Monday, March 23, 2015

Finished Baby Blanket.................


I had a few goals this past weekend, finish the dreaded pressure washing, and finish this adorable baby blanket.  I achieved both of them.  My screens and pavers on my back pool area are sparkling and this baby blanket is done.  A good weekend I'd say.


Of course I chose to take pictures on a dreary rainy morning but I just couldn't wait.  The way my week is lining up this might be my only allotted time to post about it.  


This is another version of the The Crazy Granny Square by Melinda Miller.   The blanket measures 41 x 41 inches, with just a dc border.  I did not want anything fancy, just a simple border to go with the basic pattern of the granny square.

I used Kraemer Yarns Tatamy in Baby Powder and Playtime to make this blanket.  It is for my husbands nephew and his wife who are expecting their first baby.  1,500 yards were used to make this, 375 yards of the white or baby powder, and 1,125 of the playtime or green.  The white yarn was left over from the African Flower Baby Blanket I made ages ago, and the green was bought 3 years ago to make a sweater, a sweater involving a ton of short rows, I should have known better.  I think this yarn was waiting for this baby to come along all this time.  We don't know the sex yet, and won't until this sweet little one is born so I went with gender neutral.  I used a size H hook.  Seems like a lot of yarn for a baby blanket but crochet is a yarn suck isn't it?

I started this blanket on March 4 and finished it up yesterday.  It is amazing how fast you can get something done when you are monogamous.  I am monogamous in everything in life but playing with yarn, I usually have several projects on the go at once. 


This small horse or big pony was a gift from my next door neighbor for Little Buddy.  It was hers when she was younger.  She is all of 14 now and is much too old for it, he loves it.

Thank you for your very honest and sometimes very funny responses to my last post.  I think we all try to see the good in life and post about it.  But a reality check every now and again keeps us honest.  I have a thing about social media, which is one of the reasons I try to steer clear of it.  It presents us with an unrealistic picture of life of our friends, and sometimes family, they post a picture perfect moment and then we think about our own life and it somehow falls short.  Some blogs do that too and I am not judging them, I like beautiful projects and gorgeous flowers myself.  But I think I need to show the beautiful, the staged photos and sometimes the real ones, too.  Life isn't always picture perfect, it is not meant to be, sometimes it is just plain ole life. 

Have a great week.

44 comments:

handmade by amalia said...

It was good of the horse to stand patiently and pose so that we can admire your blanket in all its glory. Now little Buddy can ride to imaginary places and the blanket can be put to good use. Well done, dear friend!
Amalia
xo

mamasmercantile said...

Beautiful blanket, I love the colour combination, a lovely gift. I love the horse too, how thoughtful of your young neighbour to think of Little Buddy.

Babajeza said...

Just a quick hello from my plain Monday. :-) Have a nice week! Regula

kathyinozarks said...

that was so kind that your neighbor shared her horse, I love the big frog too. and you chose a lovely soft green-perfect for baby
have an awesome new week-hugs Kathy

Anonymous said...

Very sweet!!! I like green :)

Hedy King said...

I, too, love the horse and the excellent blanket, but mostly I love that you are monogamous with your yarn projects! I can never just have one quilt going at a time. Does that make me...promiscuous? Forty-eight years with one man, but I cheat on my quilts! Heeheehee. Thanks for the laugh this morning.

Home Meadows said...

Your blanket turned out great and it even matches the background on your blog. :-) I hope you had a nice weekend. It's in the 30's here; brrrr! Have a great day, Heather

Mylittlepieceofengland said...

Lovely blanket, I really love the shade of green. Feels good to have had a productive weekend xx

Grammy Braxton said...

I adore that blanket. I feel one in my future. The frog rocking chair is so cute. I love rocking chairs of any size and one with a frog for a back.....amazing! I'm glad you were able to get your goals finished this weekend. I don't know how you manage to do all you do. I hope you have a wonderful week.
Hugs,
Sharon

Unknown said...

That blacket is so pretty! The parents to be will be thrilled with it. Just think of the little one all wrapped up snug in it.
That was so nice of the neighborhood girl to give LB the pony. I bet he loves the softness of it.

Gracie Saylor said...

Thanks for sharing some of the details of how you made the handsome baby blanket, Meredith. The times I have guessed how much yarn I need for a project rather than shop with pattern in hand, I generally guess wrong. [the blanket poses well with both frog and horse :-) ]
Happy week to you and yours! xx

Betsy said...

Good morning Meredith! I know the new baby will love being wrapped in that beautiful blanket. Thank you for all of the details. I'm still working on that log cabin knit blanket. It will be a long, long time before it's finished as it's very time consuming. Meanwhile, I have veered off and made a couple of baby hats and finished the crochet baby blankets. I'm eyeing a doily project too! So I think the log cabin will be my "mindless" knitting when I don't want to think. :-)
Your neighbor was so sweet to think of Lil Buddy. Unusual for a lot of 14 year olds these days but it does give you hope doesn't it? :-) He's very cute and so is Mr. Frog chair. Congrats on getting all of your projects done. We moved our patio furniture out of the shed and puttered around outside a bit yesterday too.
Blessings,
Betsy

Géraldine B. said...

One word : beautiful ! Have a lovely week ...

kathy b said...

aww what a wonderful blanket! Our nephews and nieces have been having babies too. Im a GREAT aunt already...
I love Lil B's pony and I love how you photographed the blanket.
Nice very nice Mere

Tasha said...

baby blanket is beautiful!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

What a beautiful blanket! That is a lucky baby! Adore that horse!
hugs,
Linda

CJ said...

