Wednesday 8 June 2016

WIP Wednesday


I've been working on my May sewing challenges.  The paper piecing project is well underway.  All of the rectangles have been 'papered' and sewn into strips.  The next step is to sew the strips together and then to add a border.  The final piece will eventually become a cushion cover.


I was going to give the crazy quilting a miss, but at the last minute I decided to take Queeniepatch's advice and try a small project, so I'm making a pincushion.  I've used old jeans and sewn the patches together.  Now I just need to decide on the embellishment.

Thursday 2 June 2016

Red, White and Blue Granny Square Blanket - Ta dah!

I am extremely pleased to announce that the red, white and blue granny square crochet blanket is finished! That's right - finshed; completed; done!  It's been a long old slog and at times I wondered if it would ever get done, but now it's lying on my eldest's bed after being a WIP for almost four years.

Aug 2012

The blanket started life in August 2012 amid the fervour of the Queen's Jubilee and the London Olympics (hence the patriotic colour scheme).


After playing around with the layout I decided on a design inspired by a patchwork quilt.

The granny square centres crocheted up pretty quickly but as I added the outer rounds the project stalled again and again. You see, I'm impatient. My eye is constantly darting from one thing to the next; so many pretty patterns, so many different yarns, so many colours and so little time to fit it all in. I didn't want to spend ALL of my time on this one project because then it would be months before I could try anything new. MONTHS! So it got shelved, abandoned, forgotton - repeatedly. Every now and again I'd remember my poor, unfinished crochet blanket and work on it diligently for a week or two before losing interest all over again.

Nov 2014

Nov 2014

Jan 2015

April 2015

Dec 2015

Jan 2016

But then there were fewer and fewer gaps, and the end was tantalisingly within sight. Then one day the last of the blue squares was completed and there was a blanket! Almost. I could have finished there but it didn't look quite right; it needed a proper edge so I pushed through the inertia and gave it a simple two rounds of treble crochet. Nothing fancy, just get it done.  And then finally, the weaving in.  After the nightmare of ends that I was faced with after the crochet baby blanket, this was almost a pleasure. Little by little, block by block, the ends disappeared from the back of the blanket until on the evening of 20th May 2016 I was able to say "Ta-dah!!!".

It's finished!

Where it belongs - at last!

Needless to say there was a HUGE sigh of satisfaction and much happy dancing. My eldest scooped it up with delight and wrapped himself up in it like a caterpillar in a cocoon. That was probably the best moment. It is now draped over his top bunk and he loves to lie on it and under it.