The Ripple, Ta-dah!

Welcome to the big Ripple Reveal everyone. Feast your eyes on those ripply, ripplesome, rippletastic ripples! Aren't they wonderful?  Oh I'm so glad to be showing you this project in it's completed, finished state, after many months (has it been 4? 5?) of showing you bits of it. This blanket has spanned over two seasons, started in March/spring and finished in August/summer. It's been such a joy, a pleasure in every way. Soothing, rhythmic, creative, exciting, fulfilling, fun. Every one of the 85 ripples has a streak of pleasure and happiness running through it. Spring and summer memories. It's that kind of blanket.

It's a bedroom blanket this one. I just love seeing it spread out on my bed, love when I walk past the bedroom door I catch an unexpected glimpse of it laid out there, rippling softly.

Love that I can go to sleep with it and wake up with it. Love that the colours also go beautifully with the jar of flowers currently by my bed :: a gift from Lovley C, a hastily picked bunch of soft, pastely  sweet peas, vivid orange calendula, and deep cornflowers and cosmos, presented to me as I was about to leave her wonderful house and garden on Tuesday. They are the happy colours of a summer garden, coffee and flapjack, crochet and natter. And my blanket.

The Little People really, really like this blanket, which makes me so happy. I catch them creeping onto my bed and crawling under it. And in the evenings they politely request permission to bring it downstairs for a spot of cuddling up on the sofa. Which is precisely what handmade blankets are for.

I'm sorry the colour is sometimes slightly "off" in these photos as the light in my bedroom is not great. Really these colours are beautiful in real life. There was a time when I wasn't sure about my colour choices for this blanket. I started out with nine colours of Rowan Cashsoft yarn, which were mainly pastely blues/lilac/pinks, with the lime green and orange thrown in to provide zing. Now you know me by now don't you? Know that my natural tendancy is towards bright, strong, vivid colours. But as I did really want this blanket to be for my bedroom, I thought I would try a soft colour palette for a change. But yes, the inevitable happened :: after about 15 or so stripes, I was getting bored with the softness. I was finding it too dull. And it's very hard to work on a project which is giving off dull vibes.

So that's when I added in the Raspberry stripes. Do you remember I bought a couple balls of this when I visited London in March? Its a Debbie Bliss Cashmerino yarn and the addition of that bright reddy-pink colour made a Big difference. As I only had two balls of it,  I had to space these stripes out evenly making only five altogether. But what a huge difference those five stripes have made to the overall tone of the blanket, don't you think? The regular spacing of the raspberry stripes was the only colour choice I made that wasn't random :: all the other stripes were randomly chosen as I went along. And I'm really, really pleased with the way it all panned out.

There's a lot to be said for buying yarn locally, for handling it, for arranging it all over the shop floor, and Rowan is my local yarn suppliers choice. Which is why I decided to use the Rowan yarn in the first place. But I've since found another small independent yarn shop about 8  miles away in another town which sells Rowan and Debbie bliss yarns side by side. Now theres a destination for Retail Therapy if ever there was one. So if I was to embark on a second ripple (which is highly likely), I'll go more with my natural instinct and choose bold, vivid Debbie Bliss colours I think.

The pattern for the ripple came from Jan Eatons book, and to me, it was a dream to work, although I know I've had one or two emails from people asking for help/advice about this pattern. Its the first few rows which are the hardest, when you have this long, dangling chain of loops and you're frantically counting and hooking and hoping it's all going to come right by the end of the row. But once you get going, it's easy to see the stitches, to see the rhythmic counting thats involved ::

one dc, one dc, one dc, 2dctog, 2dctog, one dc, one dc, one dc, 2dc's, 2 dc's, one dc, one dc, one dc

And so on. On and on and on, its the Rhthym of the Ripple. Nothing complicated folks, just simple stitches and simple counting, row after row after row, ripple after ripple after ripple.

So would you like some riveting facts about this here project of mine?

Ok, here you have it ::

Measures :: 110cm x 170cm
Starting chain :: 219 stitches
Stripes :: 85
Rows :: 170
Time :: approx 50mins each stripe = 4,250 minutes = 70.83 hours
Balls :: 29
Weight :: 1450g / 3.19670 lb
Cost :: £4.35 per ball = ermmmmmmm a LOT, but its a family heirloom, don't question.
Mileage :: 29 balls @ 130m each ball = 3770metres = 2.34 miles of yarn (!)

Photo :: me sitting on the stairs in my pyjamas, taken by Little Man one morning
Blanket :: gorgeous
Me :: happy.

Comments

[clairey]

How FOXY do you look Mrs Lucy! Loving the jim-jams!

The blanket is gorgeous.

