Look look look! I finished my blanket!!

[Miaou]

Pic in my profile

It's for dd1's single bed but I spread it out on our bed to take the photo. I got lots of help from MNers on this (particularly Ceolas, Marina, NQC and Idreamofdaleks) so I thought I would share the final result!

Ceolas - I will be sending your book back to you shortly - it was truly invaluable, I took lots of ideas from there!

We're fine, thank you. Not too worried about the kidnapping as it was hundreds of miles away. Dd1 is here atm and then this time next week we'll be back in sunny Scotland!!!!!

It's gorgeous!!

Oh, and if your dd ever gets fed up with it( not that i'm implying she would!)... my dd has the same name..

Oh phew suedonim Have a good trip back!

respect

It's lovely. It reminds me of the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories, (Little House on the Prairie), where they often talk about quilt and blanket making, passing on family stories, names etc. Well done for making it!!

Aw thanks guys! I'm actually quite pleased with the colour balance in the end, thought it might look a bit ... bitty.

Current project is a sweater for dd1 which I was supposed to make her about a year ago - don't usually make two things in a row for one child! In between the blanket and the jumper I made a hat and some bootees for the baby but they are huuuuge so I have put them away for the winter!!

Womba1 - great taste you have

Wow miaou, it's absolutely stunning - clever you Am very of your skill!

That's lovely, are the "picture" squares knitted too?

wow that is so creative, and something she can cherish forever, what a lovely thing to do. You are very talented.

I just had another look! I really love it! Do you and dd have favourite squares?

I have just bought the Mason Dixon book and started the mitred square blanket - now I wish I had started one of these instead!

Yes makealist - they are intarsia squares - ie you follow a graphed up version of the picture. Easy when you know how! I'm really not that good a knitter, but I got the hang of intarsia and that looks a lot more impressive/difficult than it actually is

daleks - dd's favourite square is a dark blue one with lots of multi-coloured bobbles on it (you can just see it on the far left-hand side, one up from the bottom). My favourite is an intarsia square of a window with three pots of sunflowers on, the middle pot and flower being wooden buttons. I designed that one myself and it came out quite well (she says modestly )

Just seen this - we've been on holiday.

Well done you. It's fantastic!

How did you do the border in the end?

Oooh goody Ceolas - hope you had a nice time!!

The border is crocheted - two rows of double crochet then a "shell" pattern to finish - makes a wavy edge without being too "frilly" for dd1, my very non-girly girl!

Still got your book sitting here - twas incredibly useful - but have to waddle up to the PO to get something to wrap it in to send it back - hopefully before db makes an appearance!

miaou, that is absolutely beautiful - you are very clever and DD1 is a lucky girl

Wow- that is amazing, miaou. Really gorgeous.

aw thank you WW! I really enjoyed making it. I am knitting a sweater now and it is SOOOOO boring in comparison. Dd2 is angling for a blanket too and I might just have to oblige before long!

Did you block the squares before sewing p, Miaou?

I have done a sort of mini sampler blanket for db. I have a pile of squares but not sewn anything yet. They're all one colour but different textures, cables, etc. Some curling up at the edges...

wow!thats lovely!im sure she'll treasure it-i would!

wow Miaou - it is stunning!

I have lots of things left over from "previous hobbies" too - tapestry wool, emboidery silks, fabric, wool etc. Must get back into SOMETHING!

Well done!

No I didn't block them, Ceolas - far too lazy! I did wash them all in the washing machine first though, to counteract any shrinkage (no way am I faffing about with a blanket that can only be handwashed, I can tell you ). I found that once washed (and air dried) they didn't curl up as much as before, which made life a lot easier! I was surprised how well they all fitted together tbh, I thought there would be more disparity in the sizes. But I abandoned the idea of a crochet border between the squares because of the need to "ease" some of the squares to fit.

thats really good wish i could do something like that

This thing of mine is done in red and cream. I do worry about the red running

Maybe I should wash the squares first?

You could always wash a plain red square with a white dishcloth (or similar) and check for signs that it has gone pink - if it does, then you will know to handwash in coolish water in future!

The centre square is cream with an intarsia heart. Seemed like a good idea at the time!

Actually, if I wash them and them block them out while wet...

Spin them on a delicate cycle first - they'll still be wet enough to block (mine were!) but slightly easier to handle.