During 2020 we’ve all been spending a lot more time at home which for many of us has meant more time to crochet! For me this has meant trying to use up some of my existing yarn stash, although admittedly there have been a few yarn purchases made online when I haven’t been able to resist the temptation.

I’ve only been making blankets and I prefer simple patterns (if I’m using one) although with granny squares and corner-to-corner projects once you’ve done one you don’t really need to follow a pattern. For me, the repetitive nature of the granny square or c2c is the best and easiest way for me to relax and switch off and this year, more than ever, it’s been important to have that outlet amidst all the coronavirus craziness and uncertainty.

People ask what I’m going to do with the blankets I’ve made, but I think I want to keep them – I think there’s something quite personal in the creativity of crochet and your reason for making things. There’s something quite therapeutic about looking back and knowing that I’ve started and finished these projects. I do occasionally make things as gifts for other people, usually baby blankets, but I don’t want to go down the route of selling what I crochet.

Apart from one of the blankets in the photo below, all of these have been started and finished this year – the majority during lockdown. Most of them have needed a colour change every row which has meant a lot of ends to sew in, but I’ve had plenty of time to deal with those!

At the moment I have two blankets in progress, one is a granny square to use up some red and pink yarn that I had leftover from other projects. The other is a c2c using some Sirdar aran variegated yarn that I saw in Hobbycraft and couldn’t resist. The bonus of this is that I can keep going without having to do colour changes.

With a ‘second wave’ of coronavirus on its way, and further lockdown restrictions on the horizon it looks like we’re going to continue to spend lots of time at home. I have two baby blankets yet to make, so at the rate I’m going I could be well into the double figures of completed crochet blankets in 2020!