WBS Blanket Progress: Beginning the Granny Square Blanket

Squares, squares, and more squares!

  I like challenging patterns. Love knot stitch? Bring it on. Puffs, clusters, filet crochet, and pattern stitches of all kinds... No problem. Bullion stitch: One of my favorites. Clones Irish lace... Okay, still learning some of it. But assembling pieces? I hate it! If you browse through my free patterns, you might notice that I try my hardest to create everything in one piece. My skills are advanced enough that putting together squares or pattern pieces is no problem for me. I just don't like doing it.

  Even though the simple patterns provided for the World's Biggest Stocking project are easy for me, these multiple piece designs are challenging my mentality. But, it's a challenge, so I'm having fun. I'm even starting to get over my dislike of joining squares. I'm working my way up to the blanket with the most pieces, so I'm starting the Granny Square Blanket Square for my next project. This blanket consists of twenty-five six-round granny squares. 

  The colors of this blanket are a nice change from the holiday colors I've been using for the other squares. I've worked with red, white, and green since last October, thanks to a few other holiday projects I had picked up, then transitioning right into the World's Biggest Stocking blankets. When the holidays come around this year, I'm making everything in purple. 

  So, anyway... Follow along as I begin the Granny Square Blanket! Remember that these patterns are not my design; they're provided free by Yarnspirations for the World's Biggest Stocking project. Click here to download them for yourself, then make a blanket square that will help set a world record and later be donated to military charities.

Let's get started!

These granny squares are made differently than the pattern for the Big Granny Square Blanket, but the center begins in the same way. Two double crochet are worked into each side of each corner, and a double crochet is made in each double crochet around. The color will change at the end of the third round. 

But, what I'm doing is joining at the end of the round, for now. My plan is to make all the squares up to the color change, and I'll pull the joining slip stitch out later. I'm doing it this way to avoid juggling multiple skeins of yarn, because I often move my work from place to place. 

Here's what I have left of one skein after finishing the centers of the first sixteen squares. There's not enough here to make any more centers, but I don't need any more in this color, anyways. There will probably be enough to make the last round of single crochet for at least one square.

Before I continue, I'm going to weave in all the center tails of these squares. I think I'll probably work over the ending tail when I start the contrasting color, but I'm not sure yet.

I can't weave the ending tails in now, anyways, because I have to undo this stitch to change colors. According to the pattern, the new color should be pulled through when making the joining slip stitch.

I'm going to follow the pattern for one square to see how it comes out, but it looks like this might make a little jog in the color... We'll see! For now, I'm gonna finish weaving in all those center tails. That's another thing I don't like doing, so I need to get it out of the way.

My RA is starting to act up again, so I'm supposed to be taking it easy. Then I went and made all 16 of the centers for the red squares in one day. I'm gonna take a break now, and we'll pick this up again soon.

(Click here for the next post about the Granny Square Blanket)

Happy Crocheting!