Spending a little over a month relegated to the couch has been… well, it’s getting old. At first it was nice, being ordered to stay off my feet and having my every need served by the fam. I got the clearance to work from home, and promptly set up a nest around my spot on the couch. I spent evenings and weekends reading books, playing video games, binging costume dramas, hanging out with the fam, and crafting. Primarily crochet, but some knitting. I have a blanket that I’ve been working on forever, so it was nice to make some progress on it.
Then I decided to start a crochet blanket for the kid. I had dipped my toes into the Granny Square pool, and began finding free tutorials for alternate squares. I had some spare yarn, so I practiced, and finally, FINALLY got the hang of crochet. So I asked the kid if she’d want a blanket I’d seen a pattern for. It matches the theme of her room, and she was game, so we ordered some yarn and got to planning.
Then, then yarn arrived in a surprisingly large box. On opening the box, I realized that the name “Pound of Love” was literal.
Pictured above are two “Pound of Love” skeins, and a normally sized Heartland skein. We had a good laugh, but I’m legitimately going to have to figure out something to make with what’s left once the blanket is done!
I proceeded to get started on the blanket. By the time the yarn arrived I had done several test squares. Then I decided I wanted to play with a few more ideas, since the kid said she didn’t want the entire blanket to be the same square over and over. So I dug up one of my bookmarks for a tutorial on crochet skulls…
They are surprisingly simple, and fun, and quick! So I made a bunch, and showed the kid, and now I’m making a Flowers & Skulls blanket, with normal granny squares in between all the flowers and skulls. Kid and I used the iPad to draw up a blanket pattern, and I’ve now signed myself up for 38 flowers, 13 skulls, and 174 granny squares.
Next up was determining the square size. (She chose the smaller ones.) It was a lot of fun just figuring out the pattern and practicing squares.
Then I realized that I had agreed to, and in fact started a while before, a surprise for a friend, on behalf of another friend. I don’t want to post photos of the now-finished project, because the surprise hasn’t been delivered yet, but rest assured… it was a lot of crochet. But here’s a piece, just a leaf…
During all of this time off my feet, video gaming, and crocheting, I began to realize that I’ve been doing SO MUCH that now I have a mild RSI on one side. Of course it has to be the same side as the bum knee, and the bum shoulder. Now my forearm is feeling out of whack and I’m TRYING to take a break from the blanket.
Fortunately, I have an excellent physical therapist who is helping with All The Things. The knee is getting better, and I’m hoping to get back to the office next week, pending doctor’s clearance.
But, for what it’s worth, I’m sick of the couch.