It might not be the hippest thing ever, but I just love granny squares! And, I think they make a great summer yarn craft - when it's too hot for knitting or crocheting larger items, make a few squares! So I've rounded up some granny square projects to show you how to make them and what you can do with them...

First, a couple basic square patterns. This one is by Linda Permann on Craftstylish:

And there's another basic pattern on the Purl Bee blog:

You can find tons of variations, like MaryEllen's Easy Daisy pattern, Bonnie Pierce's Posie, the Happy granny square by Torirot on crochetme, Multi Stitch Granny on Danya's Crochet, and the Sunburst square by Priscilla Hewitt. Here is a version of the Sunburst by arianamania on flickr:

Now to the projects! You can basically make granny squares into anything that can be made up of squares, of course. So bags are a great option, like this fabulous 2-sided one by Nannetta on craftster:

You can check out some other bags over on Craft Chi and Creative Reveries, and you can find free patterns for the Pucker Purse on The Purse Workshop and this awesomely bright one by dragyn_lover on crochetville:

I totally want to make a granny square hat! There's a pattern for a child's version by SpinaYarn on allfreecrafts.com, and Crafty Christina has a pattern for an adult size hat, using only granny squares all around and for the top:

Another obvious item to make out of squares is a scarf - just sew a bunch of them together in a strip and there ya go! Yarn Mafia blog has a tutorial, koahka42 on flickr made one in super happy bright colors with basic style squares, and I love this one by am.laberge on flickr, made with big squares of all different designs:

If you want something a little different, try making a Tortoise out of squares! Free pattern by Roman Sock, so cute!

And lastly, I absolutely love this pillow from an old book, posted by Vintage Chica:

I can't find free patterns for anything else, but I have seen people make granny squares into sweaters and skirts, pretty awesome! So, hook up some squares, and put them together into whatever you want them to be! Be creative and share your creations with us here!