Granny Square Mania Turned Purse

A child’s imagination is truly great and I get to experience it on a daily basis.

At home, I have been furiously and single-mindedly making granny squares (springtime flower granny square) for my future sweater/cardigan. I’ve tried as many color combinations as could with just grey and black and I’m almost half done with the 74 squares I need for the finished piece. I wanted to try the same square at work but with the brighter colors we have.

I used two strands of yarn and started playing with colors. The kids became instantly curious and peppered me with the usual questions. What is it? What are you making? Is it going in the prize box? Can I have it? This is always followed by suggestions. Use this color. Make it this or that. You should really give it to me. That kind of thing. 🙂

The squares work up quickly so I was able to make a few in a short time. Once done, the kids needed to know what my intentions were because they were pretty sure they wanted whatever it was I was making. I told them the squares hadn’t spoken to me yet on what they wanted to become (they didn’t even look at me strangely after I said that! lol). I had three different squares completed and they were voting on which ones they liked best.

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Joint Effort Large Crochet Bag

A few summers ago when we still had a summer program in conjunction with our after school program, I was fortunate enough to be allowed to teach crochet as one of our activities. I had some students that never left the chain stage. They made short chains and long chains and multi-strand chains. There was always at least one student who attempted the worlds longest chain. I wanted the kids to feel a sense of accomplishment when they conquered making a chain, so I would let them decide what the chain could become and then, made a little accessory like a flower or star to embellish it. Many turned into necklaces and bracelets.

Some kids progressed so well, I had them making granny squares, purses and cases. At one point I ended up with a huge jar of chains and a few rectangles, squares, and granny squares. I didn’t want to just toss them so I got it into my head that I would find a project that would incorporate all of those chains and granny squares the kids had worked so hard for. At first, I thought I would tie the strands together and create a ball of yarn with them and then come up with a project, but  I rejected that idea because I wanted the work to stand out. I opted to make a crochet bag that could hold our balls of yarn that always ended up all over the place. It was going to be my gift to the program.

It turned into a huge task but it was so much fun. I made the sides out of double crochet netting. The bottom of the bag was made up of the squares some of the kids made. I had to make a few more to make it complete and added stitches and rows to the students’ squares that weren’t even. I made borders on them and then joined them. I took the chains and and wove them through the netting. I used more chains and did end up making a ball of chain yarn and made a flower as a decoration. I took the thicker chains and wove those together to make the handles. I used up all the chains and squares we made that summer! Some of the kids had a ball finding their individual chains within the work. We were all proud of all the work we did.

Here it is in all it’s glory.

Whenever I look at the bag, it gives me such a sense of accomplishment for me and for the students (although I don’t think I’ll tackle such a big job again hehehe). It’s not only great for storing all sorts of things, it stores some wonderful memories.

Freebie Friday – Color Block Bag

You can get the pattern here!

I receive many, many crochet newsletters and one of them had a free pattern for this cute purse. I lean towards making myself bags (think large grocery bags or supply holder type bags) and not purses but this one is so cute I thought I might actually try it one day. Maybe I’ll make a smaller version of it to throw it in our prize box at work. I know the kids will love it, especially if I let them choose the colors. I wonder if I can do a mini version as an iPhone case. Hmmm….

I am not affiliated with any websites nor do I make any money from these sites. They are simply patterns I like or would like to try myself.