Maybe Next Time, Ripple....

My ripple blanket and I have parted ways.

I have not given up completely on the notion of a beautiful ripple blanket on my couch, I have just given up for now.

You see, I was rippling along, confident that things were all well and fine, until suddenly it all went wrong. Nothing was matching up, my work was all wavy, and for the life of me I could not see where I had gone wrong. I pulled out several rows, hushed my family so I could count and recount my stitches, and then in a somewhat humiliating fit of frustration, threw the whole thing into the bottom of my project basket...where it has remained for the last week.

I just do not have it in me right now to fight with this pattern, to count and recount umpteen times trying to get it right. Maybe someday, but not now.

What I need now is a simple project, one that requires minimal, if any, counting, one that I can work on while watching a movie, answering homework questions, at the coffee shop...

Life is busy right now and to be honest I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all. I need a crochet project that is simple and satisfying; I do not want to crochet for an hour only to rip the whole thing apart because nothing is matching up. Crochet is supposed to be fun and relaxing, not wrought with frustration, anxiety, and bad words.

So to that end, I have started a v-stitch blanket - a beloved pattern of mine that is both simple and relaxing. I have made several of these blankets and they are perfect for working on amid distractions, easy to pick up and put down as needed.

This is what surrounded me after work last night - a cup of tea, a candle and my blanket. After a hectic work day, and before the nighttime routine of dinner, making lunches, and bedtime began, it was incredibly calming to sit and make v-stitch after v-stitch while chatting with the girls and listening to them play...

A v-stitch blanket suits me just fine for now. As for a ripple, maybe next time.

Mastering the Ripple

Oh, the ripple. The crochet pattern that produces such gorgeous blankets (like this one). The pattern that is praised for its calm, rhythmic tempo as one crochets it.

Oh, the ripple. The pattern that I could never seem to master, that caused me great frustration and the occasional tear. Until now.

Yes, I am happy to say that after three starts on this blanket, (meaning I counted the beginning rows furiously and then made some small error that meant the whole thing needed to be ripped apart and restarted three times) that I have finally mastered the ripple.

With these three rows completed, I am on my way to a ripple blanket. It will be all one color, as I was able to get the yarn (Bernat Denim Style) at a sale and the colors were very limited, but if all goes well I just may make a colorful ripple blanket down the line.

But for now, I am going to enjoy making this blanket - it is very soothing to crochet - and be happy in that fact that I was finally able to master this pattern.

Have you made a ripple blanket? How did it go?