making paper daisies: April 2014

This year began with the resolution to begin a blog and become better acquainted with my computer. Although that has been a little while in becoming a reality (believe me, it is not for lack of trying. I have ACTUALLY cried in trying to navigate the world of blogging) finally, I am here.

At the same time there also began a blanket. A very special friend was having a baby and what better way to welcome a little one and express my love for my friend than a hand crocheted blanket? This is, I believe, what all babies really want (as do their mothers). So, I went to my local Yarn shop. I really had no idea what I wanted, I was to be honest a bit of a yarn snob; I really really like cotton but there seems to be a lack of non-worsted cotton that doesn’t split, that isn’t too expensive and has a good colour range, SO… against all odds I picked Stylecraft Special Acrylic. It was the instinctive yarn choice of the lady in the yarn shop when I told her what I was making which must count for something right? However, at £2.00 a ball I really felt as though I might just be cheating my friend by giving her such a ‘cheap’ gift. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It turns out that I like this yarn very much, it is easy to use and not at all scratchy or squeaky which was my fear, and as it’s 100% acrylic it’s the perfect washable baby blanket yarn. I chose three colours; Silver as the base colour, with Raspberry and Pale Rose highlights.

After coveting the many ripple blankets I’ve seen on Pinterest and Google I naturally chose to make one of these. I followed Lucy’s Neat Ripple Pattern (Attic24), which is a very easy pattern to follow once you get over having to keep count of your foundation chain! Plus, I couldn’t help but LOVE the fact that it would, in some respect, be a Raspberry Ripple Blanket!

So it began, and I found it extremely addictive.

But I soon realised that I clearly did not know what I was doing…I had never made a baby blanket before and whilst I like them to be big I didn’t think long enough about the size of blanket I was making and it GREW!!!

Luckily I had some company, a sweet little one to make my ripples around.

There is nothing like a time frame to make you get something done and as I hadn’t accounted for making the blanket so large I found myself getting up at 7am to ripple a bit before breakfast and ripple furiously each evening before bed. I wanted to give the gift at my friend’s baby shower which was so much earlier on the calendar than in my minds eye! My husband complained more than once that he’d lost his wife to crochet and between stitches I tried to reassure him it wasn’t true but he didn’t believe me. But he was very gracious.

And so, the morning of the baby shower I was in my pyjamas hooking the border like crazy and darning in ends, asking my husband if it was alright? Did the border need to be wider? Yes it did. Hook some more, that’s better! (I thank him that although this blanket had cost him many hours of quality time with his wife he didn’t want to skimp on the border, he too wanted it to look just right. This made me happy, and I am again reminded of how lucky I am). A few quick snaps with the camera, (and a few more because I was SO PROUD to have completed my first blanket and I thought ‘I must show my mum, of and my sister and…’) and I was finished! Just a ribbon and a bit of wrapping paper, voila!

Do you want to see it? Ok...