I've mentioned a couple of times here that my "Spring" crochet blanket is complete - named by one of the comments in a much earlier blog post for its spring-like colours, and the name just stuck - but other than a glimpse I hadn't shown any photos. So today I am, I also said previously that it doesn't match the bedding currently on the bed, and you can see it doesn't, but I don't really mind. It goes with the colour scheme of the room, and more importantly it is finished, ends sewn in and everything.
And I'm rather proud of it. This is my first crochet project, and given that I taught myself last autumn, and the blanket includes my very first granny square ever - it's a pale yellow one - I'm pleased with how it turned out.
I quickly got bored of plain granny squares though in the thirst to learn more and experiment with this new-to-me craft and so the idea of the 'pattern' was born. I decided to try different squares to test myself, some I liked and enjoyed making and others I didn't; some I adapted part-way through, especially if I found the pattern too dull, or if I went wrong (more likely!)
And so it grew, but I was keen to move onto the many other projects I had lined up, so to add variation I decided that I needed one larger square in all of the wools I was using which would help it grow quicker, and give the patchwork look I was after. And I reverted to plain granny squares to get it done. With enough squares completed and a layout decided - remember I used the bed and photographed it so I didn't forget - I started to join it together, first adding a round of white around each square to give some uniformity, joining with the granny square stitch.
I learnt many stitches, the composition of squares which I know will help in future projects and that variegated yarn works so much better in crochet than it does in knitting somehow. I've always liked the variegated wool, but not so much when knitted, now my love is rekindled, although it might be on hold for a bit as I've already several projects that I have the wool for, including the Kalevala which was the blanket that started this journey (and is still not started).
So, with the Spring blanket complete, what next?
Well apart from the two other projects on the go, one is a square a week in muted colours that I'm behind on in the number of weeks and the other is a lunchtime project that lives in my desk. I rarely get to do this, that I should do more of it really, I decided I needed to start another of the projects I already have planned.
I wasn't sure which but then I remembered I'd already done some of the groundwork for the Vintage Sweetheart blanket by Cherry Heart which was serialised in Crochet Now. The original colour-way of the blanket is great, but not very me. I'm much more of a bright colour person and so I decided to ramp it up a bit with my own colours. They're not too far away from the original, but they do have a bit more of a pop.
As well as creating my own colour chart - as I'm bound to forget at some point which colour is what - I've also listed which squares are in which section, so I can take a slightly different approach to making it. I'm starting with the Granny Jean square and last night made four of them for three separate sections. I'll need to work out how to label them so I don't get them muddled up and right now the simplest thing I can think of is to put each section’s squares into a separate bag. Simple is good!
They're quite bright though aren't they? And I'm already pleased with them. These are a variation on the granny square, but use the V stitch instead of the more traditional approach. MOH noticed the new project last night, asked what it was and then enquiries if I was expecting a cold winter, what with it being another blanket.
It’s for another room I told him, but I hadn’t worked out which. Not that I shared that last bit, of course. However this morning as I was photographing the new squares, I think I found its new home:
What do you think?!
