March was “National Crochet Month”. I have been there and done that back in the 1970’s, when I crocheted several granny square afghans, and a fancy shawl.
I had an orange theme bedroom during high school. I crocheted myself an afghan at the time to match the decor. I kept it all this time, but it had gotten a couple of moth holes over the years, and was coming apart in other places.
A few years ago I unraveled the borders and stitches connecting the granny squares, leaving me with a pile of the squares that could be reconnected into another blanket or something else. With so many other projects in my head, I am not sure when or if that will ever happen. Click here for a link to the blog post I wrote about my orange bedroom, with more photos of the afghan.
I crocheted the following green and off-white afghan for my mom when I was in my late teens or early 20’s. It matched their living room at the time, but was stored away after they moved. After my mom passed away and we were sorting and purging things in their house, the afghan turned up again. It now lives at my aunt and uncles lake house.
I vaguely remember crocheting a blue and white afghan that eventually ended up at my sister’s house. When I mentioned working on a blog post about crochet, she found the afghan in a closet. I remember the colors and the circles, but I do not remember crocheting all those panels of plain white.
Following is a photo of the lacy shawl I crocheted during the 1970’s. I may have worn it once or twice, but it is has been stored away since then.
A problem for “makers” is that we make many things that accumulate and end up in a box, or are lost for years packed away in a closet. I have baskets of handspun yarn, tubs of hand knit items, bags of woven dishtowels and socks cranked on my circular sock machine. I have knitted many shawls and scarves that I love, but never wear. My mom left behind trunks full of vintage wool skirts and dresses she had sewed. That does not stop us from making more things.
Last winter I bought a crochet granny square dishcloth at the gift shop at the 55+ resort where we stay in Gold Canyon, Arizona. I have knitted cotton dishcloths before that worked well. I liked the crochet version, and I wanted to make a few more myself by copying the design. I used the purchased crochet dishcloth this winter in the RV. I did not take a photo when it was new, and it is pretty worn out by now. The 100% cotton yarn does not last forever, and the colors fade in the washing machine.
This spring I finally got around to crocheting a couple of granny square dishcloths. Following is a photo of the worn out dishcloth I bought and have been using, next to some thrift shop cotton yarn for a new one.
The School of Sweet Georgia recently came out with a pattern for making granny squares, so the timing was perfect. Sweet Georgia Yarns also has a series of articles on crocheting, from learning the basics to more advanced techniques, including making granny squares. Next is a photo of the purchased dishcloth along side the one I crocheted from the thrift shop self striping yarn.
The crochet dishcloth is very easy and mindless to make, which is good for working on while watching TV in the evenings. I started another dishcloth with a different colorway of thrift store cotton yarn. Just as I was finished with the main part of the second dishcloth, I saw some instructions on Sweet Georgia Yarn for a Bobble Stitch crochet border for a granny square. I had been debating how to finish off the outside edges, so this was very timely. I went ahead and watched the video with the instructions, and then proceeded to crochet the border on. It looks nice.
I crocheted two more dishcloths. The yarn I used for all four dishcloths was 100% cotton, either Peaches and Creme, or Sugar N Cream. I found some information online saying that these two yarns are exactly the same yarn, but with different packaging.
The plain yellow dishcloth was a little boring, so I decided to add a border using the peach and tan yarn. I neglected to pay attention to the color pattern in the yarn. The peach color was at the beginning, but only lasted for about one inch of the pattern. Then the color changed to the same color of yellow as the rest of the dishcloth. About halfway it changed to white, and stayed white for the rest of the border. So much for a contrasting color border, but it looks a little funky and I like it.
I am set on dishcloths for quite a while now. Time to get on with some other projects.
Yarns from the Lake 
I enjoyed reading this post. I learned how to crochet when I was in high school – mid 70’s. Some friends and I took a class offered by Sears Roebuck. I remember the first thing we learned (after single crochet, of course) was the granny squares. My sister and I also shared an orange bedroom. She painted an orange striped wall on a 4 foot wall that you saw when you came into the room. We had orange curtains, too. I think they had flowers on them. She was 4 years older and did this all – with money she earned at a part time job. Your projects from long ago are precious. Each one is pretty. I could see wearing the shawl – like on fancy night on a cruise. Regarding your saved squares – what about a baby afghan? What a wonderful keepsake that would make. Or use them to make throw pillows – maybe for a teenage boy room? I am glad you kept them. I like the cream colored afghan with the blue circles. And I like the green and white dish cloth with the nubbies. Dish cloths seem like a very practical item to make. I enjoy reading about all your projects. And I smiled when you wrote about how these things accumulate; yet, you keep making them. I love it!
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Thank you for your positive comments. Sometimes I am not sure if anyone will find a particular post interesting, including this one. That is very interesting that you also had an orange theme bedroom in the 70’s! I may have worn the shawl on a cruise once, back in 2000 when we brought huge suitcases with enough room for clothes for 2 formal nights and theme night. Wayne brought cowboy boots! If we ever go on another cruise like that, I think we would skip the formal night and eat dinner in one of the alternative restaurants instead. The orange granny squares would make a nice smaller throw or baby blanket. Or bag. Or pillow. There is more of a shortage of time than ideas.
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Ah, this post brought back memories. My grandmother (dad’s mother), taught me how to crochet. She would sit and watch TV and magically make squares for an afghan. I remember her teaching me. I got to make some squares for the afghan she was making. I felt so grown up!
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I wonder how many people our age have granny square afghans in their history!! They are pretty easy.
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They are pretty easy.
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I love those dishcloths and I have some cotton yarn! I haven’t crocheted in years but I learned that quicker than knitting.
I made a couple of very large blankets, basically bedspreads that took forever!
I will save this post to go back to it later.
Thank you!
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I am glad you are feeling inspired. I think you will have no trouble crocheting some dish cloths! You can find instructions online if you need a refresher.
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hi Meg. Is the pattern for the dark blue dish cloth the same as the others? It looks different but I can’t quite tell because of the dark color
Jeanne
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Yes, all 4 dishcloths are all the same basic granny square, including the darker blue dishcloth. 2 of them have a double crochet border. One has a sort of picot border I found online. The dark blue dishcloth as a “bobble” border. Patterns (free) for the basic granny square, and for the bobble border can be found here: https://sweetgeorgiayarns.com/crochet/#h-learn-to-crochet
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