Salutations!

It's starting to get a little chilly out there, right? Awhile back I wrote up a free pattern to make this chunky earflap hat. If you want to check it out, there's a link in the bio.

It's fall, and you know what that means??

CHRISTMAS!!!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE fall and Halloween and Thanksgiving. I have no desire to rush any of the gloriousness that is October and November.

But--in my experience, a little planning for Christmas now makes for a more serene and enjoyable time in December.

If your planning involves Christmas Stockings for yourself or your loved ones, we've got a bunch for you to choose from over at salutationscrochet.etsy.com 🙂

I'm currently spending a few days with my parents in the home where I grew up, and found that my mom had put this blanket on the bed. Looking at it brings back quite a few memories.

If my memory is correct, this is the second crochet project I ever finished in my life. My first (a poncho) took four years (lots of stops and starts there), and then I started this in high school.

I learned to crochet mostly by following instructions in the crochet section of my mom's copy of "The Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework", interspersed with coaching from my mom when I got lost.

This blanket was made before I learned how to follow a pattern, using skeins of yarn that I found for free or on sale. There was a lot of experimentation, and I obviously still had a lot to learn about counting stitches and making sure each row had the same number of them. But, I like looking at this blanket. It tells a story that still goes on. I think it will be a story with a happy ending.

I know it definitely has a happy middle. 😊🧶