Feeling Very Granny Now

I really wanted a throw pillow for the veranda. But not just any throw pillow. I wanted something cheery and colorful. And I wanted to crochet it myself! This was going to be my biggest crochet project to date! I found a beautiful pattern online  for a blanket. I love the name of the pattern —  Flowers in the Snow. It is based on a traditional pattern called a granny square. Granny squares are made up of several rows of circles and one outer round that’s made with corners so it becomes a square. So its a circle in a square.

To make this pattern, you first make the rounds. Each round is made up of 3 rows of different colors. I enjoyed coming up with unique color combinations for each round.

Then you join the circles with the 4th round using white. For the snow! I had many problems with this part. I made so many mistakes and had to unravel my work so many times that I felt like I was un-crocheting. I thought that there was a way to just keep crocheting the circles together without stopping. There may be a way to do it, but I haven’t figured it out. I found it works better if you just connect one, cut the thread, then start the next.

Since I was making a pillow cover, I had to make a back. The back is crocheted as one giant granny square.

Then attach the front and back together. I made a smaller, rectangular third piece so I would have a pocket to hold the pillow in.

It came out so pretty! It took me a little over three weeks to finish this pillow. The husband says I should have done the “snow” part in brown to disguise the inevitable dirt better. Right after I finished it, I couldn’t even bear the thought of of USING the pillow. The husband half-joked (but was half serious also) that we should get it framed.  I don’t know how other people manage to crochet tablecloths and actually use them while eating! I already made enough rounds for a second pillow. I’m putting the rounds together and this second pillow is coming together much more easily than the first one. It doesn’t feel like such an intense undertaking. So maybe I will be able to lie down on the pillow without worrying about getting it dirty!

Crochet Notes:

Yarn
I used three strands of Cannon Solid for the colored parts
Note the rolled up balls in the first picture
I used only two strands of Canon Solid for the white parts
It seems the white thread is slightly thicker than the colored thread
Cannon solid is a light fingering 3-ply cotton thread.

Hook
4/0
equivalents are C-2 American and either 2.5 or  2.75mm metric

Size
the inner pillow is 18″ x 18″