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Well we're back from taking Tom to university in Portsmouth. Its been quite a hectic weekend and I confess to very contrasting emotions about it- it is the right time for him to leave and move on so in a way I'm not sad, but I'm also a mum so I'm worrying about him all the time... gosh I hope I get past that stage quick! I have to keep busy to help forget ... cooking, crochet and blogging here I come...


I've been asked a few questions about the quantities of yarn I use to make my hexagon grannies so I've got my best maths head on and worked out a few things. 

 Firstly my Field of Flowers granny; 79 four round hexagons weighed 380g. This is with a fairly cheap acrylic wool blend- I'm not too worried that wool is softer (but then I'm the sort of person who doesn't use fabric softener in my wash as I don't really see much difference). I also use a 4mm hook with double knit wool. As I used wool from my stash I didn't buy anything to make this granny. I reckon on doing another 18 hexagons which will be another two rows. This will give a blanket that fits from lap to floor for one person - I may of course keep going and make it larger so two can snuggle under it- I still have plenty of left over wool- that will depend on how I feel about it... I make decisions with a very emotional viewpoint, ie I do what feels right for me... the best thing about doing grannies is that you can make the blanket as small or big as you like- mine mostly turn out about the size that covers my lap nicely when  I sit and watch TV so sizing them involves simply laying them over me and adding more until I'm happy with the size!


I took six complementary colours of wool with me to Portsmouth so I could crochet on the way. I've done 40 hexagons to round 3 already and really love these colours. I intend to try and make each one different. If I've worked it out right this means I can do 120 different hexagons. 


The maths part now- 40 hexagons to row 3 weighed 105g. So my six 100g balls of wool should be able to make around 240 hexagons. I plan to do row 4 in white to join the hexagons. Based on the Flowers granny 40 hexagons to round 4 is about 190g so for 40 hexagons round 4 alone would need around about 85g of wool. (If you've spotted a mistake in my maths I don't mind if you gloat quietly!) I bought 1200g of white not long ago so I've plenty and will probably do a picot edge when I'm done. 


This one is a bit special because of the link to Tom leaving- I've already called it Strands. The six colours either represent the strands of my family-the five of us plus us a whole... the strands are the way we all interact and mix in multiple ways...


or the strands of my life; wife, mother, woman, person, crafter, worker... interwined with each other...


or the stages of my life; baby, child, teenager, independent young adult, parent, independent adult.


All the strands weave in and out of each other, making the myriad colours and patterns of life.


So philosophical... must be to do with all the change in my life at the moment...


Oh and by the way, tonight I burnt the tip of my right index finger whilst cooking tea so I'm not actually sure if I can crochet today- won't stop me trying though!


So until next time
Gillian