The Granny Stripe :: ta-dah!

 

Hello my friends, thank you so much for being here with me. I 'm really happy that finally, finally, I've found a (relatively) quiet little spot in my busy-busy days to sit and whizz up a multi-coloured ta-dah post to share with you all. Pheww....for a while I thought it would never happen, I can't tell you how incredibly difficult it is at the moment for me to find time to sit and write.

When I first made the decision to go with the acrylic for this blanket, there was quite a bit of uncertainty and I really wasn't at all sure whether it would work out or not. I purchased the yarn on a bit of a whim really, chose the colours quite quickly in a dimly lit shop one lunch time. Brought them home in a big squishy bag, tumbled them out onto the floor, arranged them in rows, stood back and took a long hard look at my blanket-to-be. A few dubious colours, but mostly yes I was happy with them and felt they would work up nicely into stripes.

And oh-me-oh-my, I was not disappointed. This yarn, this cheap acrylic yarn, was an absolute dream to work with. You may remember me beginning this blanket at the very end of May (yarn info can found in that post too), it was such an exciting time for me. Well truthfully the beginning of any blanket is always hugely exciting, but somehow this one seemed more so than ever before.

I have loved every moment of working up these granny stripes (excepting perhaps the first couple of rows), and everything about it has been a surprising pleasure. And now it's finished, and the acrylic yarn has become an acrylic blanket, I am hugely happy with it. It's one warm, colourful, happy, snuggly, delicious bit of hooky.

 

I know that a great many of you Hooked-A-Long with me and embarked on your own Granny Stripe blankets. I can't tell you how wonderful this has been for me, and how glad I am that this simple pattern has delivered such a lot of world-wide hooky happiness!

One of the most exciting and rewarding bits of blanket making is working The Edge. It's that point in the blanket when there is still quite a bit of hooky left to do, yet the End is firmly in sight.

I think every blanket deserves an Edge, it totally transforms the whole thing, turns it from a rectangle of crochet into a proper blanket.

 

I love how my Granny Stripe edging turned out. I made a round of granny-clusters first, working into the spaces at the end of alternate rows. 

After the granny clusters, I worked two rows of treble crochet, followed by a thin row of pink double crochet. Then with the light blue I worked the final edge-of-the-edge :: this was one row of double crochet (US single crochet) then a dinky little sort of picot/shell pattern that I made up myself.

This is an easy pattern, and makes a very neat edging. Work with the right side facing, and work out of BACK LOOPS only (other wise it curls if you work through both loops).
**work 3 slip stitches, then in the next stitch work the following :: (dc, ch 2, dc)**. Repeat between **.
Remember when I say dc, this is UK terms (hook into stitch, yarn over, hook back through stitch (2 loops on hook), yarn over, draw through 2 loops)

Do you like it?

Ahhhhhh I do. I'm very happy with it. I did try out a normal bog standard picot stitch at first but it didn't seem to be right somehow. Plus, I really get a kick out of designing something myself, creating something new.

So.

I think it might be time.

Time for me to unfold my blankie, spread it out on the floor and start dancing my excited jiggety-jig around it.

Time to climb onto the coffee table and wibble-wobble on the edge while I try and take a halfway decent photograph.

Time to show you...................................

 

............The Granny Stripe Blanket :: ta-dah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In all it's stripy, gorgeously-gorgeous glory, there it is.

Sixty stripes in total, sixty stripes of happy colourful loveliness. 

Oh yes, I do reeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally adore this blanket.

 

Are you enjoying this Stripe fest????!!!! I think I went a bit bonkers taking pictures, sorry if it's all a bit much.

 

As you all know, I made this blanket for Connievan, and I think thats perhaps why it's turned out so happy and colourful and sort of holiday-ish, you know?

Actually I'm really looking forward to taking it and installing it in Connievan. Ok, so "looking forward" doesn't quite describe my true feelings here, I am actually ridiculously, stupidly almost peeing-my-pants-with-excitement happy at the prospect (which will occur on Saturday yippppeeeeee!!)

But, I shall miss having it around at number 24, even though there are oooooo let me see now, five blankets here in this room already. 

So shall we move right along and talk Riveting Facts?? Shall we?? Ok, here we go.....

Yarn :: 17 colours of Stylecraft Special DK, worked on a 4mm hook.

Measures :: 110 x 150 cm

Starting chain :: 240

Stripes :: 60

Balls :: approx 10 x 100g

Weight :: just less than 1kg

Cost :: not a lot. Cheapo. A bargain.

