Preparations

The new season of crochet workshops starts this Saturday. I don't know if it's a good thing that I used to be a teacher. The good side is that I keep trying to think of ways to make the learning easier; the bad thing is that I have to get everything ready beforehand. So far I've tinkered with the lessons, new photos (still rotten) and so on; on Thursday I can print them off and wind the yarn into neat balls. Friday I pack my bags ...

We're offering a choice for beginners: granny squares or back-and-forth. I've been experimenting with granny squares, as in what can you make with them. I already have a waistcoat and a pair of tiny earrings. So I've made a dog coat:

This will fit Fig; if I could get her to pose I'd show you, but she has no idea about standing still.

It really is a granny square with a few extra bits.

Then we have little bags, one a granny and the other straight:

And a cushion: small squares one side, one big one for the back:

Somewhere I found a heart made of a granny square. It's a Hungarian pattern, but it had a chart so I made one last night:

I'm going to play, now I know how it works, and see if I can reduce the size and keep the shape. If so, people on Saturday will have the choice of making one.

Goaded by Caroline, I'm making a simple book cover that anyone can make; decorated with some of my favourite gingham buttons. And then there's the afghan pattern she spotted in the Crochet Crowd's gallery ...

I really do like to have plenty to think about, and that's certainly true at the moment.