FO: Birthday blanket

Just in time for 90 degree weather, I finished crocheting a wool blanket!

Timing. I has it.

I was fully expecting to get sidetracked, somewhere between starting to crochet the blocks and actually finishing the piece. But starting on this coincided with a moment in time when I was really, really sick of knitting, so I just churned out the thirty squares, one after another.

And then I thought “Well, clearly I won’t have the motivation to finish the whole blanket, what with having to stitch them all together and what not.” Apparently I just don’t know myself well at all. I went on a grand finishing kick, and had a plan in mind to finish this blanket and my Print o the Wave stole before I leave for vacation (that would be tomorrow), and, well, the blanket is finished.

(I ran out of yarn on the stole, so I’m trying to either find a bit more to finish it—which is so, so sadly unlikely—or will resort to a stash yarn that sort of blends in with the rest of the yarn.) Some of you may remember how I had to bribe the cat to pose on the blanket I made for my mom. This blanket? Required no bribery. In fact, we had to have words when it was time for her to get off the blanket so I could put it away (see above, re: 90 degrees).

So, details for those of you wanting to know more. The yarn is my go-to yarn, Cascade 220. I ordered the yarn about a year ago, and I think my inspiration was a sunset over the Rockies, in honor of my new location. There’s a wonderful array of colors that shift and change during the magical dusky hour, and these colors sort of remind me of that time period. I used blocks from Jan Eaton’s 200 Crochet Blocks; specifically, Tricolor Square, Wisteria, Granny in the Middle, Chocolate Box, and Centered Square. I did not plan ahead to think about how these squares would all have different numbers of stitches along the borders, so they don’t all line up very well, but I think I made it work just fine. The finished dimensions are about 52″ by 43″, so it’s smaller than a true afghan, but it’s still a good size and will keep me cozy when the winter comes back.

I finished off most of the yarn (there’s still a smidgen of the grey) by working what in knitting would be something like a slip-stitch, but I don’t know what it might be called in crochet. My friend Jacinta mentioned it to me when I was pondering finishes for my mom’s blanket; it’s a simple sc, ch 1, sc around, and then repeat on the next row, crocheting singly into the chain stitch below. So there you have it!

In other news, I leave tomorrow for about a week and a half of vacation, and I’m taking FOUR projects. But I have long flights, and some acting as passenger in my future, so I don’t think that’s overkill. I may also be delusional.