As you have no doubt gathered by now, my Creative Mind is a very busy busy busy place, it buzzes day and night with creative ideas. It's very messy and chaotic within my Creative Mind (much like my home) which can make it impossible for ideas to break free and come out into the real world. Ooodles of projects are stuck up there, waiting for their time to come. Having a CM like this is simultaneously amazing and frustrating. So much I could do!! So many many ideas!! But how to find the time??
Sometimes though, an idea comes to me as if from nowhere, like a surprise gift being delivered. It won't be anything I've been pondering on or mulling over, it won't be anything I've recently seen, it won't have been sitting in a tangle alongside all the other ideas up there in my CM. No, it'll be something completely unexpected and new. It's quite wonderful when this happens, as it did a few evenings ago.
Yes, a few evenings ago I randomly got to thinking about Granny Stripes. There I was, sitting quietly giving Little B his bedtime feed and I suddenly had this overwhelming vision of a Granny Stripe blanket. Do you know what I mean?? A blanket formed out of little clusters of treble crochet similar in construction to traditional granny squares, excepting the clusters would be worked in rows instead of in the round. So after putting Little B to bed, I immediately ran to get my hook and yarn, I couldn't get to it fast enough. I just HAD to try and make me some Granny Stripes. I thought briefly about searching the www for a pattern but nah, let's just get on with hook and yarn and see if I can work it out for myself. Can't be too hard surely??
Picture above shows my first three attempts. You can fairly see the frustration I experienced as I tried to work out how to begin and end each row without it going all wibbly. But by the third try I think I pretty much had it.
I then wanted to see how it worked in multiple colours (run downstairs to the Scary Cupboard chockablock full of stuff and locate leftover itty bits of Kool Kotton). Above picture shows me playing with it some more, trying out different spacings of the clusters (too far apart in the top pic, just right in the second pic where I omitted the chain spacings). Yes, I think by the time I'd made this fifth sample, it was looking OK. Neatish at the edges, cluster spacing just right. Pheww.
Ok, time to have a little search on Flickr to see if anyone else was doing this sort of thing. It suddenly seemed to me that this pattern will make a Most Excellent blanket, so why was no one else making Granny Stripe Blankies?? I eventually found this lovely blankie oh joy!! Thank heavens I'm not the only mad one thinking of this idea, and it IS do-able then and yes yes, I can see huuuuuuuuge potential for playing with colour here in an easygoing no nonsense way. Up and down, up and down, easy row upon easy row of colourful stripy grannyfied lovliness!!
Searched some more and found this aahhhh, look what happens when you work two rows of the same colour, it goes a little bit zigzaggy!! ooo I LIKE that even more, lets have a little play.....
.....what do you think??? Can you picture it all expanded and big and blankety?? Oh I can, I really can, and I think it'll be fanTAbulous. Now then, just need to think about what yarn to use (this is going to be for the Caravan) and I'll be away with it, whipping myself up into a frenzy of Granny Stripes. Can hardly wait :o)
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P.S. Once I get going with this properly I'll write out a tutorial, I'm still tweaking it slightly but am pretty much there with it now I think (thanks to you lovely peeps over at Ravelry for feedback and info on this pattern) xx
PPS check out this Flickr group for more Vintage Stripe lovliness xx
I love the look! Can hardly wait for your tutorial!!
...and I have a CM, too...hubby would call it Messy, but we know the difference, don't we? ;>)
Posted by: judy | May 17, 2010 at 01:43 PM
I like the look of this, I may incorporate squares like this into the blanket I promised to make for my son.
Posted by: Jacqueline | May 17, 2010 at 01:52 PM
Very very beautiful! I just came across your blog last night and I must say I spent 3 hours going through the post. I love it! You spark my creattive side for someone who is the mother of 4 andwho has only been crocheting for about 6 months! Granny square blankie here I come:)
Posted by: amanda | May 17, 2010 at 01:54 PM
Love the granny stripes, reminds me of our family baby blankets, they were originally crocheted by my Nan, they are basicly a granny square that does not stop. So you start with a granny square and go round and round and round until its big enough. The only changes I've made to the basic pattern is to change the middle using your bobble stitch middle from the flower granny. So thank you. I lovve the granny stripe and I also have so much yarn, wool, that its taking over my husbands study. But you got to love the softness
Posted by: jennie | May 17, 2010 at 01:56 PM
You've done it again! This is going to be lovely, can't wait to see the end result. Hope you find lots of hooky time!
