Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Antidote to Lace Knitting

A few days ago I saw this and fell completely and hopelessly in lust. My palms started to sweat and my heartbeat sped up and I knew I wouldn't be able to rest until I cast on for a Giant Granny Square of my very own. I know it's crochet; I don't care. I don't have anything against crochet, except that it's not knitting. I learned how to crochet years before I learned to knit, if by "learned" you understand that I mean I figured out how to make something resembling a square piece of fabric out of a stringy, plastic-y substance that went by the name "yarn" back in the 1970's. Come to think of it, I believe the original granny square blankets were often made out of this same substance.

But I love the idea of a single, giant granny square crocheted from gorgeous, chunky Noro yarn. I almost immediately located this and deemed it perfect for the purpose:


See how well the colors work in my family room?

So I pulled up the instructions on my computer and cast on.

Within the first few moments, I discovered that I do not know how to crochet. Whatever the thing is that I learned to do all those many years ago, it was not at all what the instructions told me to do now. It took me an embarrassingly long time to get the hang of making a simple granny square. I stopped counting after the sixth time I ripped back to the beginning.

Eventually, though, I got it working, and was reminded how delightful instant gratification really is:

This is one skein of Noro Iro, and it's a little more than a foot square. I have nine more skeins, so this should end up being a decently-sized throw for the family room sofa. Or...um...maybe my bedroom.

14 comments:

crochetgurl said...

Wow that is really gorgeous! If you want to re-learn crochet, try the Stitch & Bitch: Happy Hooker book. I think it's one of the best-selling books on Amazon for crochet. :-)

Allison said...

Awesome! I just crocheted a granny square afghan out of my bazillion skeins of Noro Kureyon that I've been hoarding for a while and it turned out amazing!

Check mine out at http://alaskanpurl.blogspot.com/2009/04/noro-granny-afghan-is-finally-finished.html.

I can't wait to see how yours turns out!

sophanne said...

Holy fabulous Batman!

Noro and Granny- what a great combination. She talked about backing on her web site- did she mean the afghan (maybe I read too fast)

joan said...

Lovely! You make a fine hooker!

Strickmuse said...

That will be a gorgeous throw for wherever you want it to be.

Life's a Stitch said...

After my recent knit blanket I decided that knitting a blanket sized object is crazy when there's crochet. I agree, too many people associate crochet with icky yarn.

Khalila said...

Your dog is cute.

sheep#100 said...

That's lots prettier than those gren and orange constructions from our childhood!

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

You are a crafting machine! What's next--macrame??

Karen said...

A blanket made from Noro will be beautiful!

Mrs. Homesteader said...

I love how the Noro is striping! I learned how to crochet a long time ago...my mom was in a granny square afghan phase and she taught me how to make them - three or four times. It just never stuck. I might have to ask her again, though, for this one!

Kim said...

It's beautiful! I haven't a clue how to crochet anything more complex than single crochet as a border. I fear crochet.

Fibra Artysta said...

I love crochet. I find it much easier then knitting. Granted, some crocheting scares the snot out of me but the Granny is a classic and I love it for throws and even purses. Embrace the crochet, the Noro is making it stunning.

Anonymous said...

HA! I love it! The Noro yarn looks so good. Plus, my very first completed project was a big granny square blanket for a baby!