Today I had a lovely family BBQ at my parent's house! The evening ended with just me and my parents sat on the sofa talking, and as my Mum pulled out her knitting, the talk turned to crochet. Next thing I know, my Mum pulls out a knitting bag...
But not just any knitting bag, this one belonged to my Nan, who sadly passed away in 2006. My Nan loved to crochet - I remember a rainbow crochet dress I had as a child, and her brightly coloured granny square blankets covered every surface! When she passed away, my Grandad passed this bag to my Mum, and apart from a pattern being added, had remained untouched ever since.
It was... Haunting, I suppose. A pile of white and orange granny squares lay on top...
Classic Nan colours!
Various wools lay underneath, and tucked away at the very bottom was an envelope. Slightly battered, with "Crochet" written on it. It smelt of her intense smokey smell which I haven't experienced in years. And inside, handwritten patterns, a poem and a note from a friend. So personal, so precious.
And what brought even more emotions to me, was a white baby blanket, in progress. Not just in progress, but left, mid stitch. A ball of wool attached, the crochet hook through a loop, then secured lower down the blanket, part way through a row. Just... abandoned. Not touched for so long.
I have to finish this! I think it's done in treble stitch, but I've tried completing that row tonight, and it doesn't look right. I'm really not sure whether it's the wrong stitch, tension, or simply my crochet style is different from hers. I think it's close enough to get away with, but it doesn't feel right... Any advice?
I feel so honoured to have a chance to finish this for her, and I've been longing to make a Granny Square blanket, and I think the ones above may just be included :)
What a thoroughly moving post.
ReplyDeleteOther than the size of hook or perhaps whether she crocheted through both or one or other of the loops of the stitch, I'm not sure why yours should look so different. I think it's rather nice that you will be able to see where she ended and you started - make it all the more special?
Thanks so much for the lovely comment on my blog.
Heather x
Thank you Heather :)
ReplyDeleteI think I'm using the same hook as it's the one that was wrapped up in the blanket... I've uploaded a picture in my latest post to show the difference in stitches: http://creativechaosart.blogspot.com/2011/08/crochet-post.html I agree with you that it's quite nice to see the difference though!
Thank you for the support
Helen x