Posted by: Linda O | May 17, 2010 at 02:05 PM
Go for it Lucy, I love it !!! Can't wait to see it's progress & the pattern.
xxx
Posted by: tania | May 17, 2010 at 02:06 PM
Hello Lucy! It looks fantastic!! So many ideas and so much inspiration I get from you!!! I'll start as soon as I'm done with the exams ( can't wait!) and yess pleaseeee let us know how to do it. xxxx Pati from sunny London
Posted by: Pati | May 17, 2010 at 02:16 PM
Brilliant! Just the right inspiration for my next project(s)Thanks ever so xx
Posted by: Wendy Wager | May 17, 2010 at 02:35 PM
what a really good idea! I love it, its beautiful!
Posted by: katja | May 17, 2010 at 02:38 PM
Lovely, as usual. I found a zig zag granny stripe pattern in a book and have been granny rippling up a storm. Isn't it fun?
Posted by: Lee | May 17, 2010 at 02:38 PM
Hi Lucy
This looks lovely - cant wait to see the result - over on my blog, I've described my vintage stripe, which is a blanket I copied from an old 1950's blanket my granny had - it is made with granny clusters of 2 trebles, like your 3 trebles, but a bit skinnier. Can't wait to see your version.
Here's mine, if you are interested :
http://primroseberesford.blogspot.com/search/label/vintage%20granny%20stripe
Posted by: Primrose Beresford | May 17, 2010 at 02:42 PM
Wowwee! That's all I can say petal. To me there's nothing better than having a CM. I like to think that the majority of peeps on the blogs I read have CM's too. The phrase that comes into my mind about my head, house, crikey, even life is higgledy-piggledy! I've even been toying with the idea of starting a blog with that name as it seems to sum me up completely but not sure I'm organised enough to do one? How do you all manage??
Posted by: Gill | May 17, 2010 at 02:43 PM
I love it Lucy! Can't wait to see more!
Posted by: Fruitful Fusion | May 17, 2010 at 02:46 PM
I personally like the one with red borders. Red is always a great color that brings out the other colors so well!
Posted by: Brianna | May 17, 2010 at 02:54 PM
I just love the colours in the one with greens and purples, sort of gratuating into each other, like a rainbow. You are an inspiration and I can't wait to see your rainbow blanket!
Posted by: Puppet Lady | May 17, 2010 at 02:54 PM
oh lucy.
perfect.
simply perfect.
Posted by: COZY KITCHEN BY THE SEA | May 17, 2010 at 02:55 PM
Looks like it will make a fab blanket indeed. I can see I am going to have a long and painful jealousy of the caravan though!
Posted by: Gillian | May 17, 2010 at 02:57 PM
that 200 crochet blocks book is fabulous!
liking the double row stripe:
more guts for a larger blinky:
can't wait for the tada!
☼
Posted by: chocolategirl64 | May 17, 2010 at 03:09 PM
Oh, Lucy! Wonderful!!! This is real motivation to finish my ripple throw so that I can try this granny goodness. Thank you!
btw, my mind has those creative blips and blurts too... i'm just glad that i can remember them occasionally and bring them out to play! :)
best.
Posted by: annri | May 17, 2010 at 03:13 PM
That looks great Lucy, can't wait for the tutorial.
The caravan will love it too!
Carol xx
Posted by: Carol | May 17, 2010 at 03:15 PM
Thanks Lucy, that was just the right inspiration I needed for my current project - can't wait to see the finished blanket!
Also, thank you so much for your clear ripple pattern, I had tried some others but didn't like the little gaps that appeared throughout the pattern, I just made a blanket for my daughters doll's pram and she loves it!
Posted by: Emma | May 17, 2010 at 03:18 PM
I like the double stripes best too Lucy. I have that Jan Eaton book (200 Crochet Blocks for blankets, throws and afghans),it's well worth buying - some really lovely squares to be made.
Sally x - Portsmouth.
Posted by: Sally | May 17, 2010 at 03:18 PM
Beautiful Lucy! Soo clever I love the colour combinations of the last one...Reminds me of ice-creams and sandcastles and bunting and coloured buckets and spades...ooh your going to have such fun in your caravan!
Kram Julie x
Posted by: Julie | May 17, 2010 at 03:22 PM
Love it lucy, I ended my granny blanket with granny striping also because I didn't want a square blanket..(It's on my flickrpage)
Posted by: Ebi | May 17, 2010 at 03:28 PM
Ooooh Lucy...I think this could become a really yummy scrummy blanket! xxxxxx
Posted by: vanessa | May 17, 2010 at 03:29 PM