Cozy Stripe Blanket Ta-Dah

It was Wednesday night around midnight. While the rest of my family was tucked in bed sleeping, I was perched on the edge of the sofa, butterflies in my stomach, the end in sight. I finished off the last round of the edge, darned in the last few ends, and I was finished. Excitedly, I laid my Cozy Stripe Blanket out on the living room floor, feeling my breath catch in my throat when I saw how beautiful it was. My Cozy Stripe Blanket was finished.

I began this blanket way back in January 2015. I worked on it diligently through the winter while the snow fell and the wind howled outside, took a little break during the summer as the gardening took more of my time and the weather turned warmer (which makes working on a large blanket while it covers my lap most uncomfortable) and then got back at it in earnest come the fall.

I had hoped to finish my blanket by Christmas - an image of myself curled up under my blanket in the glow of the Christmas tree lights had lodged itself in my mind - but after dealing with all the ends that I did not darn in as I went along, and running out of the yarn colors that I needed for the edge (major panic), that did not happen.

Finally, last week, I decided to get down to business and work the edge - a brilliant pattern, simple and perfect - and now my blanket is finished. And I absolutely love it!

But friends, as much as I love my blanket, I am also a little sad that it is finished. Working on this blanket was such a calming journey for me. It was always there on the edge of the sofa, waiting for me to pick it up and crochet a few rows. My blanket became a sort of fixture in my days, bringing me so much happiness when I was working on it, and when I knew it was sitting there waiting for me to work on it. Maybe this is why I was reluctant to get going on the edge and finish it up even though the additional yarn I ordered arrived in early January - because I didn't want 'working on my blanket' to be gone from my days? Does this seem completely crazy? For me, making a blanket really is a journey, and it does weave itself into my life, so I guess it makes sense that I am sad to see it end, though oh so happy at the gorgeous outcome.

Anyways, enough blabbering on, are you ready to see my Cozy Stripe Blanket:

Oh it is gorgeous, isn't it?

Colorful stripes of crochet make me so happy. I am really quite proud of this blanket.

It was a beautiful journey and I have a gorgeous blanket, I could not be happier.

(The pattern is available at Attic 24 - for the blanket and the edge)

I'm joining in the Winter Project Link Party at Thistlebear

When Will I Ever Learn?

"It is strongly suggested that you darn in your ends as you go along"

Sound advice that I regrettably did not heed.

I'm joining in the Winter Project Link Party at Thistlebear.   

Cozy Stripe Blanket Update

My cozy stripe blanket has taken up permanent residence on the ottoman in the living room. And I may have had a few complaints that there is no where for people to put their feet because "this blanket is in the way". I'm not sure why this is a problem....after all, just look at all those gorgeous stripes...and never mind where your feet are going to go.

Much crocheting on this beauty has been happening in the last little while and I am down to the last round of color changes.

Of course after I finish crocheting all the stripes (which I have loved doing, and suspect I may miss when they are all done) I still have to darn in about a million ends (when will I learn my lesson and darn in as I go?) and then do the border, so there is still work left to do.

My favorite thing right now, especially since it has gotten cold outside, is to cuddle up under my blanket while I am working on it. No doubt, this is going to be a cuddly blanket when it is finished.

I may not be finished by Christmas, as I was hoping, but the end is in sight, and in the meantime I have many happy crocheting hours to look forward to...

I'm joining in the Winter Project Link Party at Thistlebear. 

Cozy Stripe Blanket Update

My cozy stripe blanket has taken up permanent residence on the corner of the couch. I am back to working on it diligently after a bit of a slow down, and it is coming along quite nicely. As you can see it is very large....

and it will get larger still. There are many more rows to do (58) which means that when all is said and done, this blanket will be huge, perfect for cuddling up under.

Working up these stripes is so much fun, so long as I pay attention and don't miss stitches and then need to rip out several rows to correct my mistake.

The order of the colors still enchants me; colors that I would never consider putting beside each other, look incredible, making this blanket is an education in color.

Could I have this blanket finished by the end of the year? I hope so. It is a far way off, but there is a lot happening between now and then, so I feel this is a realistic goal. Yes, I'll work towards that...it is helpful to have a sort of end date in mind. 

In related crochet news, I was searching through my blog photos the other day, and was shocked to realize that I have not posted a completed crochet project once this entire year. Sure, I have been working on this blanket, but I can not believe that I have not made anything else in all this time. I'm thinking that summer will be the perfect time to remedy this; I can't take my blanket camping or on road trips (it is too big) so it is the perfect time for a smaller project. In fact, I just put the finishing touches on a little decoration I showed you a sneak peek of here and a proper ta-dah post is coming soon for that. 

My Crochet Slump

It pains me greatly to say this, but I was in a bit of a crochet slump for the last few months, not all that motivated to crochet.

I think it may have started when all the gardening work needed to get done. Hours hunched over in the sun is certainly exhausting, and there were many nights when I sat down to crochet my cozy stripe blanket and promptly fell asleep.

But things are entering the maintenance phase in the garden – daily watering and a little weed pulling – and I have been making my way back to my crochet.

I have been working on a few small projects, things that will be finished relatively quickly, as a way to fuel my excitement and provide a burst of motivation.

And I have set a few mini goals for myself with respect to my cozy stripe blanket....such as “get the violet row done today”..... which is also helping.

Hopefully I’ll have some crochet love to share with you soon. Other things took my time and energy for a while, but I'll always come back around to crochet.  

Cozy Stripe Blanket: The Half Way Point

I did it - I reached the half way point of my cozy stripe blanket.

