We would like to introduce our new baby boy to our YARNutopia community. There are NO words to express how much we are in love with this precious little peanut and how it feels to be first time parents; so instead of doing that at this time, we ask you to please enjoy these exclusive beautiful photos – many of which are being shared here for the very first time.
He arrived a little earlier than expected, and although nothing about his delivery was easy, in the end, holding him in our arms was so worth it! Oh. MY. Gosh. THE LOVE!
Nate and I are overwhelmed with joy and want to share our happiness with our online family community. As soon as I am feeling better, I will write a little more about this entire experience in detail!
So many people tried to tell us how this would feel. NOTHING compares to the real thing. NOTHING!! WE ARE SO IN LOVE WITH HIM!
Name: Nasir Nathan
Born June 13th, 2019 at 12:15pm
Weight: 6 lbs, 12 oz.
Length: 18.9 inches
Things we observed so far: He has his Daddy’s face and wavy dark hair, but he has Mommy’s nose and dimples. He has long fingers like Mommy but Daddy’s toes lol. As we continue to discover one another, we look forward to finding more of these amazing connections. It is the most profound feeling ever to meet this tiny human, see pieces of ourselves in him, and know that we made him!
I am often asked, “How did you learn to crochet”? My go to answer has always been the same, my mom gave me a skein of yarn and a hook during one of my hospital stays and from there, with her help and the help of other YouTube and internet crochet artists, I learned to hone my skills. If I wanted to dig deeper into this question, I would say that maybe, just maybe, this fine art of crochet is part of my early genetics and ancestry!
A family history lesson
When I was young, I had a class assignment to write about my genealogy. I remember at that time, my paternal grandparents were visiting us in the United States from Lahore, Pakistan. I recall sitting with my grandfather as he shared with me the tales of our family members and generations before me. He had instilled in me a deep appreciation for our rich family heritage and we often conversed about our family lineage and how steeped in history our family roots ran. He shared things like in his village of Jalalpur Jattan, which is now in Pakistan (before the split of Pakistan and India), my great-grandfather Dr. Imam Ud Din (Born in the 1870s) came from a long line of weavers and tapestry artists; their skills were sought after by all the villagers and beyond.
They made textiles, tapestry, and blankets made from weaving wool called thussas. Several other family members were also gifted in this craft. To this day, our village and family are recognized for their legendary skill. Along with my paternal great grandparents, many other family members were also very skilled in sewing, crochet, and knitting. These fiber art talents were passed on from generation to generation.
Here is a photo of my Great Grandparents:
This is another vintage photo of one of my family members as she works on a beautiful tapestry piece:
This is my Great Aunt who was known for her exceptional quilting skills:
My dad has mentioned often how wonderfully gifted his sisters are in these areas as well. I even found photos of my great grandfather weaving together the ropes on an outdoor lounge bed called a charpai. He even took time out of his busy life as a doctor to participate in this activity.
Coupled with the fact that my paternal side of our family was so gifted, on my maternal side of the family, my great grandmother Rose also had an incredible talent for crochet which is carried over through my mom and Aunt Gail, it was easy to deduce that I possibly inherited a wee bit of their skills. It is fun to imagine that I could be the bearer of these gifts and hope to continue to pass these talents on, not only here in this global arena, but to my own children someday. I am thankful to be a part of such talent on both my paternal and maternal sides of my family!
Centuries old
I have read that crochet has been around since the early 16th century and some proclaim even earlier. This had me thinking of the earliest history of crochet and how many generations ago these skills were truly used for survival. I found an interesting blog on the Crochet Guild of America Website giving insight into the history of this craft.
We have all learned from someone or somewhere. Whether this art-form was passed on to us from generations that came before us, or if we learned from the latest technology provided to us from online crochet artists or teachers, it continues to survive and thrive. I have deep respect for those who came before us that created such remarkable pieces of crochet artistry without the help of YouTube or Ravelry yet. I thank my lucky stars for having those resources today! It is truly remarkable that after all these years, decades, and centuries that the love for crochet is never-ending! Knowing my personal history, I believe these skills have been woven into my DNA.
Where did your love of crochet come from? Who was your first teacher? Share in the comments section!!
It’s my birthday! I created this Birthday Wish Granny Square to add to our 365 Days of Granny Squares project. It uses variety of crochet stitches to create an interesting design! I hope you enjoy making your square!
