thank you so much - I haven't crocheted in years but have been wanting to do something creative lately and this looks like the perfect thing!!
Tabitha @ http://www.fromsingletomarried.com

:-)

Thanks Ohdeedoh! This one would be perfect in my daughter's room...

Okay, the afghan pictured is not the Granny as I know it, or as that pattern describes. It's almost an octagon. Jill in the Flickr pool has something similar that she got (free) from lionbrand.com called 'Traditional Granny Square.' I have yet to find one just like this, and I've looked at a *lot* of patterns. That flickr pool is a trip!

Whatever pattern you choose you are certain to make a lovely afghan, and most of the Granny variations are simple enough for beginners. I like squares because they offer quick gratification but you can eventually make huge projects with them.

I've tried doing granny square blankets before and I always went back to knitting... crocheting seems to be very picky about the tension, and I kept ending up with the same yarn and hook and squares that weren't close enough in size to assemble well. Which is sad, they're so easy otherwise, and squares make very good portable craft projects.

I think that the shape is primarily determined by the number of shells around the original loop and how big they are. I wish this was a bigger picture to see exactly how they start these off... it's almost more of a granny flower than a granny square, and the effect is very nice.

I've had the opposite experience as srtussing - crocheting seems so forgiving, where as my knit creations are all too tight and misshapen! I still believe I will one day be able to do both, though!

Here's a resource for granny-square inspiration - I went out here weekly when creating my first granny-square afghan:
http://www.grannyalong.blogspot.com/
And the book, Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs is wonderful, once you get the hang of crochet: http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Square-Crochet-Motifs-unexpected/dp/1603420398/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231784296&sr=8-1

The afghan in this post is beautiful, and such a great way to use up all your leftover half-skiens of yarn. Adding to my project list now.

Or, you could just buy one of the millions of granny-square afghans on eBay for around $30.

Thanks for the links, brandemt... I, too, have better luck with tension crocheting than knitting, though eventually I learned both... I think part of it depends on which you learn to do first.

But Lisa... it wouldn't be as fun! Or customizable. And it wouldn't use up all the leftover yarn from the other junk I make.

I have made this blanket for my cousin. I have this blanket listed on my etsy shop as a custom design where you can pick your colors and size. You can also choose the fiber (wool alpaca, cotton, or acrylic).

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20181129

could you pls list a source for the above pictured crochet blanket (ivory multicolor granny square)- i have fallen in love & can't rest until i have it!!!!!!!!!!

The instructions posted are not for the "granny square" blanket pictured! The instructions are for a traditional granny square. You could try hunting on Ravelry for a similar pattern.

Okay, I looked it up on Ravelry. This pattern is Lion Brand's "Traditional Granny Blanket." You should be able to find the pattern on their website, here: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/voktg-blanket.html?noImages=

I also think the Lion Brand "Baby Ripple Afghan" is really nice too: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/70649AD.html

Just looked on Yvonne's blog (Yvestown), and here are the instructions she gives for the above blanket:

http://www.yvestown.com/archives/making_things/

Yvonne has moved things around; here is the post on the blanket:

http://www.yvestown.com/archive/2009/11/how-to-crochet-a-blanket-part-1.html

The actual pattern is this one:

http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/copenhagen-pillow

It is made in Makoma's "Cocktail", which is a dutch brand, 50% cotton and 50% acrylic:

http://www.wolmarkt.nl/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=cocktail&sort=2a&page=1

I have a crochet block book called "200 Crochet Blocks for blankets, throws, and afghans" by Jan Eaton. It has every cute square you could ever imagine with great color patterns and different combination designs. I originally borrowed it from my local library, but loved it so much I ordered myself a copy. I've even used some of the squares that are circular in the middle to make hats with matching scarves, etc. Love this book.