I am really enjoying this blanket journey. I have the pattern completely figured out (no more mistakes resulting in a lot of ripping out) and I love seeing which color comes next. It is the perfect project for the way my days are at the moment - a simple pattern with immediate happy results that is easy to pick up, work on, and then put down. I try to spend a little time in the late afternoon (after I am home from work and the school run) crocheting a row or two until it is time to put down my hook and start dinner. After dinner, so long as I am not too tired, I pick up my hook again and crochet a few more rows. A little at a time, a little everyday, and before I know it I will have a beautiful cozy stripe blanket.

So are you ready to see what my blanket looks like half way done?

Well, without further ado, here is it.

Oh my goodness, I love it. I actually squealed when I saw it all laid out in its splendor on the living room floor for this picture. I mean, I knew what it was going to look like - I've seen it over at Attic 24 - but there is something thrilling and incredibly satisfying to look at something as gorgeous as this and know that I made it. This is such a happy project and I am really enjoying working on it.

Of course I should probably darn in some of these ends or I am going to have quite the job on my hands when all the stripes are crocheted.

This Week

Spring break could not have come at a better time...gosh did I ever need a break from work and the girls certainly needed a break from the school routine.

It has been a great week....nothing too adventurous, just some much needed and deserved down time to relax and recharge. We did venture out a few days to some appointments and to do a few errands that had been put off far too long, but for the most part we stayed in and around the house. And it was lovely. I was a little concerned going into the week that the girls would bicker and fight, but instead their imaginations seemed to kick into overdrive and they were happy to play make believe games such as 'baboons' and 'mountain goats', most likely influenced by the Planet Earth series that they are watching.  

While the girls were keeping themselves occupied, I was able to sit on the sofa with a cup of tea and crochet. I have set a mini goal for myself to reach the mid point of my cozy stripe blanket. Once I am at that point, I will do a post showing you how it looks half way done. I am almost there so stay tuned. 

I also did some journaling...in my SMASH book which has sat untouched in my drawer for three years. This was my first attempt at art journaling and I really enjoyed it. Definitely a departure from my usual clean and simple style, but so fun. 

I have also really enjoyed watching the snow slowly disappear and reveal the garden below. It is a relief to see less and less snow in the yard everyday. It is still cold, but spring is definitely in the air.

Today we are off to see Frozen on Ice. The girls are incredibly excited.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend.  

Cozy Stripe Blanket Update #1

It's Friday, thank goodness. Sometimes the end of the week can not come soon enough.

I wanted to pop in today and show you my progress on my Cozy Stripe Blanket. I first introduced this blanket here and have spent many wonderful hours since crocheting away.

Stripe after strip of beautiful color - the perfect remedy to the cold winter.

One of my favorite things about this blanket is the random order of the colors. I am always excited to see which color comes next, and though sometimes the next color seems an odd or unlikely choice to me, it all comes together rather beautifully with the just the right balance of neutrals mixed in with the brighter and bolder shades.

I did run into one small hiccup a few weeks ago when I noticed a mistake and had to rip out many rows (sad, I know, but it had to be done as the mistake was glaring at me each time I looked at my blanket). It was terrible; I was sweating and near tears, but knew I would not be happy if I did not fix my error. Thankfully all is well now and I am carefully checking each row as I go along to avoid another mistake.

This blanket is the perfect winter project and working on it makes me so happy.

In the Works: My Cozy Stripe Blanket

While the weather was unseasonably mild before Christmas, the start of the year has brought some downright frigid temperatures. And wind! Goodness it sounds awful to hear that cold, icy wind whipping around the house. This is the kind of weather when I stay inside....and start crocheting another blanket. I still have my v-stitch blanket in a basket beside the couch, ready to be worked on, but I just could not fight the urge to start a New Blanket Project.

The story of this new blanket began one afternoon in early November when I was visiting my favorite blogs, one of which is Attic 24. Are you familiar with this blog? It is absolutely fantastic, a feast of colorful crochet inspiration, just full to the brim with beautiful yarn and gorgeous projects....I truly love it. I have been so inspired by Attic 24 over the years and this particular afternoon was no different. Lucy was introducing her Cozy Stripe Blanket Crochet-A-Long, and I immediately fell in love with what I saw, and knew instantly that this blanket needed to be a project of mine. I ordered the yarn pack from England - 15 balls in total - and was pleasantly surprised when it arrived on my doorstep in less than a week (and for only $40, which I thought was quite reasonable). With November and December being so incredibly hectic, I did not get in on the Crochet-A-Long, which was really too bad as I would have loved to crochet along with Lucy and all the others hookers working on this blanket all over the world. Instead I spent several lovely afternoons over the holidays working up these gorgeous stripes.

The yarn is just gorgeous...both the feel and the colors. I have not seen this yarn (Stylecraft Special DK) for sale in the shops I normally visit, so I will be checking out some of the more specialty yarn shops in my town to see if they carry it. I would love to use this yarn for other crochet projects.

As for the pattern, it is so straightforward and simple. I recall Lucy describing the pattern as one you could work on while having a good chinwag, and after reading that I knew this was a pattern for me. After breaking up with my ripple, I was completely taken with the idea of a pattern with minimal counting and gorgeous colored stripes.

I keep sneaking away to the living room to add another row or two. And I find I am bargaining with myself "just to the end of this row, and then I'll go make dinner". This is a truly addictive blanket - a cozy, colorful, pretty addiction. I just can't stop....can't imagine it will be long between progress updates.