Well, this is exciting.
I’ve pretty much worked to patterns with every blanket I’ve made – the Scheepjes CAL, the Lydia Blanket, and Sophie’s Universe to name a few. This is fab, and I love working to other people’s patterns – it’s a great way to pick up some interesting techniques and take your crochet to places you’d never have discovered alone.
But… I had a craving to come up with my own design.
So I did! And I filled it with stuff I love!
While I do love the almost lyrical, romantic qualities of blankets like Sophie’s Universe and this year’s Mandala Madness CAL, what really makes my heart sing are bold geometric patterns.
Triangles make me giddy. Squares within squares fill me with joy. I love a pattern which isn’t made up of completely uniform repeats, but has a little bit of an edge to it. I want predictable unpredictability in a pattern, with clean geometric lines – you can tell I grew up in the 80s.
So, while I am still deep in the throes of my obsession with triangles (which is well documented on my Pinterest account!), I chose squares for this project – because I’m also having a little love affair with the granny square.
Oh, the granny square. It gets a bad rap I think. When I started crocheting, and even when I’d been crocheting for years, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that granny squares weren’t for me – and that they only came in brown, beige and orange. It is often seen in ugly colour combos, draped over the back of a couch in a sitcom, used as code for “this is a working class family, don’t aspire to be like them”, or “this person is not stylish”, or “this show is set in the 70s”.
The granny square enjoyed a recent resurgence in popularity with Gigi Hadid’s appearance in a Rosetta Getty granny square cardigan and scarf.
For 5 minutes after this, granny squares were the height of cool, but even then I thought the squares were a bit… inelegant?
Eventually though, the obsession began to creep in. The foundations were laid when I made the superb Granny Stripe blanket from Attic24, in some gorgeous bright colours of Stylecraft Special DK. I taught a couple of classes on how to make a granny square, and seeing people picking their fabulous colour combinations (none of which were brown, beige or orange!) started to inspire me.
But while I do love the traditional granny square, it felt a bit predictable for my first off-piste blanket. I needed it to be geometric, predictably unpredictable and bright. I didn’t want to sew it together – because I know from experience that that doesn’t end up happening (!), so I wanted a join as you go blanket, with big, geometric motifs.
The Big Reveal
So, as I’ve rambled on for quite long enough before showing you the whole blanket, here it is – the Unpredictable Granny:
She’s loud, she’s bold, she’s unapologetic she changes direction frequently, but underneath it all there’s a bit of order and logic to her. She’s… a lot like my actual “Granny” (we called her Nan!) was.
I used Stylecraft Special DK for this project – my default blanket yarn! I love how the bold colours clash and complement each other at the same time.
When I started the Unpredictable Granny project, I knew what I wanted from my squares – I wanted the corner of each square to be formed of a different square. Squares within squares, playing with how they fit together.
I wasn’t planning on adding a border to this blanket at first, but when I took my first full-blanket photos I realised it was really needed. The blanket looked unfinished without a border.
As you know if you’ve read my Seven Deadly Crochet Sins post, I am usually rubbish at adding borders to my blankets. I have heaps of them sitting around without borders on. But for the Unpredictable Granny, I made an exception!
As the whole blanket played with squares, I knew I somehow had to incorporate squares into my border. I pondered for a little while and then realised I could do this by just adding granny rows to the outside of the blanket in alternate colours, to create a checkerboard effect. I finished the border off with a row of single crochet to make the final granny row’s “squares” appear.
I’m utterly in love with this as a border idea – it adds such an edge to the blanket, I honestly couldn’t be happier with it. I love how the two colours came together in the border to really make it pop.
She might not be to everyone’s taste, but she makes no apologies. She works for me, and I think she’s going to continue to work for me in a couple of other colour combos!
Ah, she makes me so happy!
Until next time,
Elsie Pop
xx
Dean of Little Steps says
31st August 2016 at 8:44 pmThat’s a beautiful blanket! Well done. I wish I could make something like that.
Elsie Pop says
31st August 2016 at 9:16 pmThanks! xx
yvonne says
31st August 2016 at 9:40 pmI have to say I wasnt sure what you meant at first, but then I recognised the pattern when I saw your fab pics! Beautiful blanket, fab end result. Well done xx
Elsie Pop says
31st August 2016 at 9:43 pmThanks Yvonne! xx
Elizabeth says
1st September 2016 at 9:31 amSuch a beautiful work of art, this! Crocheting is so wonderfully relaxing and therapeutic, isn’t it. I’ve got a granny square blanket in my sewing basket I’ve been working on for about five years, lol! I pick it up every now and again and add some more. It’ll get finished one day. Maybe. 🙂
Elsie Pop says
2nd September 2016 at 1:06 pmAh the unfinished object – that’s how you know you’re a true crafter! xx
Ana says
1st September 2016 at 11:42 amBeautifully done and Well done! I love the colours and it reminds me of lego. Gosh I want one of my own i bet it’s so comfy and snuggly.
