Saturday 9 February 2013

Taddah!!! Blanket finished!


At last, here it is in all its glory!

This afternoon I completed the final mitred square on my blanket and heaved a great sigh of relief! It was a truly epic undertaking, but I think I may have created a family heirloom, to hopefully be handed down the generations!


 I started the project last September and I've interrupted its progress with other items, so I couldn't really say exactly how long it took to create. The hardest part was estimating the dimensions. Having worked out the size of an individual block I planned it out on paper.



Then it was a matter of knitting each block, starting at the bottom right and working left along each row, picking up the required stitches as I went. Mitred squares really are such an easy thing to knit - once you have all your stitches on the needle it's simply a matter of decreasing two stitches in the middle of every other row! (and a very nice project to have in your lap as you watch TV as it's all done in Garter/Knit stitch!)

The multicoloured yarn is Sirdar's Crofter DK in 'Houndstooth'. I'd used it to knit a cardigan but the style never looked right on me, so unravelled it and re-used the yarn.



The cream yarn was just basic (read: cheap!) acrylic DK - picked up in a local hardware store, as and when I needed it.

Of course, I had to buy more of the Crofter (twice!) as the project grew. About halfway through, I decided I really ought to do the maths and work out how many squares per ball of wool, so that I would know how much to purchase in my final order!

So, for completeness' sake - here are some facts:

Number of squares in total: 462
Number of balls of Sirdar Crofter: 22
Number of balls of Cream DK: 9
Approximate time to complete one square: 15 minutes (which equates to 115.5 hours in total - or thereabouts!)




Of course, I still have to go back and sew in some of the ends, but I mostly managed to weave them in as I went along, so it will just be a question of snipping off the loose ends. I was toying with adding a double-crochet edging all the way around - still not decided on that. It's so light and snuggly-soft, for all its size!

In the meantime I wanted to share the finished item with you, as I've been referring to it off and on here for quite some months! (and I have to say, I'm really rather proud of it!)

17 comments:

  1. Oh, Sue, that is gorgeous! I love the colors and it looks great on the bed. One thing about acrylic yarn is that it lasts forever. Nice when you have a potential heirloom. You are right to be proud of it.

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    1. Thank you, ma'am! (just have to get around to snipping off those ends....and what will I have to knit as I watch TV tonight, I wonder?!) ;-p

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  2. It is fabulous. I clicked through the pictures several times, taking it all in, and then read your text. And then enjoyed the pictures again.

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  3. Oh it looks lovely!! :) xx

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  4. What an amazing endeavor ! Congrats on getting it done..an heirloom in the making!

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  5. That will definitely be a beautiful heirloom.

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  6. This is impressive!!! 462 squares! And you only started last September!

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  7. So impressed, especially as you have completed it in such a short time. Love the idea of considering it as an heirloom, am trying this with the Beekeepers quilt but so far have achieved just under 180 hexipuffs so it is a long haul compared with yours.

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  8. Spectacular!!!! I have no other words, this is simply amazing....well done.

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  9. That's fantastic! Most impressive, and a lovely thing to have as an heirloom. Found your blog via "Grow your blog". Great idea!

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  10. Gorgeous!! And it looks uber comfy too!

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  11. that looks like the project of a lifetime you accomplished it in less than a year...heck, less than six months...incredible and beautiful!

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  12. I am totally in awe of BIG blankets right now .. Mainly cos I am in the middle of one. Yours is stunning

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  13. That is an amazing work of art! I just ran across an afghan of mitred squares that I am filing away for a rainy day when I have absolutely NO project in the works....HA! Like that will happen when people just KEEP on having babies.....

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    1. Thank you! Hope you'll share your afghan pattern - would love to see it! :-)

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  14. Your blanket is stunning, well worth all of the hours that you put into it. A real family heirloom for sure

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