I’m thrilled to be participating in the Crochetville National Crochet Month Designer Blog Tour for the second year in a row.
This month, I plan to highlight crochet on my blog by sharing interviews with crochet designers, reviews of crochet books, and introducing several new crochet patterns. (For my own sanity, I won’t repeat last year’s daily NatCroMo blogging though!)
I think all of my regular readers know that crochet is my favorite craft. (Ssshh, don’t tell the knitting – it could get jealous!) My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was 9 years old, but I didn’t learn to read patterns until I was 27. One of my first attempts at pattern reading was inspired by my desire to crochet a granny square. (I learned using Julie A. Bolduc‘s Basic Granny Square.)
The theme of this year’s NatCroMo blog tour is Spring Garden, and since granny squares were my original inspiration for learning to read patterns (which eventually led me into designing), I thought I’d introduce a new motif pattern today.
I call this 6″ (15 cm) square the Hydrangea Shrub. When I was growing up, my grandmother’s neighbor had delightful, multi-colored hydrangea shrubs in her front yard. I loved looking at them as I walked up to my grandmother’s house, and ever since, hydrangeas always remind me of spring.
I took pictures of those hydrangeas in the small park adjacent to the American Museum of Natural History. I love all the vibrant and pastel colors you can find hydrangeas in.
To crochet the Hydrangea Shrub square, you’ll use basic crochet stitches (the chain, double crochet, and single crochet); working in rounds; increasing; joining new colors; and bullions, crossed stitches, and post stitches. Written instructions for the last three stitches are provided in the pattern.
Download the pattern on Ravelry, free with coupon code NatCroMo14 through March!
Halos of Hope is the featured charity for the blog tour. They provide volunteer-crafted hats to cancer centers around the country. If you’d like to crochet some hats for your local center, you can find recommended patterns here.
Enjoy the rest of the tour, and happy crocheting!