Remember how when you were young one of the most terrible things you could be accused of is copying? Unless my interpretation of Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth is incorrect, copying is still an unforgivable sin on the playground. Fortunately for me, that is not the case anymore (unless I was going to say copy somebody and try to pass their idea off as my own. That is bad and should never be done!), because as I embark on my year of trying to use up my craft stash, I am relying heavily on the copying the talents of others to help me on my way.
I am a collector of tutorials. I am rather addicted to them. A vast majority of the blogs that I subscribe to are included in my collection of blogs to read because they are either heavy on tutorials or they aggregate tutorials from other blogs on a regular (and high volume) basis.
Every Monday until I run out (and lets face it--I'll never run out!) I plan on showcasing a tutorial or free patterns that I discovered on a blog or from somebody I actually know in real life. I don't mind being a copycat. In fact, I love taking people's ideas and making them my own in some small way.
This week I am showing you a project that I made on Valentine's day as I was laying on the couch with a nasty cold. It began the flurry of crocheting that I mentioned last week. This project falls firmly under the category of Granny Craft. I have no illusions that this is the coolest thing that I will ever make. In fact it might be laughably bad. Just don't tell Kaitlin, ok? She thinks I'm one cool mom for making this for her.
I used this free pattern from my favorite amigurumi pattern designer, Etsy seller and author of the blog Owlishly, Mia Zamora-Johnson. Mia published this pattern on her blog last year in time for Valentine's Day. Of course I bought the yarn, but I didn't make anything from it. This year I decided to get my act together and make those hearts already! After I had crocheted the three different sizes, I was trying to figure out what I would do with them. I decided to stitch the hearts together and make a chain at the top so that my kids could hang these on their doors. Originally (last year that is) I was going to make a bunch of these and make a garland of crocheted hearts for my mantel. I may still do that. Next year. Or I think it would be cute to make up a bunch of these and fill an apothecary jar with them. Or it would be cool to make some long strands of these and create a curtain in one of my archways. OK, that might be too much, but you can see how I get myself into trouble, can't you?
Like all of Mia's patterns, this pattern was very easy to follow. If you are an experienced crocheter, you should be able to finish all three of these hearts in a little over an hour.
A note, the granny craft aspect of this project, in my mind, has nothing to do with the pattern. The pattern is so adorable I couldn't forget about it. And believe me, that are plenty of tutorials tucked away in my tutorials bookmark folder that I have forgotten all about. The granny aspect of it is that I used Red Heart Super Saver yarn. Yuck! I will never buy that yard again. Never again. Ever. That yarn just gives me the creepy crawlies. It reminds me of a pair of baby booties I received when Kaitlin was born. I never used them. They were just too scratchy for my precious baby's soft feet! If you are a new crocheter you may be tempted to buy this yarn because it is cheap and because it's easy to find. Every big box store that sells yarn sells this stuff. Don't give in! Buy something nicer--at least a nicer acrylic yarn, or,better yet, a cotton/acrylic blend, like LionBrand's Cotton Ease) because it's cheaper than 100% natural fiber yarn, but still feels and looks great! Next year I will remake these hearts in better yarn. And I may just keep going. I have lots of ideas for them!
