playing hooky

I've been queueing up granny square blankets for a while...collecting ideas and photos of what I might one day like to hook up.  I love this one and this one and isn't this one gorgeous!?  Well, after adding one more link to my pinterest board, I decided to start some field research.  So, I put all of my left over worsted weight yarns into a basket to stew on for a while....you know, just to look at the colors, see if they worked together and if I liked how they all looked mingled up amongst each other.

I knew that I didn't have the funds to support ordering a bunch of yarn, so I decided to use what I had on hand with the possibility of adding some supplemental colors and background yarn as I went along.  The basket sat on the floor of my craft studio for weeks and I'd pull out yarns from time to time to see if taking out one color made me like the pile, or if adding another color made them all harmonize even better.

I've been a bit hesitant to start this project because I have this huge afghan (see above photo) that was given to me years ago...and let's just say that I'm not in love with it.  The colors are a bit garish (the neon orange and green), they don't really match anything in my house or each other for that matter....and yet I appreciate all the hard work and time that went into it.  So you can see that this blanket has been part of my hesitation in starting a granny squared afghan.

But finally this past Sunday, after all the dishes were put away and all the guests were gone from Easter,  I got out my Klutz crochet book and re-taught myself how to crochet a granny square.  I put away thoughts of neon orange and green and I just started.   It's been so much fun!

Mckenzie and I were talking about the colors and I asked her if I should limit my colors to 5 or 7 or should I just work with all of them....she said, "Mom, don't think about it too much....just have fun!"  Don't you love that!?  So, that's what I'm doing.  I'm pulling out color combos that I like and I'm having fun.  I am planning to crochet all of them with a cream/oatmeal edge so that they'll be grounded by a similiar background.  (Kind of like this one)

I'm already learning some things I start on this project....
1. This is a long term project...I'm not in a hurry.  I'll add to my pile of squares as I have time.
2.  I'm enjoying experimenting with color and I'll keep experimenting as I go. I promise not to add any neon green or orange though.
3.  The gifted afghan has taken on new appreciation as I work on each square (and even though I'm not a fan of the colors...I'll bet she had fun while hooking away on it).

I'll keep you posted as I work through the yarn in my basket and grow my pile of granny squares...playing hooky has been so fun!