Tuesday 18 December 2012

Patchwork crochet blanket

Give the lady a beer.  It's done.  It took 13 hours to stitch the squares together and then add the border, so I was MIA this weekend.  My husband, as patient as he is, is pretty pleased to have his wife back.  When I tallied up the total amount of time it took to make this blanket, he said, "Now multiply that by the minimum wage".  Point taken.  But isn't crafting as a hobby more about the enjoyment rather than any monetary gain?

Anyway, I am really pleased with how the blanket turned out, it's exactly as I imagined it to look even with a couple of happy mistakes.  Two squares are out of sequence because I crocheted a flower using white yarn rather than red, but you would never know unless I told you.  I also stitched the squares with the right sides facing rather than the prescribed wrong sides together so the raised ridges are on the back of the blanket.  It just looks nicer to me to have a smooth seam on the front.


However, just to spoil my party, my aching shoulder was the annoying uninvited guest who just refused to leave and now my wrist has pulled up a chair next to it.  Crochet - hazardous to your health. I might have to learn to crochet using my left hand.  Or my elbow.

Here is the amended Krista throw pattern that was helpfully compiled by members of a crochet support group on Facebook.  I have asked permission to post a link to it.  I wish I had waited and worked from this updated guide instead of enduring weeks of working from mistake-riddled patterns. It is a massive file, be warned, but the instructions are clear, there are step-by-step photographs and it will make for a much better crochet experience.


Cost: nearly my marriage
Time taken: Four and a half weeks
Result: I love it and I double dare anybody to disagree.

13 comments:

  1. Sorry but that chair looks white. But seriously I had thought the squares were much smaller during those first days so amazing to see it looking so large. those flowers look awesome. congratulations on this superb effort.

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    1. Yes, that poor chair. It may just stay undercoated until next year at this rate. The blanket is about 120cm square, it would be even larger if I had used the hook sizes recommended in the patterns, but I think it is a decent size as it is.

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    2. no pressure on the chair! where is the blanket going to hang out?

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    3. such a brilliant job well done

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    4. I cannot seem to reply to each individual comment, so I'll reply to you both here. Sus, if my sister loves it, I will gift it to her and her baby which is due next year. If she doesn't like it, I will just hold on to it until I know what the right thing is to do with it. Thank you both for reading and taking the time to comment.

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  2. "Cost: nearly my marriage" that made me LOL! it´s really beautiful and a great choice of colours.

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  3. I love it Leanne! So clever. Crochet is one thing I have not mastered and I can understand how you got injured from it!!!

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    1. Thanks Sara, I'll give my body a little rest and then launch into some other crochet projects in the New Year, still have a few balls of yarn left and I'm determined to use them up.

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  4. I am determined to advance my crochet carreer and you give me hope.

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    1. Thank you for your lovely comment, inspiring others with this blog is all I ever wanted to achieve.

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  5. It is gorgeous! Absolutely love the colours. I suffered crochet injuries over Christmas too. My yarb holding finger was bent permanently into shape. I could neither straighten or bend it. Couple days off the hook and I was ok.

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    1. Thank you Bree, I am glad to know rest helps with crochet fatigue, I really enjoy the craft but not if it's going to give me permanent injuries!

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