*Guest Post* - Heart "warming" Story

Happy Friday to all!  Today I have a guest post from Tristin about a group project she and several friends made as a gift - but I'll let her tell you about it...

First of all, thank you Jessica for having me as a guest today!  I've been a guest on Sew Homegrown before when I was writing for my previous blog, but I've now joined forces with my great pal Sharon on a new blog called Two Girls Being Crafty. 

Today I'm excited to share how 9 women with varying crafting skills came together to create a beautiful keepsake for a beautiful bride-to-be!  If you're a crafty gal with crafty friends, here's a fun group project you may want to try out sometime.

The granny square afghan was the brain-child of Jessica's Aunt Gabi (with whom Sharon and I attend church).  She thought it would be a fun idea for some of the ladies of our congregation to get together to make a special gift for our preacher and his wife-to-be as a wedding gift.  Pretty smart lady, huh?

So, a group formed and we gathered weekly to learn how to crochet.  There were 9 women who worked on the afghan and of the 9, 6 were rookies who had never even touched a crochet hook.  The women who were proficient in the skill educated the newbies (including my blog-mate Sharon and I) in the art of crochet.  Thinking back to the first gathering, I'm sure we looked pretty comical.  We didn't "get it", we were frustrated, and the yarn wasn't the only thing that needed a tension adjustment (that's crochet humor).

If you're interested in making a classic granny square like we learned how to, the Purl Bee has a wonderful tutorial.  It's very similar to the pattern we used and it has lots of helpful pictures.

The group of us shared laughs, meals, frustrations, and more laughs.  We grew closer together, and I think that's what made the project such a neat and memorable one.

With all of us sharing the cost and the labor, the project was not such a daunting undertaking.  If you're looking for a fun way to make a memorable gift for someone, I'd suggest doing a similar project.  Or how about a good old-fashioned quilting bee?  Wouldn't it be neat if a group of cousins got together to make an afghan for grandparents?

Lessons learned? 

It's important to all be on the same page.  Had we all gone our separate ways and crocheted with varying tensions and yarns, the project could have been a disaster.  Getting together to make sure our squares were consistent and very close in size was imperative for the fruition of this project (and group emails helped, too!).  It also kept the project fun. 

Having a group leader like Gabi made a difference too.  Someone has to be the final authority in order to keep a project like this organized and to make it a success. 

The project was a hit!  The bride-to-be loved the afghan and I am sure it will be treasured in her family for years to come!

As a group, we've created strong a bond, and have all gone on to really enjoy the therapeutic qualities of crochet.  Pretty awesome, huh?

The final outcome was so exciting for all of us to see.  Let's check it out again:

Each square is unique and when you put all of those unique squares together a fabulous afghan is created.  Each of the nine women involved brought something unique to the group, and together we were capable of much.  Who knew a simple afghan could be more than just a blanket?

thanks Tristin - isn't that a cool idea?  Hope you're inspired like I was by that story.  

Stay warm and cozy this weekend.

xo,

jessica