grannie squared by Casa Crafty

This post is part of the A Season by Hand series. Find the schedule here.
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a season by handOur guest today is Kelley from Casa Crafty.Β  I have to admit that I don’t know Kelley very well, though I love her carefree style and that she has a bunch of kids {there is hope for sewing with three!}.Β  She also lives on a hobby farm in Oregon…my husband’s dream future for us.Β  You can find Kelley making 365 projects on her blog, selling cute wallets and destash on Etsy, or large bags on her blog. I am sure you’ll enjoy her post today, I saw a girl in a Starbucks with a crochet granny square bag and have wanted one ever since, so now I just need to learn to crochet.

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Hello everyone! I am Kelley. I make over at Casa Crafty.Β  I am a wife to a wonderful man and mother to 2 very patient little boys.Β  We have a hobby farm with goats, chickens, rabbits and dogs and cats, and a large garden to keep me busy. Add in all the crafting and cooking and I have a pretty full time job. When I am not building Star Wars Lego creations I am usually sewing. I was eager to jump in on the hand making here on Clover and Violet, so let’s begin.

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I had a hard time with this project. I wanted to do something I had never done.Β  I think it was because I was learning something new, at the same time trying to be creative with it while traveling that made it difficult.Β  When I am away from my supplies, things get harder for me.Β  Even when I think I am prepared I always forget something simple. Like scissors.
Granny square vacation
I decided to try my hand at granny quares. I both love and loathe the granny square.Β  I am drawn to it and repelled by it.Β  I think of cozy days in the yard with the grass poking through the little holes, and I think of must and moth balls.
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When I started this I picked up a book from my local library all about granny squares.Β  I was trying to decipher all the 3dc and 2 hdc and such when tennis classes started for my boys.Β  I packed it all up and took it to the courts with me.Β  I was pleasantly surprised to find another mommy crafter there that has a great base in crochet and thus began our crochet/ tennis watching/ chit chat sessions.
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Once I had the method down I had to come up with a design and a finished project. I started out using nice yarns, good quality, thinking I would make a little throw or something, but then I saw all this rainbow colors of Red Heart in my craft stash and I thought of the 70’s.
And that was the moment my love and hate of the grannie square made a baby.
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I made 4 of each color with the same series of varigation.
I made them at Tennis, at swim lessons, while watching tv and while being the passenger on a trip. Since I only worked on them a little at a time, it took me a little longer than I had imagined.Β  But in the end it came together very quickly.
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Then I connected them all with a single crochet raised line in black. and matching single crochet rows down the long lines.
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I folded this in half to get our bag shape and single crochet edged the sides.
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I pulled some wooden handles out of my stash (you can find them at JoAnn and Michaels) and did a cluster of single crochet through the handles connector to the bag in much the same fashion as I connected each square together.
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Not Bad.
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very 70’s, very bright, and oddly, very me.
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Thanks for letting me join in ladies, I had a blast coming up with something new to me!
For more crochet inspiration check out my pinterest board

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21 Comments

  1. Granny squares are the perfect take-along project… small and portable! I made my family granny square Christmas stockings; it was so nice being able to take the project with me wherever I went πŸ™‚

  2. Love the granny squares….I need to hook up with someone who can crochet. I would love to master these. There are just not enough hours in the day!

  3. Your granny square bag is wonderful Kelley!! I love to crochet……my favorite projects are doilies and Christmas ornaments made with crochet thread.

  4. I have the same feelings about Granny Squares. I do love what you’ve done and your bag is wonderful and has a more modern look. I’m thinking the “like” is now stronger than the “unlike”!! πŸ™‚

  5. I have the same feelings about granny squares, I’m glad it’s not just me! I like the way you have done the colour changes through the bag πŸ™‚

  6. Pingback: out and about.

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