Absolutely gorgeous baby blanket, I love, love, love that shade of green. No doubt it will be always treasured. And it's so satisfying to get big jobs crossed off of the list isn't it, well done on those screens! No perfectly styled life here, I sat down yesterday on a seat that wasn't there. Shame there's no photo. Have a good week Meredith. CJ xx

linda said...

That's a very cute pony. Love your blanket Meredith and you were so quick with it! I love this ladies patterns there are some great squares hopefully I will get the time to try some of them out. :) xx

Una said...

I love the way the blanket looks on the frog chair.Perfect colours.

Maureen said...

The blanket looks great,especially on the froggie chair!

Jo@awholeplotoflove said...

Your blanket is a lovely combination of colours, very restful for the baby when he/she is born x

Tanna said...

Girl, you did work like a whirling dervish this past weekend! This blanket is so cute... a wonderful gift. And, a nice clean pool area! Bring on the beautiful weather! blessings ~ tanna

Teresa Kasner said...

Your blanket turned out perfect and I know the baby will love it forever. What a nice neigh-bor.. (hehe) to give LB that wonderful stuffed horse! I bet he loves it. I don't see a thing wrong with working on different projects, it's keeps us from getting bored. But I'm done with my blanket! Yay! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Amy at love made my home said...

I love the blanket and the horse!! I think that we are all sensible enough to know that what we show the world doesn't mean that we are perfect, it just means that we keep the messy stuffed stashed away somewhere. It is the same as clearing up and tidying madly before a friend comes to your house, you want to present the best side of things and we do that online too. So don't worry about it!! xx

Sweet Posy Dreams said...

Love the color choice for the baby blanket. I'm sure the parents (and baby!) will love it.

Between Me and You said...

D'you know, Meredith, I was just thinking the same about social media. Especially the pics of my friend in NZ looking thinner, happier, tanned and healthier than she's looked for years and I found myself knitpicking (pardon the pun)every aspect of my life. I'm over it now because, although I'm not rich financially, I'm very rich in blessings. I'm counting them everyday. Blanket is gorgeous too. Have a good week, Meredith.xxx

Sue C said...

What a lovely blanket

RedSetter said...

Love the blanket and that really was fast to make it up. I'm always impressed with your crochet speed. The horse/pony is gorgeous and what a lovely thing for your neigh(!)bour to do!

Crystal Rose Cottage said...

Such a pretty blanket! I love the colors you used. I am sure that lucky little great niece or nephew is going to love it! As I type this it is snowing outside....can't believe it but it will be gone tomorrow. Much warmer temps in a couple of days. It is in the process of transitioning to Spring. Have more than several projects going right now. I like to change it up and have some variety to stitches and looking at colors of yarn. I am very happy with myself with all that I have accomplished this last year and of what I have learned. Sounds like you have a busy week ahead....don't work too hard!
Hugs, Patti

My Garden Diaries said...

You said it perfectly pal! Life is messy and crazy! But boy the bits of beauty that come out of it like your blanket are just spectacular!! It is stunning! And how CUTE is that horse for Little Buddy! You have yourself a good week after getting all of that accomplished! Take care...Nicole xoxo

Anonymous said...

I think fuzzy horsie may want to keep that blanket for himself.

The blanket is gorgeous. Congrats on getting it finished in time. :-)

Judy S. said...

Gosh, you must have gone to work to rest up!? No, I know you keep busy there, too. Wish I had your energy! Love the blanket and I'm sure that new baby will, too. There must have been something in the air, as lots of folks were pressure washing here, too, but in the rain. Gotta do it though or the moss will win!

Unknown said...

Great blanket, I'm sure it'll be much loved!
And as I said in your latest post, I like reality better than picture perfect expectations! ; )

Kris said...

Beautiful baby blanket Meredith. Love that shade of green! Always feels good to complete our to do list!!!
Crochet IS a yarn suck
XO Kris

Jennifer Hays said...

Your blanket is beautiful, Meredith. I really like this design you've been making. Well done.

Chris said...

Such a lovely blanket for a new babe. I'm sure the parents will be touched by your generosity. Yep, life is life, I have learned to laugh a lot! Power washer, I could do with one here too, everything is so dusty and dirty after winter! Hang in there pal'

Pammy Sue said...

I agree wholeheartedly with your last comments about blogs and reality. I have made the same observations and had those exact feelings before. The ideal world is all most people want to share. I prefer a little reality once in a while even if it is sad or depressing or just not perfect. I can identify with them more easily if I know they're just like me with my imperfections!

I love your baby blanket! Seems like you did that really fast. It's adorable spread over the little horse too. Great photos.

HollyM said...

What a lovely gift. Green is my favourite color but I wasn't sure about the blanket when I saw the one block that you had completed. I have to say that it's beautiful!
I can't believe you got it done so fast! I have a hard time to stick to one thing at a time too.

Gillian said...

I love the baby blanket. It's amazing how quickly you can get something finished when you concentrate on it alone.

Lynne said...

Hi Meredith! I often wonder how much more I might accomplish if I stuck to one project at a time. Not sure I ever tried it haha! I'm loving that baby blanket, it turned out beautiful.
Your reality check post was spot on.
Well said :)

Jo said...

When did you pull that one out the bag you amazing lady! it looks great. Jo x

Ingrid K. said...

Hi Mere!

Love your baby blanket! Well done for getting it finished - any ideas what you might want to make next?

I also agree about keeping it real!

Hugs!
Ingrid xx
http://myfunkycrochet.blogspot.be

Ljubinka said...

Lovely blanket!
Greetings.:*

Annie Cholewa said...

The blanket is gorgeous, and I love the frog chair :)