Sharing recipes, crafts and frugal living, the challenges and triumphs of parenting a neurotypical child and a child on the Autism Spectrum. Yoga Instructor said goodbye to her nightly glass of Chardonnay to give up habits that were not serving her purpose in life! The CocktailMom name remains, however with a new focus on healthy and authentic living.

1/11/2012

Granny Square Crochet Blanket

Now that the holidays have passed and all the handmade presents have landed in each person's hands I am able to share with you all what I made.
This Granny Square Blanket was made for my sister and her boyfriend, Bill. It seems odd to call him her boyfriend when they are in their late thirties and own a home together...I'll call him her partner. Because simply that is what he is, the term boyfriend seems high school-ish. And the term partner shouldn't just be used for same-sex relationships. Don't you agree?
This blanket was a labor of love. I'm not a stranger to large projects, and I often am making blankets for other people. I love zen knitting, casting on and knitting until I think it's finished. This blanket was nothing of the sort. I saw this post on Canadian Living (no I'm not Canadian but I like to pretend I am) and fell in love with it.
I prefer to crochet over knitting. I'm better at it and I feel more creative with a crochet hook in my hand. So I was excited to get started, choosing the colors wisely. Not to feminine yet not extremely masculine. I wanted to use nuetral colors, nothing exceptionally bold because at the time when I began this project I wasn't exactly sure what their new decor was going to be like. Little did I know I'd be swimming in granny squares, making more than I actually needed. Once I had a lot of squares made I laid them out and didn't like what I saw. It looked too busy and I was doubtful that they would like it. So instead of going with the original plan on copying this blanket I started adding stitches around each square in brown yarn and after completing four squares I knew this was how the blanket should look...bigger granny squares. I sewed each square together using a single crochet stitch, which means on the reverse side of the blanket there is a raised edge. Some people don't like it esthetically but I don't mind it. A simple border around the entire blanket that gives it a feminine touch completes the entire look.
My sister and her partner, Bill, loved it when they opened it at our holiday lunch. And I loved finishing it.
I still have a bag of already made granny squares, it pains my heart to rip them out...any ideas on what to do with them besides making another blanket?



2 comments:

Maud said...

An American friend of mine moved to the UK about a year ago and found she was almost embarrassed to refer to her husband, because everyone else talked about their "partners," even though they were neither gay nor in business with them. (In the UK I think people our age often don't bother getting married, kids or not.)

Gretchen said...

That is really interesting, I had no idea. Thanks for reading.

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