I have learnt ...

One new Square pattern - bobble circle and one new crochet stitch - the double treble, from my favourite teacher Sarah Jayne over at Bella Coco. The bobble circle tutorial can be found here and how to turn it into a square (using the double treble stitch) can be found here.

Although she is turning a different centrepiece into a square, the same principle applies. Here is my first and second attempt (one piece):

I used a 4mm crochet hook for the white centre (first attempt went well) but the outside magenta was too stretchy using the 4mm, so I unravelled it and dropped down to a 3.5mm hook (second attempt) and I think it looks and feels much better. I also unravelled it before this as I had started to put the magenta border onto the wrong side of the bobble circle.

Having only attempted solid granny squares (plus joining and adding a border to them), for the last two years, I am as pleased as punch to have learnt something new.

So then, what will I be making - something similar to one of these.

It will have to be this style as I am nowhere near proficient enough to tackle anything other than squares for the foreseeable future! I have a few similar colours to make this garment but it might not be ready until next winter (2018), we shall see.