granny hottie 2023
Hello friends,
I hope this finds you well.
It’s three degrees and raining here. Earlier this morning I’d expected to spend the day outside in the winter sunshine digging the last of the dahlias like I did yesterday, but now that the skies have opened up and it’s pouring down with rain, there’s no way. Cold I can handle, but cold and wet together are a deal breaker. So I’ve swapped my muddy clothes for some clean and dry ones, I’ve made a cup of tea, and here I am sitting with my laptop on my knee, determined to get this blog written and published today.
A couple of months ago our Jazzy moved to Melbourne. With a car and trailer filled with her belongings we drove down the highway listening to a playlist I’d originally made years ago to comfort myself when our Indi went overseas. As the car was filled with acoustic guitars and vocals I felt overcome with emotion. It was the end of an era in the story of our family, and at the same time it was the start of the rest of her life. Her independent, living in a share-house with her two best friends and two cats, new stage of life. I felt all the emotions at once. One moment we were laughing, the next I had tears rolling down my face. Her move felt timely and it felt appropriate, but also how on earth was it possible that our little blond-plaited, fairy-dressed, lolly -loving, Monopoly winning, dreamer was moving out of home?
Over the next few days my thoughts were with her constantly. I wondered about her routine, I scoured social media for clues of what she was up to, and I washed and folded the last bits of washing she’d left behind and left them on her bed in her empty room.
And then I decided to do what any good crafter would do and turn my emotions into stitches and make her a hot water bottle cozy.
First I gathered some random balls of wool from old projects that looked good together.
Then I bought a new/old basket off Facebook market place to keep them all in. I used to collect vintage baskets and definitely did not need another one. But when I saw that it came with two floral shelves that mean you can pack layers of stuff in your basket, I just couldn’t help myself. I can imagine a picnic with savoury on the bottom and sweet treats on top. Or art supplies on the bottom and books on top. Or clothes and underwear on the bottom and shoes on top. The options are endless and obviously too much fun for me to pass up.
It had been years since I’d picked up a crochet hook, so I decided on granny squares for simplicity.
Then I looked up the pattern I’d written way back in 2014 and started by crocheting 24 of them, three rounds each.
I spent hours in front of the fire letting muscle memory take control of my hands, while my mind wandered through time with my little girls.
I quickly finished it off with a picot edge one day when she’d been visiting to get some driving practice hours in, and was on her way home.
The first time I’d fitted the new hot water bottle I’d bought inside its new cozy was after I finished it, and I can see from these photos that I should have only crocheted one row around the border before joining the front and back instead of the two. It’s a bit baggy and not as tight fitting as I’d hoped it would be. I’m not sure if the bottle was smaller than the ones I usually get, or the hook I used bigger, but it’s easily fixable next time she comes to visit.
I miss that kid like crazy, and I’m glad she’s gone at the same time. It’s wonderful watching her and hearing stories of how she’s navigating the big wide world. It’s fun seeing her engaging in a new dynamic of friends and house-mates in the middle of things, rather than isolated on a farm in the forest. It’s interesting to see the challenges she comes up against, and the tools she utilises to solve them. It’s fascinating watching her face the big wide world unsheltered. Life is expensive, and chores are relentless, and other people have their own agendas. But also: parties and cafes and music and sharing clothes and bars and uni and living one minute away from the train station and not being told to pack away your mess all the time.
While I’m sitting here writing about her, she’s got friends from Perth staying with her, and I’m all the emotions all at once. I might need to crochet another granny hottie to comfort myself.
If you’d like to crochet a granny hottie the links to the pattern I wrote are below. Don’t get discouraged that it comes in so many parts, I separated them at the time so we could make it together as a crochet-along on my blog over a few weeks.
There are also so many great examples of different colour combinations and pattern ideas when you google granny hottie crochet.
And that’s it for me. I’m actually going to press publish on this post rather than let it sit in my drafts. Now that I’ve broken the drought I hope to be back really soon, I’ve got so much to tell you about books, other craft projects, my little studio renovation, our big kitchen renovation, the state of the winter garden, the animals, things I’m thinking about, plans we’re making…
Before you go tell me a little about you and what you’ve been making, or reading, or planting. Is it hot there or icy cold like here? Are you tempted to make a granny hottie with me?
See you next time!
Lots of love, Kate x