A couple disclaimers before you start: Be sure to check your tension and use the correct size hook for your square. I demonstrate with an H-5.00mm crochet hook in the video tutorial, but you can make yours bigger or smaller by using a bigger or smaller hook. Also, if yours turns out wonky when you are finished, you may need to block this square to make it nice and flat.
Watch this video to learn how to make this square:
**You can always contact me via Facebook if you have any problems with the pattern. I am happy to help if you have any questions along the way.
***You can sell anything you make from my patterns, please just link back to my website YARNutopia.com. Thank you!
Teacher: Nadia Fuad
Video and Editing: Fuad Azmat (My Daddy)
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Pattern:
Designed by Nadia Fuad You *may* sell items made from my pattern, but please reference my website YARNutopia.com.
Please do not copy, sell, and/or post this pattern and claim it as your own.
NOTES:
-You can use a smaller or larger hook to make this square depending on your tension. I wouldn’t use anything larger than an I-5.5mm Crochet Hook though.
-The finished square measures 7 inches (18 cm)
-This square is worked from the center outward
Special stitches:
Ch(s): chain(s)
YO: Yarn Over
St(s): Stitch(es)
Sl st: slip stitch
SK: Skip
SC: Single Crochet
HDC: Half-Double Crochet
DC: Double Crochet
Beg. Popcorn: Ch up 3, 4DC in same sp, remove hook, put hook in ch up 3, put loop back on hook, pull through and pull tight.
Popcorn: 5DC in same sp, remove hook, put hook in 1st dc of grouping, put loop back on hook, pull through and pull tight.
Picot: Ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook. Picot made.
Long DC: Double crochet in Picot of Petal
Pattern:
If you have any confusion or difficulty with reading this pattern, please watch the video tutorial to have visual instructions.
Ch 13
Rnd 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and across. (12)
Rnd 2: Work in BLO, Ch up 1, turn, Sc across
Rnd 3: Work in FLO Ch 1, turn, SC across
Rnd 4: Repeat row 2, fasten off, weave in ends.
Rnd 5: Sk 3 sts, Attach yarn in BLO of next st, ch 1, sc in same st and in next 5 sts, leaving last 3 sts unworked. (6 sts)
Rnd 6: Ch 1, turn, SC in FLO across. (6 sts)
Rnd 7: Ch 1, turn, Work in BLO, SC across. (6 sts)
Assembly: SC around cake (40 sts evenly) See video tutorial for specific stitches.
Rnd 8: (See video tutorial to learn how to do this round) In top right st of the top layer of cake: Ch 1, sc in same st, Ch 4, sk 4 sts, sc in next st, Ch 4, sk 2 sts, sc in next st, ch 4, sk 3 sts, sc in next st, ch 4, sk 3 sts, sc in next st, [ch 4, sk 2 sts, sc in next st] 5 times, ch 4, sk 3 sts, sc in next st, ch 4, sk 2 sts, sc in next st, ch 4, sk last sts, sl st to 1st sc.
Rnd 9: Sl st in ch 4 sp, ch 1, SC in same sp, *Ch 4, SC in next ch sp, repeat from * around. Sl st to beg sc
Rnd 10: Sl st in ch 4 sp, Ch up 3 (counts as DC), 3 DC in same sp, *[4 DC, ch 2, 4 DC] in next sp, 4 DC in next 2 ch sps, repeat from * around. Sl st to beg. ch up 3.
Rnd 11: DC in each st around, [2dc, ch 2, 2dc] in corners. Fasten off
Weave in all ends.
Frilly siding:
Turn square upside down,
Working in front loops of bottom layer of cake:
Sc in 1st st, *ch 3, sc in next st, repeat from * across. Fasten off, weave in ends.
Candle:
Row 1: Attach yarn to edge round on top center of cake, ch up 1, sc in same st and next st
Row 2, Ch 1, turn, SC in 2 sts
Fasten off, weave in ends.
With Yellow, attach yarn to st, ch 3, sl st in next st, fasten off, weave in ends.
Enjoy!!
This post contains affiliate links, which I may be compensated for when you make a purchase. That means if you click on any link and buy from the linked websites, I will receive a small percentage of the value of your order. The amount you pay is not changed. Thank you for all your support in clicking the links in my blog!! You all are so amazing!! ~Nadia
