"Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least." ~Goethe~

25 February 2009

Crochet blankets from the past...

I wasn't sure what I was going to post about today.  Really didn't have my act together when it came to that today.  Who knows.  So with my little doings of adding color to the girls bathroom that wasn't much to show other than a few frames scattered on my desk (which is a horror right now, so embarrassing) colorful ribbon, crocheted flowers and pretty, bright, punchy buttons.  That just didn't seem too exciting to me for some reason today.  I think it is the lack of light outside today.  I'm just not a gray day kind of person unless there is nothing that has to be done and I can just kick back or nap all day.  I know, way to exciting I am.  :}  I will show what I am up to in the girls bathroom, just not today.  Sorry.

So with that I decided to show off a few of the blankets I have made some very special little peeps that are very dear to me.  And yes, a lot of work and thought was put into each of these so that they would fit each peep they were made for.

The first is for "Sir Nicholas" .  He is the son of my dear friend Julie in Texas.  He is such a sweet little guy.  You just want to squeeze him when you get near him.  Anyhoo, his bedroom is decorated with all kinds of cowboy stuff and so he needed a cowboy style blankie.  I got the pattern from a book from Candi Jensen (Candy Blankies).  I made this blankie bigger than in the book so that it would fit his twin bed, but it is crocheted all in one piece.  There was a lot of switching colors around when doing the "cow hide" patches.  But man did it turn out great.  And I lined the back with some plaid, checky style flannel.  It looks FAB in his room with all the cowboy stuff.  And let's not forget Julie's decorating abilities.  She thinks she doesn't have much of it, but let me tell you.  She knows what she is doing.  TALENT oozing out every where.  I just wish it would ooze over my way some.
Next, there is Miss Mary Kate.  She has a lovely green, purpley girls room.  So she got a cute little thing made just to go in her room.  With this blanket I made each square separate and joined them together at the end and then stitched the green stitching all through it.  The edging is so pretty and sets everything off beautifully.  I got this pattern from "Candi Blankies" also but just made more squares to make it bigger.  It is lined on the back also.  So cute.
Now this blue piece of work is my son's blankie.  There are 7 different blues used in this one.  I found this one in a Leisure Art book that I bought a few years back.  Each square is started down where the white  is and you just keep adding rows on two sides until you get to the darkest blue and then that one goes all the way around for 2 or 3 rows and then all are sewn together.  I also made this one with more squares than what the pattern called for to fit his bed.  He doesn't let anyone touch it.
This blankie is Em's.  She so loves old fashioned looking things and so was born this patchwork, quilty looking blankie with her favorite colors greens and purples.  Let me tell you that her and Mary Kate are  a lot alike.  It's kind of scary really.  I have a small book with patterns of all kinds which used small granny squares to make blankets.  So we gathered up Em's favorite colors at the store, 2 solid greens, 2 solid purples, cream and a variegated with all those colors mixed in.  And I charted the colors to replace the colors that were used in the original pattern.  I can't remember how many squares are in this blankie.  I didn't keep count while I was working on it because I would have screamed.  :}  I just made sure it was so many rows wide and so many long to fit her bed.  Yes, it is lined in the back too!  :)
Lastly, this is Brenna's blankie.  I designed this one myself.  Because where would you find a lady bug design for a cutie pie who adores lady bugs?  I couldn't find any so I just took some graph paper and drew out the picture on it within the same size as Em's.  There are a lot of two color granny squares on this one.  That really kicked my butt on this blankie because you really have to pay attention to what color you start with when doing the two color squares, for the simple fact that I connected them as I made them.  I'm sure it would be easier just to make all the squares and then sew them together but I just can't stand sitting and stitching all those buggers together.  At least this way I could see things coming together as I went.  Yes, lined also.  :)
Both of the girls blankies have over 700 little 2-row grannies in them.  Each of the five blankies took me about a month of evenings to crochet.  A lot of work but I loved every minute of it when you see the smiles that it puts on the little ones faces.  It's all worth it.
More tomorrow with the bathroom.  Hopefully the sun will be out.  Please!!!  :0)
Hope you all had a great day!! 
toodles!!!   xxxxx

2 comments:

  1. Kar, I AM SPEECHLESS! These are beautiful.

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  2. Wow, thanks for sharing pictures of all the lovely blankets! I'm particularly partial to the cow-spots-and-denim-pockets one, myself, but they're all beautiful, and beautifully done!

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