Granny squares paved the road to recovery

Long before I was a grandmother, I crocheted granny squares. I made my first granny square afghan in 1967 when I was 22. I was living in Patten then and recovering from an illness that kept me in bed for six weeks. In order to keep my spirits up and boredom at bay, I I decided to crochet. My mother and sister in Bingham asked relatives and friends for leftover balls of yarn to donate to my project. The first box of scrap yarn they sent was so large it took me all day to get to the bottom of it. The second box was almost as big. I spent long, happy hours sorting the yarn into colors, winding skeins into balls and visualizing what my afghan would look like.

I knew nothing of needlework history – this was long before the feminist movement blew the dust away from that topic. I had no idea that I was taking part in a craft that had been around for generations.

Although I had never made a granny square or an afghan before, it never occurred to me that I couldn’t. I was adept at teaching myself just about anything I wanted to do. I simply began and relished solving any dilemma I ran into, such as how to work sport weight and fingering yarns into squares that were made mostly of worsted weight – use two strands. I knew, instinctively, that the afghan would evolve. I also knew that if I kept my mind on my crocheting and not on the misery of being ill, I’d get well more quickly.

By the time I recovered from my illness, I had completed my afghan. In the ensuing years I made three more afghans – still using the yarn from the boxes my mother and sister had sent.

The first afghan I made was dearest to my heart and I still have it. It is draped over the back of the Monson maple rocking chair my brother gave me as a wedding gift – the chair where, over the years, I rocked my babies, my brother’s babies and all my friends’ babies.

Every round in the squares that make up my afghan is a different color, bordered with a black final round. Making it taught me a lot about color and design. I discovered a fascination for how things that don’t seem to fit together – such as orange ombre yarn and pea green yarn – can be made to fit together if the color between them is a certain shade of blue.

The granny square pattern first appeared in print 107 years ago in 1897, published by the Weldon Co. of London. The pattern was billed as a way to use up yarn scraps.

Recently the Weldon Co. pattern publications were reprinted and its several volumes are available at Bangor Public Library. If you look carefully, you’ll find the original granny square pattern in one of those volumes.

Granny squares don’t have to be just square. They can be triangular, oblong, round or hexagonal. They can be worked in any weight yarn or in crochet cotton. It all depends on your imagination and what suits your fancy.

Granny squares make great take-along needlework. They can be made in many colors, a few colors or all one color. They make a great beginner’s project because once you’ve made a few you can combine them into a long row for a scarf. Two 6-inch granny squares with several layers of flannel or wool between for padding make a pot holder. Sew six granny squares together for a place mat. Eighteen, nine to a side, will make a cushion. Make one large one and you end up with a square afghan.

If you don’t know how to crochet, or have never crocheted granny squares, get a book from the bookstore or the library, or visit Crochet Cabana on the Web, which gives a crochet tutorial. For inspiration, visit Patty’s Collection of Granny Squares, also on the Web.

Snippets

Marion Taylor needs a skein of Red Heart yarn in Dark Spruce, dye lot No. 361, to finish knitting socks for her grandson. She’s also seeking a crochet pattern for an oval tablecloth. If readers can help, write her at P.O. Box 213, Eddington, ME 04428.

A reader is seeking someone to knit a small project from the yarn she spun from llama fleece. E-mail her at dagmar3040@earthlink.net.

Ardeana Hamlin welcomes comments, suggestions and ideas. Call her at 990-8153, or e-mail ahamlin@bangordailynews.net.