Maybe Matilda: A Belated Granny Blanket

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

A Belated Granny Blanket

Props, props, and more props to those of you out there who can manage to plan out a DIY gift, start working on the gift, finish working on that gift, and actually give that gift right on time for the occasion for which the gift is being given. (<—that sentence there? Me and my keyboard don’t totally understand that concept of ‘succinct.’)

My sister Bekah got married at the start of June and since she weighs roughly 42 pounds and suffers from Perpetually Cold Skinny Person Syndrome (PCSPS, if you will), I thought maybe a cozy handmade blanket would make a nice wedding gift for her (it is the only known cure for PCSPS). She and her now-husband will be furnishing and decorating their first apartment together, so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone and keep the poor skinny thing warm plus give her a throw blanket to decorate the new place with. And I even started nice and early, over a month in advance of the wedding. Then the big day came, the big day went, and almost exactly one month after the hubbub has died down, I finally finished their blanket. Better late than never or something like that.

Blue, pink, and green granny square blanket // www.maybematilda.com

You know what I think the problem is? It’s all those dang ends. I actually had the blanket itself finished almost in time for the wedding (almost is pretty okay, right? not awesome, but pretty okay), but dragged my feet when it came to sewing the ends in for weeks and weeks. I hate, despise, abhor, loathe weaving yarn ends in. The worst worst worst worst WORST part of any crochet project. I need to train Forrest to do it for me. I could pay him in Cheetos and Netflix. This could work. It’s high time he start earning his keep around here, and weaving in my yarn tails sounds like the ideal way to do it.

Blue, pink, and green granny square blanket // www.maybematilda.com

In a slight departure from the typical granny square afghan, I alternated colorful squares with plain white squares. I love that it adds a bit of a brighter, fresher feel to the blanket. And I really like how the thick granny stripe border turned out. I actually had planned on making that border about 3 times wider than it is, but I ran out of the green yarn and couldn’t get my hands on more at any of my local stores. So instead of continuing without it (or waiting for it to arrive by mail), I just finished it off. Maybe I’ll ask for the blanket back and tack on a few more rows of border in time for their 1st anniversary (that’s too optimistic, considering my sluggish turnaround time on this blanket . . . 4th anniversary it is!).

Blue, pink, and green granny square blanket // www.maybematilda.com

And I can already feel it coming . . . someone will ask for the pattern for these squares. And I am so, so sorry about this, but since it’s been so long since I started the blanket, I have no idea where I found the square pattern anymore. I’ve combed through my Pinterest boards and Ravelry favorites and can’t find it, and my googling has gotten me nowhere. I apologize. If anyone recognizes this particular square and knows where I can find the pattern, let me know and I’ll post it here! {Update: woohoo, a reader found it! This pattern appears to be identical to the one I used. Find it HERE. Thank you for the help, Megan!}

Blue, pink, and green granny square blanket // www.maybematilda.com

I used Vanna’s Choice for this blanket in White, Aqua, and Sapphire, and Vanna’s Choice Baby in Sweet Pea and Pink Poodle. Vanna’s Choice is consistently among my favorite yarns for just about every project. Wonderful color choices, affordable, soft (but not so overly soft/slippery that it won’t hold a shape), and it wears very nicely over time. (They are not paying me to say any of this, by the way. I just love my Vanna and would wholeheartedly recommend it.)

Feels good to finally get that blanket off my couch and into the newlyweds’ possession. And I’ve learned my lesson—next time I plan to start a project that produces zillions of dreaded ends to sew in, I’ll give myself a generous 4+ month window.

20 comments :

  1. Beautiful blanket! I know how you feel...when I´m working on a granny blanket most of the time I procastinate the sewing in with crocheting one more Granny Square and one more and one more...and so on. Still it´s the day before presenting someone the blanket...then it´s a long night with sewing in ends! Hooray! I tried several weaving the ends in while crocheting-techniques, but none of them worked really fine...

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  2. The colors in that blanket are gorgeous!!

    Only once have I ever completed a homemade gift on time... I made felt food for my nieces last Christmas and I had to sew like a mad woman on the plane to their house (try explaining needles and sewing scissors to TSA) to get it done! The sad part was I started in OCTOBER!

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  3. It's so lovely!! Such pretty colors you chose! I had to pin it too! :)
    Have a wonderful week!!
    xo Holly

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  4. beautiful!

    and this post made me laugh out loud (or at least out loud in my head. i am at work...). i have a baby blanket that i have been neglecting for months. and it's all done except for the tails. i told my friend that i would get it to her before her daughter turns one. and my window is rapidly closing.


    saddest thing is - i finished it in january(!) when i had a full week off while i was in between jobs. so sad. so pathetic. the blanket is in a bag hanging on my closet door handle and stares at me reproachfully every night.


    i've got to weave those tails in this week...

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  5. Dude, don't feel bad. I'm currently working on an afghan for my in-laws. That I was going to give them for Christmas.... last year. Hopefully I'll have it finished by this Christmas! The problem is my crochet time is all in the summer when I'm not teaching, but who wants to crochet in Houston in the summer when it's 175 degrees outside?

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  6. Hahaha! It's the curse of giving handmade.

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  7. Ugh, I can't blame you. It's definitely a seasonal hobby!

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  8. I do the same thing--finish it pretty quickly, then leave it sitting around forever waiting for just that one last step. Sigh. Weaving ends in is AWFUL.

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  9. Ha, I did the exact same thing! I told myself I'd stop at the end of each row of joined squares and sew the ends in. A zillion squares later, guess how many ends I had sewn in? (None. None at all.)

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  10. I feel the same way about tails. I have a queen sized blanket that is 99% done, just the ends need woven in. It has been sitting like this for 6 months.. I'll finish it one day. Also, I just wanted to ask you the method you use to connect your squares. I have seen many ways and want your opinion as to how you like to do it. And lastly, I found a link to how make the particular square that you made, but not the exact pattern. It is a mandala turned into a granny. (http://crochethealingandraymond.wordpress.com/2010/09/05/grandala-square-tutorial/). Hope this helps!

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  11. That really suits you, I really like that skirt. Not sure I could carry it off though :/
    Ii love anything retro and a bit different but then again I don't really buy into "fashions" as such. Maybe a bit of both?

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  12. The worst!!! It takes so much work to talk myself into weaving those ends in. I used this join method, and LOVED it, would highly recommend: http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/joining-asyougo-sqaures.html

    I can't get that link you included to open :-(

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  13. http://crochethealingandraymond.wordpress.com/2010/09/05/grandala-square-tutorial/ Try this.... I have it on one of my pinterest boards or you can email me and I'll try to send it to you that way.

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  14. You know I'm not about to judge. Child labor definitely sounds like the best option here, and I consider anything given within a year of the intended date to be early!

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  15. That's it!!! Thanks so much! I'll add the link to the post.

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  16. gorgeous blanket!! and no, you were not the only one who gives these types of gifts late :-) I tend to give baby shower blankets by the time the baby is 6 months old!

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  17. oh boy, I am late seeing this post! I love that skirt! I recently tried wearing a pretty bold maxi dress (my kids call it a peacock dress) and I love it, it was never something I would have worn, I bought it to prove to my family I could lol I wear it lots now, I need to buy more bold pieces

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  18. Haha! Sounds cute to me :-) I've found myself doing the same thing--wearing something really trendy just to prove I can, even if I feel uncomfortable with it. And I usually end up liking it more than I expected!

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