Payton's ePortfolio

This week, I decided to put my skills to the test and use more than one color to make my granny square. I chose to use three colors; yellow, light blue, and dark blue. I stuck to the same technique I have used previously because I thought learning a new technique and using multiple colors may get a bit tricky. Since I was using the same technique, I started making the first part of the square. Once I got started and had something to work with, it got a bit difficult trying to figure out how to add the next color.
I used two different forms of tech tools to help me along this process. I started out by watching a YouTube video showing me how to add the next color. This video did help me out tremendously. It was easy to follow along as she went slowly through each step, and I could back it up and watch it again if I needed to. It took some time to get the hang of it and how to properly add the next color without accidentally unwinding the previous color but I am super proud of the outcome.

Here’s the YouTube Video I followed along with:

The next tech tool I used for this week was TikTok. I chose to use this app because it is an app I go on every day and it can be quite distracting. Since I am always on it, I thought it would be a great tool to help me with my crocheting. I found this awesome creator “wearekitters” and they had step by step tutorials on how to crochet from the beginning. I found a video on their account that showed how to make a granny square with three different colors. It was a step by step tutorial and it was very easy to follow.

Here’s the TikTok creator I learned from: @weareknitters and here’s is the TiKTok I learned from on her page

https://www.tiktok.com/@weareknitters/video/7362659515625524513?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

As I continue to make more granny squares, the technique I have been using is getting easier and easier to conquer and I am starting to make more than one granny square at a time. Instead of getting stuck in my phone for hours, I am now stuck on making granny squares for hours! As I am new and still learning, it takes me about two hours to make one granny square. This week I got four granny squares completed! I am hoping to get better and faster at making the squares so I will be able to get more done in a week. I am really proud of the progress I have made throughout my crocheting journey and I can’t wait till all my granny squares are done and I can start stitching them together to make a blanket.

For next week I am still deciding if I should just stick to these three colors or if I should add more colors or make more squares with different colors. What do you guys think?

For this week, I chose an online resource called “Crochet Coach”. This resource offers lessons, videos, tutorials and much more to beginners. It helped me to understand what hook size and size/weight of yarn I should be using as well as different patterns and techniques. I chose to stick with the same pattern I have started with but I did change up my yarn size and hook size, hoping eventually I’ll be able to go back to the smaller yarn and smaller hook size as I continue to grow throughout my crocheting journey. I found this site to be pretty handy and it had a lot of insight to help me navigate my way through crocheting and it did answer many of my questions I had. 

One thing I found really neat about this site is that it offered insight to “Mentally Preparing Yourself to Learn to Crochet”. This page talked about the struggles of crocheting and how it can be extremely frustrating when first learning. It talked about how to avoid these frustrations and to take breaks when you are getting over-stimulated and too frustrated to continue. It showed me that learning something new is difficult and comes with its struggles but it’s okay to struggle and it’s okay to not get it on your first couple attempts or try’s. I highly recommend this page if you are a beginner at crocheting like me, it really eases your mind and gives you the realization that you can do it, it just takes some time and patience. 

This blue granny square is what I had posted in my previous blog. I have now finished it with a few mistakes, struggles and frustrations along the way but I got it done! From Crochet Coach I learned that my yarn and hook size was too small for a beginner which contributed to many of my struggles. By this picture I am proud of how it looks but to complete this, it was beyond frustrating. 

Once I switched to a thicker yarn and bigger hook my struggles minimized but were still there. I find it very tricky to get the hang of a pattern and even though it is very repetitive I also seemed to forget what came next or second guessed myself on where I was at in the pattern or what stage of it I was at. Below are two granny squares, a red and yellow one where I used thicker yarn and a bigger hook to make. As they are not perfect and I still have so much more to learn, making these two were way easier, less frustrating and much faster than my first attempt at a granny square.  

Next week, I am going to continue making granny squares as I want to eventually have enough squares to stitch together and make a blanket but I am going to try out a new pattern or technique to make them. I might possibly even try and use multiple colours for one square! I am excited to see how much more I learn about crocheting as the weeks go on. 

Here’s the site if you wanted to check it out!

Crochet Coach – Beginner Lessons, Tutorials, Videos, Patterns

Crocheting turned out to be way harder than I expected it to be. I chose to learn from a video I found on YouTube and although the steps were easy to follow (most of the time) the crocheting part was a struggle to get a hold of and keep a steady pace. I started out with too thick of yarn and that’s where the struggle really began. I got in contact with my friend and she let me know which yarn and hook would be the best to crochet with as a beginner. Once I got all my stuff organized and ready to go, I started watching a step by step video on how to make a granny square. This process was frustrating and I did make mistakes along the way and had to undo and redo some parts of my tiny square. The technique of it was hard to grasp onto but it was very repetitive and I did start to catch onto the process of it. During the process of making my granny square, I learned that you have to keep count of the stitches to know when to do the next step. I kept losing track of where I was at and it took awhile to get back on track and figure out where I left off or what went wrong. My first granny square is a bit lopsided and is not a perfect square but it is something. I am hoping to make enough granny squares that I will be able to stitch together to make a baby blanket as my final product. I’m excited to see how the process will go and all the new things I will learn throughout my crocheting journey.

Here’s the YouTube video I followed: https://youtu.be/euqnRKNJaXo

For my learning project I decided to learn crocheting. I have always thought crocheting seemed to be fun, and a mind easing and stress relieving activity. I have no prior knowledge on crocheting and I hope I will have the patience to learn. I have never tried crocheting before but I am excited to learn what it is all about and learn what different things I can make. I talked to one of my friends about crocheting since she loves it and she recommended I start with granny squares. I am not too sure what I want to create for a bigger project but I was thinking just to start small and make a pot holder as my first creation. As I get more comfortable with crocheting, I am hoping to start making something bigger such as a baby blanket. 

Since I am a beginner, I will be focusing on the beginner stitches. My goal is to learn the basic stitches and put them to the test. I will learn these by watching step by step YouTube videos. I am planning on mainly using YouTube videos as my way of learning how to crochet but I may expand to different websites depending how I am grasping on to the concept of crocheting. As I have been researching crocheting I have already discovered the many different weights of yarn and different hook sizes. I will have to determine which ones will work best for me. 

I will also be getting some of my inspiration off of Pinterest to help guide me. I have done a bit of exploring already on Pinterest to see what granny squares look like and finding some ideas.

https://ca.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=one%20colour%20grannysqaures&rs=typed

I found a few patterns that I liked and a picture of a technique being used that I found pretty neat! As it’s the beginning, I am unsure on what specific technique or pattern I am wanting to try out so i will still be doing more exploring and determine what will work for me best. I do love the example of the multiple color granny square but since I am new to crocheting, I think I will just start with one solid color and hopefully advance to the use of multiple colors over the weeks!

I have high hopes for this learning journey and am excited to see what all I can do by the end of the semester and how my final product will turn out. Stay tuned!