Do you remember back in May when I went on my Epic Yarn Hunt and returned with 9 balls of Stylecraft Special DK?
It’s been a while but I am finally ready to reveal to you the SECRET PROJECT! It was a necessary secret because it was in fact a birthday present granny square blanket for my sister Rachel’s 20th birthday – and she reads my blog! So I’m sorry for all the secrecy but I think it would have spoiled it for her if I’d posted it on here before I gave it to her.
I used seven different colours of yarn; I used less than a whole ball of the white, yellow, purple, blue and green and almost three balls of the red. Not bad going really.
It was a bit of a rush to get it finished in the end, despite the fact that I wasn’t due to see her until a week after her birthday I still had to get up early to finish the border before work and then I took it with me to work and trimmed all the ends at my desk. (When we go visiting family we travel straight after work you see.)
This is my desk at work, complete with blanket.
I chose to do one round of granny edging, followed by one round of UK treble stitches into every stitch (these were both in red as you can see) and then to finish it off I used the white yarn and did one round of half treble crochet into each stitch. It didn’t look finished at all until I put the white on it and once again I was absolutely amazed at how one round of edging can completely transform a blanket.
Then of course I had to work all day, but I kept the blanket on my work windowsill and sneaked some sneaky squooshes of the blanket throughout the day.
… and again on the train to meet Andy:
Then, after a loooooong motorway drive we arrived home and I was able to give the blanket to Rachel, FINALLY. I’ve loved working on it but boy, sometimes when working on a project that is not for me I find it hard to make it to the end!
Anyway enough chatter, how about some blanket photos eh?
As you can see, I didn’t block this blanket. Come on, when have I EVER blocked anything? I know it’s a bit wibbly and a bit bulgy but I’m a) lazy, b) not endowed with any kind of blocking space and c) I only finished it on the morning I gave it too her. Not to mention I’m lazy. Oh and the colours look washed out here because the sun was so bright when I took the photos but really, the colours are most acurate in the first photo of this post.
(Shortly after taking these photos I realised that the recently cut grass had dried and left bits all over the lawn so I spent the next ten minutes shaking the damn blanket and picking all the chuffing grass off it. Folks, check your lawn before putting blankets on it, hahaha)
The colour placing was mostly random, but I made sure that I never had the same colour in the same position in adjoining squares. For example, if the first round on a square was green, none of the squares touching it could have green as their first round either. It’s not my usual colours but I wanted it to be a bit more vintagey looking and I think I acheived that. Either way, Rachel loved it and that’s all that matters really. Happy Birthday Rachel :-)
EDIT: I tracked down all of the yarn labels! Colours used as follows:
1302 “Denim”
1020 “Lemon”
1065 “Meadow”
1123 “Claret”
1080 “Pale Rose”
1005 “Cream”
1277 “Violet”
wow the blanket is lovely – i love the squares that end in white – the corners look like little white hearts! well done on getting it finished on time!
What a fantastic vintagey blanket. Looks great in the photos despite what you say about the light. It must have taken you hours to complete. I bet your sister will treasure it for years to come. Heres to crochet!!!
Have a good week!! x
Ooooooh I LOVE it. What fab colours. Well done!
looks fab hun x
Treble, half treble thingymebobs – it’s all foreign to me. I’ll never get my head around it.
Of course your sis loves it – it’s fab-u-lous dharling.
Well done.
Jill x
What a fantastic gift! I’d be delighted to been given something made with so much love!!!
It was worth the wait -really gorgeous. Now one more indecision to make with my Stylecraft! By the way I still want to do the Straight Ripple!
Oooh, lovin the colors, nice blanket it looks very inviting to snuggle into as we are in the middle of winter here.
Sandi
Ha I LOVES it! That red is amazing. That white border really does make it look ‘finished’ too. I’m sure your sister loved it.
Also I’m so pleased by what you said about blocking. Truth be told I’ve been holding off posting pictures of my blanket on the blog because I didn’t do the sacred blocking but I just have no space or means of doing it. RIGHT. I’m going to take pictures of it this evening and post about it tonight!
Gorgeous!!! and what a monster job! Well done, I bet your sister loved it! I love the way the white around the edge just finished it perfectly :-)
Oooohhhh! It’s lovely! I’m sure your sister loved it.
really pretty! – well done to get it finished in time
It is a lovely blanket!! I love the red!
Well done for getting it finished in time – despite having to pick out bits of grass lol
Oh, it’s gorgeous! Red is my favorite color, anyway, so I ADORE this.
Don’t fret – the wonkiness will settle down after your sis washes and dries it. That’s what happens to every blanket I’ve ever crocheted.
Thanks for the great pics. :)
Your stitches are very even. I don’t often come across someone who can make double crochets so well when making a granny square. Well done! :)
that is such a lovely vintage blanket – i am making one for a friend of mine, i so love making them. What colours have you used in this blanket, as i would really like to make one like it. I hope your sister likes it.
Hi! Love your new blanket for your sis.
You have solved my problem of how to do my Daughters and parteners blanket for Christmas.Their colours will be copper, mocca, meadow,
camel,walnut and ? ? in Stylecraft.
My questions are ..what size hook did you use?
did you join as you did the second row of granny ?
Thanks
Audra
Love, love, love it. It’s turned out very nicely. Can’t wait to see what you are up to next. Great color choices.
T.G.B. – xoxoxo
Hi Heather
Wow it looks stunning
I would love to have a go at this colour way
Please let me know the stylecraft colours
Heather xx
could you tell me how you joined all those squares love the joining method, gorgeous
thank you very much for poutting the colours on the post, i never saw them.
I love this blanket! I was thinking of toning down my pallet to make a more vintage-style blanket next and this is wonderful inspiration! x
http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/4407532/post229759649/
I have no space to block out work & when I see how good it can look it made me feel sad. But not any more. Check out the link. Block as you go. Awesomely easy and a tidy way to keep your work. That reads like a commercial! It\’s not, it\’s just excitement at finding a way to do something that\’s both cheap and easy.