Granny Stripe Blanket

It's finished! Yay!

Yesterday I managed to finish the double bed sized granny stripe blanket. I started this on September 18th so it's taken me 32 days. Not bad considering I've got a toddler at home, a 4 year old at school and have had a 3 hour exam to revise for and sit. It's been a fantastic pattern for just picking up and doing a couple of stripes while my little one naps. I was getting low on yarn towards the end though and decided to slightly alter Lucy's border as I didn't think I had enough yarn for the two rounds of UK trebles so I switched the outer one for an extra round of UK doubles. The final round of edging was sooooo slow and I didn't think I was going to get it done before the school run but I finished it just in time. It was definitely worth it though as I adore it.

It's a terrible picture because there's not enough space to get in a good position to take pictures in our bedroom and the light isn't good either. Here's a close up of the blanket folded on the sofa for a better view of that gorgeous edging.

Like Lucy I did random stripes. I was planning on doing 80 but then realised the blanket was going to be far too wide(guesswork for the starting chain) so I did 60 and put it on the bed with the stripes running vertically. It was a good job too because I'd have needed to buy more yarn too. It's the Stylecraft Special DK that Lucy used (various places seem to be selling a Attic24 pack) and I couldn't resist the bright colours. It was lovely to work with too, which was a lovely surprise given it's price; even with postage it worked out about £1.50 per 100g.

Quick Granny Stripe Update

So, I forgot to do this earlier but here's an updated pic of the Granny Stripe blanket. It's now at 45 stripes. I think though that the weight is making it seem wider once it's on the bed and I think I've made it too wide. Current plan is to do another 15 stripes, then add the border and put it the other way on the bed so the stripes are vertical.

Blog Inspiration

So I've been busily crafting away in any spare moment. 

First up is the progress I've made on my Halloween quilt. Originally I had planned to make it 4 blocks wide using the same idea as on the Quilt Dad blog but then I realised that (a) it was going to have to be 8 blocks long and (b) I didn't have enough fabric for 32 blocks. So in a change of plan I decided to make it 3 by 5 blocks and have each block in the same orientation. Of course I decided on this plan after ordering the backing fabric for the bigger size but it's worked out for the best...the sewing group I go to are doing a Halloween quilted bag quilt along so I at least have fabric for the lining and the background.

With limited time this month I am really pleased to have got the blocks sewn together. Just need to decide on a plan for the border so I can get on with it. Here's a pic of the final layout (no pics of it sewn together cos I haven't had time to take any!)

I would have been much further on with it if it hadn't been for a weekend in Lincoln (congrats to Mark & Ming on their wedding) and a weekend in Scarborough, where we had a great time at Flamingo Land and a relaxing day on the beach.

The kids loved Daddy getting buried in the sand

and digging in the sand

and paddling in the sea (even if it was freezing!)

We were really lucky with the weather and definitely chose the right time to go to the beach. By the time we were having a Fish & Chip lunch it had started to darken over and get a bit chilly.

Though obviously you have me to thank for the current heatwave. The hot hot sun had to come out once I was working on a huge blanket didn't it?! The Attic 24 Granny Stripe Blanket is lovely to do and I am up to 23 stripes but making slow progress because of the heat. Here's a picture of the blanket at 22 stripes

I've made it wide enough for a double bed and am hoping to add enough stripes that it works as a blanket but also looks good on the bed. The Attic 24 used 60 stripes so I'm hoping to do around 60-80 and will probably judge it a bit by eye as to whether it's long enough.