Elsie Pop says
1st September 2016 at 1:29 pmHaha I hadn’t thought of it as a lego blanket! xx
Toni | Gym Bunny Mummy says
1st September 2016 at 11:46 amI knit occasionally but have never grasped crochet. I do love a blanket though, I’ve got my second chunky cable knit on the go
Elsie Pop says
1st September 2016 at 1:28 pmAh a chunky cable knit is a great project – I have one on the needles at the moment, but I don’t turn to the needles often! Once you get into it, crochet is a lot quicker than knitting. xx
Geraldine says
1st September 2016 at 3:05 pmI love this. The colours are bold and bright enough to flow around the pattern . well done #mg
Elsie Pop says
1st September 2016 at 6:45 pmThanks Geraldine! xx
Silly Mummy says
1st September 2016 at 9:10 pmLovely – great first design! I love the colours. I used to know how to crochet when I was a kid (funnily enough my granny taught me!), and always enjoyed it. Now I can’t remember how to do it – one of those things I keep meaning to relearn! (Lucy/R is for Hoppit)
Elsie Pop says
2nd September 2016 at 8:51 amThanks Lucy, I’m sure you’d re-learn in no time. I don’t admit to it often, but crochet is dead easy! xx
Emma Plus Three says
2nd September 2016 at 12:37 pmI love granny square blankets! Especially brightly coloured ones, yours is amazing x #sharingthebloglove
Elsie Pop says
2nd September 2016 at 1:00 pmThanks Emma! xx
Evelina says
2nd September 2016 at 2:08 pmGreat colours! Looks absolutely amazing!
Elsie Pop says
2nd September 2016 at 3:11 pmThanks Evelina! xx
Mads says
2nd September 2016 at 3:29 pmGreat job – the blanket looks fab! x
Elsie Pop says
2nd September 2016 at 4:05 pmThank you! xx
Katy says
3rd September 2016 at 1:05 pmI’m not sure I’m ever going to get on board with a granny square cardigan, but I can get on board with the Unpredictable Granny! I love how bold she is, and I agree, the border is the perfect finishing touch. Thanks so much for joining us again at #SharingtheBlogLove
Elsie Pop says
3rd September 2016 at 1:13 pmYeah I’m not sure about the cardigan – it’s a bit too “wearing a blanket” for my liking! Glad you like the Unpredictable Granny 🙂 xx
creativejewishmom/sara says
4th September 2016 at 3:16 pmLove your granny meets log cabin design, and the border pulls it all together! thanks for sharing on craft schooling Sunday! And by the way, I don’t think there is anything “weird” about photographing your blanket on a hay bale, it looks perfectly at home!
Elsie Pop says
4th September 2016 at 8:46 pmHaha I’m glad the hay bale wasn’t too bizarre! It seemed to fit quite well! xx
Teresa says
5th September 2016 at 4:49 pmIt’s lovely, you did a great job! I love the greometrical look and the combination of colors. Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party this week. Pinned!
Elsie Pop says
5th September 2016 at 9:57 pmThanks Teresa! xx
Laura - dear bear and beany says
5th September 2016 at 7:58 pmYou are so clever! I love the bold colours and it reminds me of a game of tetris with all the shapes forming a pattern of their own. Well done you. Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove x
Elsie Pop says
5th September 2016 at 9:57 pmThanks Laura – I can see the tetris thing, it is quite an 80s-feeling blanket! xx
Caroline says
6th September 2016 at 6:19 amLove the blanket and the colours you have used
Elsie Pop says
6th September 2016 at 7:39 amThanks Caroline! xx
Jennifer says
6th September 2016 at 10:14 amWhat a beautiful blanket, the colours really do pop! I only started crochet at the end of last year but I’m addicted, I’m on my third blanket now and planning the fourth! Thank you for linking up to #craftingismytherapy
Elsie Pop says
6th September 2016 at 10:24 amThanks Jennifer, crochet is a bit addictive isn’t it? Glad you like the blanket – it’s really brightened up the living room! xx
Me, You and Magoo says
6th September 2016 at 5:53 pmWow, what a beautiful blanket…I have never seen one in this style before. I think it’s great to break out of the mould once in a while & this is a real success. I keep saying I want to learn to crochet…it does look addictive & fun! Thank you for linking up to #craftingismytherapy
Elsie Pop says
6th September 2016 at 6:15 pmThanks! Crochet is so easy once you get the hang of it – nice and fast which makes it very satisfying! Thanks for the great linky! xx
Lucy Blossom says
8th September 2016 at 9:53 amShe’s a star, I love the quirky unpredictable blanket.
Elsie Pop says
8th September 2016 at 9:59 amThank you! I’m so happy with her! xx
AmyLovestoSew says
21st September 2016 at 7:54 pmFabulous! I loved reading this, your passion is infectious! Must admit, I have a soft spot for the granny sqaure, the first bit of crochet I was taught by my lovely aunt (and I’ll confess to having my own granny square throw on my sofa, something I dreamt of making when I finally had my own house). Your blanket is wonderful, joyful and quirky. Happiness can always be found in a ball of wool placed in wise hands 🙂 #craftingismytherapy
Elsie Pop says
22nd September 2016 at 6:36 amThanks Amy, I’m so pleased I’ve finally worked out how to love the humble Granny Square! xx