I decided last month to start to make a new crochet blanket for our bed, as the multi-coloured zig-zag one I made for us while we were living in London doesn’t really work up here in Inverness where the everyday winter world is so much colder. So to begin with I slowly took the old one apart bit by bit, ripping it out one colour bock at a time, and thought a lot about how to make it up again thicker, warmer, bigger. Which of course means necessarily adding even more yarn, and making new decisions on overall colour scheme and pattern and size. Which with me tends to mean a frustrating process of trial and error until I get it all exactly as I want it…
I know there are many ‘proper’ pre-defined blanket patterns that would give me clear instructions on suitable yarn and suggested hook size and correct tension and suchlike but to be honest I’m more of an intuitive, making it up as I go along crocheter, depending on my mood at my given time – I’m not really into complex or complicated stitches and designs. I like to have a basic idea in my head, and just work it out as best I can as things unfold – for me, its as much about the creative journey as the destination. I realise it’s not the most efficient way to go, but at least my finished creations are always unique.
So just before the new year I finally made a start on putting all my thoughts together, deciding to make something more textured this time, using a variation on a simple popcorn stitch. I completed my long starting chain and began tentatively crocheting the first few rows, just enough to get a feel for how it might look on the bed. But when I laid it out over the duvet to see how it would sit I realised I actually wanted something a bit wider than I had first thought, something that would almost reach the floor this time, so I unravelled what I’d done and started again with a longer chain.
But sadly it seems I overcompensated, and my second effort – after more than a few rows completed this time – also found itself being unceremoniously unravelled and wound back into individual balls of yarn. This time it was just a little too wide, already skimming the floor without there being any room for adding a border. But at least I had completed enough to see I was going to be happy with the overall design and the planned flow of colours. If I’d thought I’d have taken a photo of the too-big version before I took it apart but no, it only crossed my mind after it was once more reduced to its component parts – oh well!
And so here I am beginning my crochet blanket all over again with an intermediate number of starting stitches, hopefully third time lucky. Once I know I’ve got the starting width right, and the texture of the pattern right, it’s just a case of constant repetition row after row, only changing colours as necessary until I’ve made the blanket as long as I want it. At that point I think I’ll create a small plain border just to pull it all together, and then I should be done!
I’m making my blanket with variations on a theme of rainbow colours, starting with a pinky-red and using a hefty dose of artistic license while working my way through the colour spectrum. No doubt I’ll share a few images of it as a work in progress, and of course show it in pride of place on the bed once it’s actually finished, but right now there’s not enough of anything much to show… Watch this space! π
Fandango’s One Word Challenge: Exactly
Word of the Day Challenge: Repetition