Thursday, June 07, 2007

Ta-da!

Another finished object that has been almost-finished for a couple of months: my big crocheted blanket. A couple of evenings ago, I added a few more double-crochet rows and then crocheted a border around the whole thing (2 rows of single crochet). All done!


I haven't measured it, but having Bill hold it up gives a sense of scale. (It looks almost square in the photo, but that's just because it's heavy; it's quite definitely rectangular.) It's not big enough for the queen-size bed, but it's plenty big to keep two people warm on the couch, which had been my intent.

I won't list every (worsted weight) yarn I used, but there are 25 different colours and 125 rows of double crochet. Most were leftovers -- from this sweater, this sweater, and this scarf, for example, plus my ripped-out turtleneck shrug. Others were leftovers, but not mine; Nicole and Jenny each sent a selection of wool in balls of various sizes for this project. I also bought yarn for this blanket, including a a ball of Marra and a ball of Warani for their alpaca content (next fantasy project: Warani bodysuit), and a skein of O-Wool just to see how it felt (good, a little grabby). There was no formula for colour use -- I just made sure that each new colour looked good next to the previous row. The border is a very dark green Galway Heather, which I'd actually bought thinking it was dark gray.


The original inspiration was Bella Dia's Vintage Vertical Stripe Crocheted Blanket pattern. I had never crocheted anything in my life, but her instructions were clear and easy to follow. (She chained 250 for her foundation row; I chained 175.) I really enjoyed making this. Now I'll put it away until the fall, when I'll be very happy to snuggle under it.

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! It's beautiful. I feel a little like I have just finished a big crochet blanket, too.

shannon said...

weren't you going to make mooky a smaller version? :)

it's gorgeous!!

Andrea said...

Awesome, good job!

Anonymous said...

it's awesome. :)

Frieda said...

Beautiful ! Congratulations on finishing it . I'd love to make one , but just the thought of all those ends to sew in gives me a headache - or is there some little trick to avoid them ?

Anonymous said...

I LOVE IT. It's soooo cool.

Veronique said...

Done already?! Wow. I love all the colors you used :)

LaurieM said...

Congratulations! It's lovely. It has a definite pinkish-purpley cast to it, doesn't it?

vanessa said...

looks great!

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful! It was my original inspiration when i went out and bought a crochet hook. still haven't done anything yet, but it's one step in the right direction.

Anonymous said...

I'm so excited that you tried the pattern and how beautiful it came out!! Very impressive too that you have never crocheted before - congratulations!!

goodkarma said...

I love the bright, happy colors you used.

This blanket reminds me of the acrylic crocheted afghans my mom used to make when I was a kid in the late 70s/early 80s. You know, lots of Red Heart in lovely shades of brown and variegated brown and yellow and other attractive things like that. I still love them because they're cozy and handmade by my mom!

Anonymous said...

That's some serious crochet - I'm impressed!

Ellen said...

Alison - It is so beautiful, it almost makes me want to crochet something. The colors are great; they look like the Mission Falls 1824 palette.

Anonymous said...

Wow...the blanket looks great! I'll admit, when I saw the smaller in progress photos I thought the colours were a little crazy, but altogether the finished product looks amazing! Congrats!
Heather

meg said...

it's fab. i absolutely love it.

La Cabeza Grande said...

Outstanding! Hopefully, this will not be your last foray into the land of the hook :o)

Nadia said...

What a happy rainbow!

Anonymous said...

That's noice! I could really use a blanket like that. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a cold weather warning to sheep cockies here. Cold winds are blowing up from Antarctica and across the desert. Brr! It could be Canada!

Unknown said...

That looks great! So colorful and happy. It'll be perfect for fall TV watching! Or knitting, of course.

Terhi said...

Wow, gorgeous! Love it! :-)

knittingphilistine said...

LOVE! And I bet your stash drawer is nice and tidy, too.

spajonas said...

it's fantastic! congrats!

Stacey said...

what a great colorful blanket! that will be perfect for sunggling under!

Anonymous said...

omg it's huge! wow! i'm deeply impressed. and i want one, too!

Chris said...

Um, wow - I love it!

Anonymous said...

Pretty cool!

Anonymous said...

hey lady! that looks great. perfect for fall time in montreal :)

Alison said...

Looks awesome! I love striped, crocheted blankets. :)

Anonymous said...

awesome blanket!

jen s.

Anonymous said...

Amazingly beautiful! What a project!

Anonymous said...

It's lovely. And now in my queue. I love projects for my scraps!

Anonymous said...

Wow! That came out cool! Amazing how random colors look so great together. Nice job, you definitely have crochet stamina.

Lolly said...

It is so fabulous! I just love all of the colors and the stripes. Your crochet looks great... it makes me think that I cold do this too, even with no crochet experience :)

Yarnsticksbooks said...

I love it!!! My leftovers are looking at me now.

Anonymous said...

It's gorgeous! If only I had the attention span for something like that.

Anonymous said...

Its beautiful--and cozy looking!

Tandi said...

Gorgeous blanket! It turned out so nice. I'm working on one too trying to bust some stash.

KnittenKnots said...

What a great blanket! Perfect for TV watchin on the couch... :-)