The Crochet for Kidney Research UK event now has it’s very own, unique, especially commissioned granny square featuring a smiling kidney! The pattern was designed by the very talented Carolina Guzman of One and Two Company.

Click on the picture below to view the PDF of the pattern. It’s cute isn’t it?

Back in August 2012 I blogged about hand towels that I embellished with crochet applique. I used a combination of two of One and Two Company’s designs – Cow Pig and Farm and The Tree The Houses and The Cloud. You can see the towels in this post. Knowing what Carolina is capable of, she was my first, and only choice, when I needed someone to design a kidney shape. Carolina didn’t disappoint. Not only did she design a crochet kidney applique shape, she also converted the shape into a granny square. Brilliant! She did all of this whilst submitting work to Design Wars 5, heavily pregnant and for free!

Carolina has 76 crochet patterns, and 86 crochet applique patterns on her website. This lady is a crochet design machine! She designs baskets, security blankets, garlands, rattles, and more. As for the applique – don’t get me started. Each and every one is just so cute damn cute: cars, rockets, reindeer, butterflies, snails on a branch, VW camper, penguins – there are just too many to mention. What I like most about Carolina’s work is her style, which comes through in each and every pattern. You can always spot a One and Two Company design. She has a colourful simplicity to her designs. You know exactly what it is, but it’s paired down and simplified so that it is easy to crochet without too much fuss. Her patterns are a breeze too – it’s written and charted so anyone can follow. I think One and Two Company designs and patterns are absolutely brilliant.

Here are three squares that I whipped up over the weekend. I had a great time playing around with the facial expressions of the kidney. *There’s a sentence I never thought I’d say*. I used this website for instructions on how to embroider the eyes, and this one for the mouth. This tutorial on doing a running stitch on crochet was also helpful. For the middle square I just did plain ole french knots for the eyes, but I think the embroidered eyes look better. What do you think?

Stephanie’s pattern shows three rows of shells, but to get my square to 15cm I added two more rounds. I used Vinni’s Colurs Nikkim in Dark Purple, Lilac, Violet and White.

If you make any Kidney Granny Squares, please share it on Carolina’s Ravelry Group here, and on the Crochet for Kidney Research UK Ravelry event page here.

I’m so excited about our blankets for dialysis patients! What do you think? Do you like the smiling kidneys?