Thursday, June 23, 2011

Mission Baby Blanket: Accomplished!

Today I can finally present you my finished Baby Blanket. Hooray!!


Although I only used three different colors plus beige, I've decided to call it "United Colors Baby Blanket". The baby for whom I've made this blankie will be born in New York to a German Mom and a Chinese Daddy - if that's not a case of united colors... :)


I like reading statistics to finished blankets, so here's mine:

Size: 75 x 75 cm

Yarn: Catania by Schachenmayer, colors Pistazie (2x), Mimose (2x), Flieder (2x), Crème (6x)

Pattern: 
36 Squares “Sunburst” (German Video-Tutorial on nadelspiel.com)
28 Squares “Babyblümchen” (German Video-Tutorial on nadelspiel.com)

Edging: Bobble-Shell-Edging (Pattern by Lucy on attic24)

Timeline: 11.05.2011 – 23.06.2011
(with 2 breaks á 2 weeks when I had to wait for yarn)

Evaluation:
Positive: I love the colors and the pattern, it was easy and quick to make.
Negative: The blanket is not soft and cuddly enough for a baby blanket, but a little bit too heavy and stiff. Next time I’ll have to use a different yarn.



Overall I'm quite happy with the finished result - what do you think?


Edit:

Thank you so much for the lovely words in your comments! Some of you have asked me different questions, and I'll try to answer them here:

About the yarn (Catania): You can wash it in the machine (40 °C) and iron it with steam, but you shouldn't put it in the dryer.

Joining the squares: I crocheted the squares (right sides facing) together with slip stitches, using the inner loops only. I hoped the outer loops would fold around the seam, so that the blanket looks nice and smooth. It didn't work as well as I had planned, but I think a little bit more ironing might help.

About the Video-Tutorials: Actually I don't like Video-Tutorials, because my internet connection is not the fastest. Nadelspiel is an Austrian website made by lovely eliZZZa, and it's all about crochet, knitting and sewing. When I re-discovered crochet a few months ago, this was the first website I found and I loved it because of the wonderful granny squares. I linked to the Video-Tutorials, because that's where I've got the patterns from - but actually I really do prefer written patterns or drawings.

If you've got more questions, please let me know and I'll answer them here!

Now I'd like to ask you a question: is it just my perception, or do you also think that blankets are the most popular crochet items ever? Of all my posts, the ones concerning the baby blanket have the most visitors. And me, when I visit a link gallery (like i-crochet), I always click on pictures with blankets first. I also think that on other blogs these posts have the most comments. So, what do you think? Is a blanket really the no.1 crochet project? Why?? And if not: what is more popular than blankets? I'd love to read your opinions! :)

23 comments:

  1. it is so beautiful! what a fresh and sweet color scheme! it makes me grab a hook and make one! I like the way you combined the different grannys.
    Congratlations!

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  2. It's beautiful! I'm sure it'll be appreciated even if it's not as uber-soft as you'd hoped. I noticed that you posted video tutorials of the patterns - does that mean that you prefer video patterns to printed patterns? Interesting what works for different people.

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  3. Very very beautiful Barbara !! And very neatly done !
    I love these colors ! :) mm

    Have a nice weekend !

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  4. You did such a wonderful job!!! I love it! I hope you had as much fun making it as it seems. Thanks for sharing where to get the squares. How did you connect yours??? I am always asking how people connect their motivs :)

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  5. Hallo Barbara! Die Decke ist ja superschön geworden, die Farben passen toll zusammen. Und du hast nur zwei Wochen dafür gebraucht? Wow! Ich glaub, ich bräuchte schon allein fürs Zusammennähen ein halbes Jahr.
    Liebe Grüße! Barbina

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  6. I love it - is the yarn washable? I bet it will soften up after one washing - or maybe you could try putting it in your dryer with a fabric softener sheet - I am sure the new baby will love his/her new blanket. Homemade gifts are the best and will be treasured for many years to come.

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  7. Hello everyone and thank you all for your wonderful comments! Tonight after work I'll be editing my blog-post and answer your questions there. Have a lovely friday! :)

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  8. Bravo! It looks very cute, such a nice present for your friends.
    I recognize that Catania is not very flexible and it is sure not fluffy. My summer blanket is not going to be a cuddly thing. The material remains in good shape during use and washing in the washing machine.
    Anyway, you have made a blanket which is ​​unique in the whole world.

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  9. Liebe Barbara,

    WOW...ich bin echt hin und weg...die Decke ist unglaublich schön geworden, ganz tolle Farben. Ich denke, Deine Freunde werden sich riesig über so ein einzigartiges Geschenk freuen und ich freue mich schon total auf Deinen nächsten Post!

    Ich wünsche Dir ein wunderschönes Wochenende und schicke viele liebe Grüße mit,

    Marion

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  10. Thanks for your comment, Elisabeth! Yes, I thought about your summer blanket as well. Actually I wanted to make a big blanket for our living-room, but John doesn't want a heavy Catania-blanket. I could live with it as long as it looks good :)

    Danke Marion, schön dass Dir die Decke gefällt! Ich bin auch gespannt, ob sie meiner Freundin gefällt, sie ist nicht so der Handarbeitstyp. Und Männer haben doch zu sowas eh keine Meinung, oder? :) Dir auch ein schönes Wochenende!

    ---

    btw: I've edited the blog-post now and answered all your questions there!

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  11. Barbara, Your blanket is stunningly beautiful. I especially like the lavender border as it just ties all the colors together perfectly. Thank you for all the stats, I too love reading them...

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  12. Très jolie couverture !
    Anna

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  13. Wow such a beautiful blanket. It is very neatly done. Thanks for joining my blog.

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  14. Swooon.....wow, just gorgeous!

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  15. It's beautiful Barbara - I love it. :)

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  16. Absolutely gorgeous! Beautiful choice of colours :)

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  17. Your blanket is beautiful! Nice job.

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  18. Such a beautiful blanket - would love to make it but do not speak German and have a hard time with the videos explaining the squares. Could we get English directions for the afghan??? Please...

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    Replies
    1. There's a beautiful sunburst pattern on ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sunburst-granny-squares

      I think it's not exactly the same pattern that I've used, but it's very similar. If you google for "sunburst granny square" you'll probably find lots more! I hope I could help!

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  19. Love the colors....so sweet for a baby:)

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