This is a fun granny square and is really simple and you can make it any size. I can see this square being used in a contemporary granny square blanket with diagonal stripes or  any quilting patterns that are created with right angles.
I also got this square pattern from the book Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman. I haven’t decided how many squares of this pattern I will need.
I will see you later,
Karen
I love this embroidery that my Aunt completed. It hung in my Mom’s house for years and it is a lovely sampler piece of many different types of embroidery. I am in the process of re-framing it. My Aunt wanted to see some photos of it and sharing it with you seemed the best way.
This is just a gorgeous piece of needlework. It is so bright, happy and cheerful.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope all is well at your house.
Karen
Today’s granny is quick easy and little. Perfect for the sampler afghan. It only has three rows and measures about 2 inches across.
Here is the first one on the right and the second one on the left.
You can tell that I have improved and will probably frog the square on the right. I rarely read patterns right the first time. It is good to make mistakes and to try again. Â This square is also from the book Beyond the Square, Crochet motifs by Edie Eckman.
Today is July Fourth here. It is a big celebration of our Nation’s birth. A time to remember our freedoms are bought with a price. A chance to say Thank You to the people who protect our freedoms today and the generations that have protected our freedoms in the past.
Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for the time spent away from your family. Thank you for the pain you have suffered. Thank you for allowing my children the chance to be Americans.
Happy Birthday America!
Karen
Here is my next square. I added the border around the edge to make it easier to stitch together. I am going to try to sew it together as I go. Â We will see how that goes.
I am also going to try to use four of these in my sampler. So I need to stitch up the other three.  This square is also from Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs book by Edie Eckman. She has done such a great job of writing directions that I would look up the instructions in her book. Don’t you like the color combinations in this one? I do. I can’t wait to see what the other look like.
See you next week.
Karen
Here we are another Monday. I am running a goal check. This helps keep me on track and remind me that I AM reaching those goals and actually doing something!
Business goals:
 
The zig zag chevron stripe is finished. The one on top is started….and I have a granny striped started in my new yarns, and a sampler granny square afghan started.
Family goals:
Rather lofty goals aren’t they. I also have some personal ones that I have not added to this list.
Personal goals:
Well, those are my rather lofty goals. I hope that things get better and I get more organized at meeting my goals.
Things I/we accomplished that weren’t on my list of things to do!
I started cleaning and organizing my studio areas.We also moved the furniture around in this area and I need to finish organizing, pitching or donating items.  I have a lot of boxes left to go through but we are happy with the new arrangement of the room and how it is starting to come together.  I re-opened my Amazon.com shop by listing more books for sale. We did a quick check up on our budget and re-affirmed our money goals. I sat down with our calendar and checked dates and times of appointments as we missed some important things last week.
Talk to you later,
Karen
I enjoy the mindlessness of crocheting granny squares. I have long felt that I need to try some new squares. I have been intrigued by the sampler blankets that I have been seeing on Pinterest.
This pattern is taken from Beyond the square Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman.
I think I will use at least four of these in my crochet sampler blanket.
What are you doing new this week?
See you later,
Karen
I have included affiliate links to the book on Amazon. I will receive a small percentage of any sale.
My Grandma or Granny (Bethel) as we grand kids called her created quilts out of necessity. She had a large family and needed blankets. She was a part of a quilting group in her small town. I believe most of her quilts date from the 1940’s. Her quilts were made from the better parts of used clothing and some were quilts within a quilt in order to make use of all available materials. I believe that all of these quilts were sewn completely by hand. I know that they were quilted by hand. Having four kids myself, I am pretty sure that some of these were made in order to have something finished that she could look at everyday. Somehow that is important in the daily grind of dishes, meals, laundry and keeping a family running.
Should any of my family read this and want to add any information or if any information is wrong please send me an e-mail and I will fix it. She made many, many quilts and they were scattered among the 7 kids when she passed away so these are only the few that I was able to photograph.
Quilting was also a  chance for women to get out and see other women. These were often qulited as a group and offered a reason for the women to get out and socialize. It helped to build the community and fostered the friendships that women need. I am pretty sure that we need gatherings like this again. I am hearing about knitting groups and sewing groups and churches that have quilting groups. There are quilting guilds and sewing retreats and so women are reaching out again to build friendships.
Well, these are a just a few. I have others to share on another day.
Karen