Finished Sofa Blanket (Grandma’s Lacy Ripple Pattern)

This post has been a long, long, long time coming. You will almost definitely not remember a post I wrote back in February in which I pondered various patterns that might be a good fit to crochet for my living room. I wanted a throw blanket to toss on my sofa for a few reasons: 1) a black leather couch in a room I have tried to make very light and airy could use a little lightening/cozyifying [totally real words] in the form of a snuggly blanket, 2) I spend a LOT of time on that couch crocheting, reading, pondering life’s great mysteries [I kid, of course; I mostly ponder things like how handsome my current celebrity crush Mr. Ackles looks in a 1940s suit], and a blanket would make these enjoyable tasks even enjoyabler, and 3) well, I sure love crocheting blankets, so why not?

And now, 7 months (!!!!) after settling on a pattern, selecting yarn, and eagerly starting my blanket, I’ve finally finished it.

7 months. SEVEN! That’s a bit outrageous, especially considering that I loved everything about this project—the yarn was perfect, the pattern was lovely, I felt confident about my choices and ability to tackle it . . . I guess my excuse is pregnancy brain. I’ve been pregnant for all 7 of those months, and while I picked up this project every now and then to add a few rows, it spent a lot of time being set aside while I worked on baby projects instead. But I’m so glad it’s finished, and I absolutely love my finished blanket. Behold!

Isn’t it nice? I ended up using the same pattern I used for the queen-sized blanket in my bedroom—it is called Grandma’s Lacy Ripple. Never have I heard a less appealing, more granny-sounding title for a crochet pattern, but boy, it does make a nice finished piece! The pattern works up quickly and simply (well, it’s quick if you spend more than 15 minutes per month on it, that is), and I love the detail in it. It’s simple and pretty and has a bit of an old-fashioned feel, but still looks fresh and cozy.

And though the pattern is part of an older book, I got lucky and found a PDF copy of it online HERE. Win! UPDATE: Bad news folks—we broke the internet! That link, which has faithfully worked for oh-so-long, is dead, deceased, and gone. I don’t know what happened. But I uploaded my copy of the pattern—visit THIS POST to find it. Thank you!

I used one of my absolute favorite yarns for this project—Vanna’s Choice by Lion Brand Yarn. I love experimenting with different brands of yarn, but this is consistently one of my favorites. It’s the perfect mix of soft + structure (it’s cozy and soft and comfortable, but holds its shape beautifully so intricacies of the pattern really stand out).

I chose Silver Blue and hoped it would be a good fit for my green and blue living room, and I think it fits in beautifully. I struggled to decide between using a blue or a gray yarn for this blanket, and this color was the perfect in-between . . . a cool, icy blue that doesn’t come across too strong. I ended up using 11 skeins for my throw blanket (I made it very generously-sized . . . definitely big enough for two to cuddle up under), and I can’t wait for cooler weather so I can snuggle up with it while reading or working on new projects.

Hopefully my next project won’t take anywhere close to 7 months to complete. What’s your longest project to date?