The Lost Crochet Files

I love how as I go through my old crochet pictures, I can find a bit of a theme. This time: Squares! One of these is a simple project I remember well, and I need to get around to recreating it. The other... Humph. The other one still leaves me steaming about that chewed-up notebook.

Let it go... Just let it go. But it's hard to let it go. Especially because Notebook-eating Dog's owner has caused me more trouble than just this... But, I'm trying to turn my attitude around so I can get this mess back on track. I mean, it's not a total loss, right? I'm more experienced now! I can take a look at these pictures and at least get an idea of how to make it happen again. So, let it go... Let's get on with it!

How awesome is this square? Well, that's just a rough-draft of it really, but you can get the concept of where I was going with it. This project was in beginning design stages, one square worked up in yarn and a pattern filled with adjustment-making notes, and the other squares nothing but scribbles on paper. It would have been a garden-themed afghan, full of butterflies and flowers and such. Now, it's just a random puny square, with missing notes and nowhere to go. Finding this picture inspired me to try again sometime soon. I can recreate it. And it will be even better.

I think this was one of the last projects I was working on before the dog ate my homework. As for the rest of the squares I had in mind for the afghan, they're no more than distant memories. Now I wish I had at least worked up some rough-draft squares in yarn, instead of jotting down ideas on paper. But how was I to know my friend was leaving me with a pattern-eating dog? I can wish and hope and complain, but it's not bringing my ideas back.

You can't go wrong with a classic granny square, and I'm (re)thinking of using them as a filler in the "garden" afghan. But for now, how about a few in plarn? I remember the birth of this next pattern... My mom can't pick up a lot of weight, and the cashiers at the grocery store are always overloading her bags. Even though she kept asking them not to, they would still pack in too much, double-bagging a dozen or more cans at a time. I decided to make Mom a smaller reusable bag, so the cashiers can't put too much stuff in it.

But just in case, I made the bottom out of two squares sewn together, for extra thickness. And I made it with an extra-thick handle, so it would be more comfortable for Mom to carry a little more weight. The problem isn't muscles as much as joints, so the extra padding helps. Now that my hands are wrecked with rheumatoid arthritis, I think I should make a few more of these for myself!

The only thing is... *Sigh* It's the reason I have trouble working with other people's patterns. It's like I just have to break the rules, change the form, think outside the box... Whatever it is, it's annoying because I can't stop myself from changing my own patterns, too. Instead of making an extra square for the bottom, I think I'd rather cut the material extra-thick or use two strands for one square, work out the gauge, and find the right hook to make it match. Maybe even change the stitch so it's a tighter weave.