Hooked Again - Crocheted Granny Square Pillow

Never underestimate the importance of having fun. 

Hey there from Nannyland,

When I moved to my new home a couple of years ago, I vowed that I would pick my two favorite artistic pursuits, cardmaking and quilting, and leave the myriad of other things I love behind for lack of time, space and energy.  Goodbye to parchment craft, knitting, crocheting, jewelry making, scrapbooking, painting, the whole shebang.  Hello to focusing on the things I love most and spending more time perfecting my skills. I gave away box after box of supplies to elated friends but  I couldn't part with my tools because they were expensive and, well, you never know.  

I was happily living in my Nannyland bubble whenl I noticed some of my favorite fabric and quilt designers were  incorporating their designs into smaller projects in the form of needle point and crochet.  Enter my old friend, the crocheted granny square.   Lori Holt has her own chunky thread (size 2 yarn) in all the colors of her fabrics and has made some absolutely charming projects using the original granny square that has been a crochet staple since forever.  When I actually spied some granny square pillows in Bed, Bath and Beyond last week, I knew I had to pull out my hooks and give crocheting a crafty comeback.  Lori's beautiful afghan was way too ambitious for me but I couldn't resist giving this cute pillow in Lori's YouTube tutorial a go.                                                     .

Just a few Hallmark movies later, I had this fun handmade addition ready to perk up my quilty guestroom.

 I'm obsessed with Lori Holt fabrics so her coordinating yarns were a perfect match to many of my quilts.

 

I followed Lori's instructions and crocheted several granny square rounds in different colors.  I used twelve colors in all, and crocheted them in the same order three times. 

I was happy to use a pillow I already had instead of a regular pillow form.  Amazingly, the red coordinated with all the bright colors in my crochet work. 

The corners should meet in the middle but not overlap too much because the piece needs to fit snugly around the pillow and not sag anywhere. 

I used a single crochet to join the corners together in the back.

And, voila, a fancy bright pillow for my guest room in keeping with the quilty handmade vibes. 

Now, I'm back to knitting wash cloths for Christmas gifts because it's so fun to have something productive to do when I'm watching TV.  Sitting quietly has never been my thing.  I guess I  can allow knitting and crocheting to sneak back into Nannyland as long as it's just in little spurts.  But no giant afghans for me this time.  Just busy little lap projects in front of the TV.  But, alas, my yarn bins are filling up again...drat. 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit.  

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Floral Style Succulent Centerpiece _ Handmade By My Resident Florist

Home is where love resides, memories are created,
friends always belong, and laughter never ends. 

Hey there,

I'm happily, though impatiently, in the middle of cataract surgery...one eye done and the other one coming up next week.  It's a challenge having my new lens performing at 20/20 and my old lens still creating a blurry haze.  But when all the fuss is over, my sight will be much improved and I'm looking forward to needing only reading glasses for close work. Hallelujah!!! In the meantime, all creativity hasn't halted in our household.  My brilliant hubby, who was a talented florist when I met him, accepted my honey-do challenge to create this gorgeous centerpiece for our dining room table.

I'm not a lover of silk flowers, so when I saw these synthetic succulents artistically arranged in my favorite designer furniture store, I thought they offered a more modern and elegant version of an old favorite.  I have managed to keep several real plants alive in my home, some of them quite humungous, so I think I deserve some greenery that blooms beautifully with only an occasional dusting. And these luscious succulents look right at home in my new Southern Utah dining room. I still crack up over the old Red Green quote, "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.”  I lucked out on both counts. 

Thanks for visiting,

Go forth and create beauty to match your surroundings.

Nancy