Granny Stripes

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

Comments

[Amy]

Hello, Sweet Lucy! I love this blanket, and I think I'm actually going to give it a try when you post your pattern...it looks like I could maybe do it! Did you see this pattern?:
http://www.pickles.no/great-granny-blanket/2010/5/18/great-granny-blanket.html
I like yours better with the zig-zaggy effect...Happy weekend!xoxox.

[Tracey @ thrift.nest.sew]

Yay - beautiful photos as usual and good colours too. My most recent opped granny square stripe blanket is here which gives a heart shape and the clusters have been split.
http://thriftnestsew.blogspot.com/2010/03/flea-market-finds_28.html

and another over here opped nearly a year ago with about 4 triple trebles I think..

http://thriftnestsew.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-little-princess.html

Just to give your creative mind another workout ;P

[helga]

Nice and beautiful colors :-)

[le chat qui coud]

looks great!

Do you want to win a great silk shawl?

[Claire]

It's wonderful. I was looking for something different, so I'll keep a close eye on this...

[The Garden Bell - Kate]

Hey Kiddo-

I must be getting seriously old...he-he... I know I looked here before, but couldn't for the life of me remember if I commented. Don't want you to think I have forgotten about you. I stop by almost daily for my dose of Hobbit. So, to be perfectly seriously, you could hook a straight line in your colors and we would all be drooling like Little B..... chuckle-chuckle..... I do love this idea. Isn't it amazing where this stuff comes from. Out of the blue. Glad to see you mind is back in full swing again.

Keep us posted,
Kate - The Garden Bell

[Maria M.]

Dear Lucy,
First of all, sorry for my English, but I really need to comment after this post. I said to my husband that you have revolutionized my crochet concept. Using simple stitches and many colors, you gave me a gift for all my life. I used to search something like this.
I don’t know if you understand me very well, but I would like say this words. Thank you for your job and your creativity!

Maria M.

[Beth]

I'm just checking in after a couple of days off my usual blog curcuit. My, my, but you have been a busy bee! I love, love, love the granny stripes! I love, love, love the yarn recommendation for the Rico creative cotton. Why can't we find colors like that in the States? Well, I will email the yarn shop and see how much the international shipping would cost. Maybe I can squeeze it out of the budget. For those yummy colors, I think it will be worth it. Thanks for the recommendation. And I cannot wait for your stripes tutorial.

[Tsitsa]

Quel joli blog ! Et que de magnifiques créations au crochet ! Very, very, very beautiful ^^

[Sunny]

Hi! Just ran across your site via Ravelry and have already bookmarked it. Love. It. Look forward to checking out your projects and stealing your ideas! :)

[Melissa]

absolutely fabulous!
you are amazing and inspiring!
:) melissa & emmitt

[Fée-ronique]

I love your new idea ! J'adore !!!

[Jillyuk]

Oh fab.. always georgous from Lucy!

[Kaz Jones]

If you ever manage to find this comment in the midst of the hundreds of others, there's an award for you over at my place.

[Maree]

G'day Lucy from Western Australia. Today I was reading the June edition of Australian Notebook Magazine and on a page titled 'inspiration' a few web-sites are listed and your blog is one of them! Your blog makes me "heart-skippy" to use a phrase of yours so a well-deserved recognition. Congratulations!

[Robbie]

LOOKS GREAT LUCY! Your so clever and smart too!!! Robbie :-)

[Julia]

Love your granny stripe idea. I have just finished a blanket which has a slight variation. It is a two treble block and instead of trebling in the gap between the blocks, treble in between the trebles. With each row a different colour you get a zig zaggy look. Plus it is denser than a granny and warmer. I am sorry I don't have a photo (or the techological know how to post one) Julia

[Hooked In Hove]

Oooh yes! I'm quite into the stripy crochet look at the moment - can't wait for your tutorial

[Kate]

Haven't popped in for a while...and here I find you with a new little blessing! How wonderful... :) love your new stripey granny... I hope you'll do a tutorial soon! Blessings, Kate~

[Amy (badskirt)]

I wanted to thank you for the link to my flickr photo. I recently had a surge in comments and wasn't sure why, but I see the crochet master herself sent a few people my way. Thank you.

[Laura Mirjami]

This is the first time that I've looked at you blog and it is FANTASTIC!!! So much colour and vibrancy! What a cheer up of my day!

[Amanda]

I CANT wait for the tutorial, this is sooo beautiful

[Karen]

Oh fun, dear Lucy! You're an inspiration.

[denise]

Another blanket started. I've created my own pattern looking at your swatches. I love how it is coming together. Thanks again for the wonderful inspiration!!! :)
Denise in OH

[Martha]

I can't wait for the granny stripes tutorial from your Creative Mind....it is EXACTLY what I need to use up all my odds and ends of wonderful soft yarn. Your projects are inspiring and actually DO-able.

And I am so in love with your new caravan. Please post pictures of the renovation in progress!

Martha