right' moments, and before I knew it I was racing ahead creating my own little crochet motifs. The instructors were brilliant as always and it is such a lovely environment. Im sure I have raved on here about the Make Lounge before, but if you live in London and are looking for a crafty outlet, the Make Lounge is just brilliant.

This is my half finished Amigurumi bear. The poor thing has been waiting months for his arms. I must finish those!

But then, the crochet fever dropped off for another few months. It was upon returning to a wintry London earlier this year that I got fired up again, and this time I was determined to make a beautiful blanket.


I found the perfect book on Amazon - Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs and after reading the Patterns entry from Jane Brocket's blog  (she is amazing! And this blanket is so so so gorgeous!) I was inspired.

I still get stuck occasionally and have to unravel and start again, but I have found a simple enough hexagon motif from the Beyond the Square book that I am going to apply to a blanket plan like the one Jane Brocket made. I am going to continue with one hexagon style for a while before I venture on to some others. I will eventually crochet all my little hexagons together, although in true Phoebe style this may not happen for another 2 years.

Here are the beginnings of my blanket hexagons... well hexagon.