Clairey xx

[Marisa]

I just LOVE the blanket, well done you! The colours are just gorgeous this really makes me determined to learn crotchet although i am really finding it hard may find if there are classes somewhere close by, although it would help if we had wool shops around the closest one we had was 30 miles away and that has now closed this makes me so sad and i wonder if i should open up one, but with the way things are going its just probably not the right time. You are just so clever a bag and a blanket no end of your talent and i am green with envy!!!

[Diana]

Oooh! Gorgeous! Well done!

[Lisa]

its lovely hun your so clever. and yes blankets are so made for cuddling :-)) we have a special one when we are poorly as well. And Luce your looking fantastic hun xx

[Joanne]

How long did it take you to make this gorgous,fantastic colourful heirloom blanket? I love it. You should be really proud of this achivement I don't crotchet but I do knit a little and something like this would take me forever.

[simone]

The blanket is ripplicious! Blanket: makes me happy to look at. You: Gorgeous!

[Solveig]

Lovely blanket! Looks very soft and nice. Makes me want to dig out my own(long neglected) ripple.

[CRAZYJANE]

Absolutely gorgous!!! and that goes for you and the blanket! when i first saw the photo of you I thought it was your daughter or some young friend, so youthful you look like a teenager, but in a good way.
the blanket reminds me of sweeties,so soft and cosy, you really are an inspiration.

[shirley]

Lucy it looks wonderful- I feel even more inspired

[Fiona]

Ooh it's really lovely. Every time I see another ripple blanket I wish that I could crochet. Maybe one day.

[kathy]

Hi Lucy, Well done you, the blanket is gorgeous. How I wish I could crochet! Love your jarmies; you look lovely in them! Kathy

[Anna]

Oh WOW!!! it's truly fabulous! I thought it was a picture of your daughter on the stairs as well- is rippling your secret to remaining youthful??! You look amazing! I may have to dig out the 'teach yourself to crochet' book I bought about a year ago, your work is very inspiring, young lady!x

[sally]

Hi Lucy - you and the blanket look absolutely fabulous! If it was mine I think I'd carry it round with me all day like Linus :) Well done on all your hard work! Sxx

[Tamar]

How beautiful!!!!

[Christine]

Hi Lucy blanket is beautiful love the colours. I saw a crochet blanket called Hawaiian flowers on Sarah London's blog looks fab you should check it out.

[Yvonne]

Hi, absolutely beautiful blanket, I've been crocheting for years but have never tried to ripple, I really must give it a go. I agree with you about the bold colours, I've just finished a granny blanket, which was going to be pastel but couldn't resist adding the odd splash of bold colour into it.
Yvonne

[French Knots]

What a wonderful blanket! I love the colours and you are right about the raspberry adding some zing.The picture of you is great, very natural and relaxed - well done Little Man!

[Julie Alvarez]

I love it. Completely.
I am making one as well. And I am also a bright full color person. And I am using those kinds of color. But my challenge is to sneak soft colors in between. I am having lots of fun with this.
I am following my own pattern on the blanket. Mine is: eight dc, 3dctog, eight dc, 3dc's and so on...
By the way, you look great in that picture.

[Natalie]

Hi Lucy - The ripple looks great, and is certainly looks like it is going to get lots of use! - I am well on my way with my granny blanket - 7 squares and counting! - When It is finished I would love to do a ripple - Well done you! - Natalie x

[Joanne]

I only found your blog yesterday and can I say I'm hooked already! (no pun intended!!). I've read the WHOLE THING and loved every minute of it. And this blanket is to die for! Oh my gosh it's so wonderful - the colours are perfect. And it truly does love magnificant laid out on your bed. x joanne

[cathleen]

Wonderful cozy looking ripple blanket. Cute picture of you wrapped up in it. I made two after being inspired by Jane Brocket at Yarnstorm. In fact, the soothing rhythm of crocheting it makes me itch to do it again.

[Fi]

WELL DONE LUCE! Your blanket is beautiful! You should be very proud of it. I know lots of happy memories are hooked into every loop.Great pictures! And its lovely to see you!
Your little man takes better photos than I do, you'll have to send him around to give me some pointers!

[Sarah]

It's fab! I always shy away from strong colours myself (weirdly was having a conversation with someone today about how different colours made different people react, er.. differently! sorry, had an eloquence bypass today!) but it looks so happy on your bed and wrapped around you - and of course the little people would love it :-) that I am won over.

It must be immensely satisfying to have amde something on that scae and with memories and happiness knitted into it!

I assume you have been to Bobbins in Whitby? You would love it, loads and loads of wool of different kinds and lovely patterns and books.

S x

[boodely]

It is a glory to behold.

[claire]

So thats what you did with the twigs...amazing...lol.
Your blanket is beautiful, so colourful and I bet you cant but feel happy when you wake up. Gorgeous piccies of you, you look in your early 20's, I said before that you have beautiful skin! Your litle one took a great picture......Claire x