Wednesday 30 October 2013

My Ta-Dah

Hello Ladies,


This is week 4 of my Crochet-A-Long with Chrissie, Marianne and all of you who have joined in too.
My blanket is finally finished :) 
I wanted to make my Mum a lap blanket for her birthday. She's quite a hard person to buy for and I thought this would be the ideal gift. I had already seen this block made up into blanket on Annette's blog "My Rose Valley" and it looked beautiful. I used King Coles DK for the colours and they were just the sort of colours my Mum would like. They were already in my yarn stash, though for the life of me I can't remember why I bought them as they are not a colour I would of chose for myself. But they were among the first yarns I bought when I first started crocheting again back in March.The cream is by Sirdar/Hayfield called "DK with wool", this I did buy for the blanket and it's really nice to work with.


Now my Mum has Alzheimers and she does come out with some pretty weird and wonderful ideas. She already has a blanket that she uses but it's quite old and when I went up to see her one day she was stuffing it into a black sack, I thought it was because she wanted it washed, but no it was going out for rubbish. When I asked why, she told me it was because it wasn't a fleece. I haven't the foggiest where she has got this idea from, but if something isn't a fleece it's not warm enough.
For nearly two weeks her carer had to monitor the bins as she kept throwing out cardigans, because they weren't a fleece. I have since bought her a few fleece cardigans as she was having none of it when we tried to tell her, her cardi's would be warm enough.
So I could see this blanket being stuffed into a black sack as it wasn't a fleece, lol. I then decided to back it like a quilt with fleece. I bought some cream fleece and buttons as I thought I could use the buttons to tie the fleece to the blanket as you would a patchwork quilt.

When I started to put the buttons on I realised that it spoilt the look of the motif and I wasn't happy with it at all. So then I decided to still use the tie method but to tie it where the 4 corners joined.

I don't know if you can see it properly but it actually worked out quite well and certainly looks better without the buttons and hopefully it won't be going into a black sack :)

Here is the fleece on the back of the blanket. 

For the border I just used a simple shell edging as I thought it matched the flowers.
And finally the complete blanket being shown to you with the help of supervisor Tallulah.


I've enjoyed making this blanket but I'm now excited about starting another project.
Roll on week 5 of CAL
Have a good week everyone, take care.
Sally  xxx

18 comments:

  1. Oh Sally, you are a marvel! I can't wait to finish my CAL post so you can link up - the blanket is so very beautiful, and your fleece backing is genius. Most admirable and inspirational is your attitude towards your mum's illness and how you go to special lengths to accommodate her curious behaviour. You are a role model! Thank you so much for sharing, Chrissie x

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    1. Thank you Chrissie, I have really enjoyed making this blanket. I think maybe the African Flowers next.
      As for my Mum, what makes things so much easier is she has such a brilliant care who has become a really good friend.
      Sally xxx

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  2. Your blanket is wonderful, and such a good idea to meet your Mum's current need for fleece. It sounds as though you are dealing with her illness in an amazing way. I hope that she is able to enjoy the blanket. I wish you and your Mum all the best. xx

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    1. Thank you Amy for your lovely comments.
      Sally xxx

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  4. Your blanket is absolutely stunning. So lovely that you backed it with fleece too, to meet your mums needs...what a caring, thoughtful daughter you must be.
    Marianne xx

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    1. Thank you Marianne, let's hope the fleece saves it from the black sack, lol.
      Xxx

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  5. Sally, you are such a wonderful daughter, taking the time to make this beautiful blanket for you Mom and backing it with fleece. Taking care of our older parents is no picnic, I know that for a fact.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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    1. Thank you, Meredith, parent caring is harder than children caring I think, but her carer makes my life a lot easier.
      Hugs xxx

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  6. Hi Sally, your blanket is gorgeous, the colours and motif are so pretty. I love how you've added the fleece, how snugly.
    In answer to your question, regarding the yarn I used for the Fair Isle style cardi was Drops Nepal which is an Aran weight alpaca/wool blend. It's on offer at £1.50 for 50g at the moment. Have a good weekend. Deb x

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    1. Thank you Deb, I seem to be hearing more and more about Drops yarn, maybe if need to invest in some and see what it's like to work with. Is it Drops you are using for you motifs as well?
      Xxx

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  7. Sally that is really beautiful! I love the colors you chose... I have such a hard time with choosing colors but clearly you have mastered that talent! Sorry to hear about your Mom... and let's all hope she keeps it close by and not in the bin! You really did a lovely job of it!
    Hugs
    Beth P

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    1. Thank you Beth, I too have a colour issue, I don't think I'm quite confident enough in putting colours together and I always seem to admire other people colour choices. The colours for Mums blanket were yarns I already had, not sure what I originally got them for. But at least they are now used.
      Take care xxx

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  8. Wow Sally. Your blanket is stunning!
    Aw sorry to hear about your Mum hopefully she'll keep it close. Your little helper Tallulah looks like she's doing a great job.
    Truly beautiful blanket love it x

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  9. Oh wow Sally, this is beautiful! Your mum will love it!! I just hope that she doesnt bin it, although having the fleece on the back is quite a good idea :)

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    1. Thanks Hazel, maybe we'll have to be on bin watch for a few days at least till we know if it has her approval, lol.
      Xxx

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  10. Your blanket is so pretty. I'm fairly new to crochet and I'd dearly like to create a blanket that is as pretty as yours. However, finding wool and then deciding which colours is stopping me getting started. Where is the best place to buy yarn and how much would I need? Hope you don't mind me asking.

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  11. Just seen your gorgeous blanket in your sidebar Sally! It looks amazing, and i love the simplicity of the coloured motif surrounded by white, and the clever idea of adding a fleece backing - i might do this for my baby blanket,such a good idea!
    I hope your Mum likes it!
    Gill xx

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