Photo :: me snuggled on the sofa trying not to look too weary

Blanket :: gorgeously gorgeous

Me :: happy

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Edited to add :: a little note about my colour sequences...totally random, although I did keep an eye on the more dominant colours and tried to space them out quite evenly (the red, dark purple, the very bright in-your-face green and the yellow). Choosing which colours went next to each other was a huuuuuge part of the excitement for me with this blanket, I just love doing random ♥

Also, I've put the pattern into my sidebar, usual place down at the bottom, listed as a page. No step-by-step photos yet I'm afraid, but I've tried to write it in Plain English so hoping you can follow it.

Comments

[lucy]

Gorgeous loveliness. Well done Mrs Attic.

[tovepia]

Really beautiful, the colours are like the rainbow's, bright and happycolours;)

[josowerby]

have bought this wool on ur recommendation to make the lucy bag and it lovely
Jo xxxx

[Pooch]

Once you made your color selections for the blanket, how did you go about selecting the color for each row?

Your blanket is, of course, so happily colorful and a wonderful approach to a basic pattern.
:)

[Colleen]

Hello. I'm new to your blog, and love the photos and posts about this beautiful blanket.

What sort of stitch did you do for the rows? A cluster stitch? And what size needle did you use?

Thanks for posting the instructions for the border!

[hawthorn]

Lovely! I am doing a similar one for my 2CV called lil' Plum - and I can't wait to finish it so we can trundle out and have a picnic on the blankie! I really like how you have edged it - going to give it a try!

[sharon]

How pretty that is, you did a wonderful job on it. I love it and now I have to make me one too. Just too pretty to resist. enjoy!!

[Hazel]

Gorgeous!!! I am so glad I copy catted you! I did want to ask you a question about patterning if you ever get the chance to answer... Did you crochet the 17 colours randomly then repeat them or did you crochet the 17 colours and then do them in a different order again or.... did you not do that at all???? xxx

[elsa]

it's beautiful and so are you! love that picture of you!

[Elisabeth]

Lucy, I love the finished blanket! I'm about half way through with mine and my neighbour startet one too :-). Thank you for giving us the inspiration!

[Rebecca]

Oh and happy you should be, it's stripy loveliness.

[Iris]

I LOVE IT! It is a pretty muggy afternoon here in New York, and I still want that blanket on my lap right now!

Thank- you for this post, your pictures always make me smile.Your excitement validates how happy I feel when I make something.

Enjoy the blanket and the Connievan.

[Susan]

Hi! I love reading about your projects.

Am I stupid? Did you post the directions for how to do the granny stripes somewhere and I just missed them? I know you said it took you a few tries to get the pattern right.

I am thinking I might like to make one of these...someday. How did the people who followed along and made their own DO them??

Susan (in Delaware, USA, who has been crocheting for 36 years and still enjoys it)

[Victoria]

Nice blanket! Although you have surprised me - I don't know if this'll make any sense, but I was expecting it to be longer than it was wide!

[anne@andamento]

It's lovely! Well done.

[Jo]

What a lovely post (as always) and I think that'll be one very happy Connievan :0)
I have only one teensy complaint - I now have yet another project to add to my to-do list. Humpf! Lol.
Jo

[Louise]

oh thankyou Lucy. I go on hols tomorrow and I thought I'd miss it. Wow its fab just yummy. Going to make one for my niece whos off to uni. True bliss

[colette]

magic colours..i love it...greetings from germany...colette

[Chris]

I LOVE it!!!!!
And there can never be tooooooooooo many photos Lucy, I love them all.
Thanks for this wonderful post.

Chris

[Shell]

Gorgeous xx

Well done :o)

[Vikki]

well done it looks great! I love the colours!

[The Garden Bell - Kate]

So, first I was going to comment on those blue-ish, green-ish toes. No, I did not miss. They are in your palette.... then.... reading on... there you were. What a treat to see you all wrapped up on your new blankie. I don't have to tell you what I think about this one. OK, I will.... love,love,love it. And best yet, it has a wonderful edge. Doesn't an edge just make them sing. Like "Somewhere over the Rainbow"... ok, I'll stop... you didn't know I'm tone deaf... yeap, 100%.....

So........what's next my friend. Maybe we need to take the little ones down by the boats on the canal in Hobbitland... They are still there, right?

Ok, enough Ramblin...

Cheers to another successful afternoon read. This will get me through all my watering outside,

Kate - T.G.B.

[Patsy]

OMG I am so HAPPY FOR YOU !!!! It is so beautiful.A lucky Blankie.
I am glad your feeling better too. Just look at the love you put into that work. Please enjoy your Holiday.XOXO

[Sheila]

Gorgeous work. I love your blog--your crochet things are so very pretty. You give me so many ideas--though I haven't made anything yet--I sure do want to. I love how you put the colors together. The pillows are wonderful too!!

[Melissa P]

Thank you for sharing all the excitement! This is such a beautiful, happy blanket. It will be part of the many fabulous family memories associated with Connievan. (I'm looking forward to stories of the Stripey Blankie's first adventures!)