Well, this week came up with a surprise WIP and it’s been turned into a finished object already! On Monday I was clearing a cupboard and found this:
It had been packed away for at least 18 months, possible longer and harks back to a time when I was delusional enough to think I would finish a blanket made from 10cm squares. Back then I still worked full time and crocheted mainly on car journeys. The plan was to make a blanket for our daughter and Mr C joked that it’d probably be done for her 21st birthday. Fortunately the hook was still with it, along with the yarns I’d used. I’d got as far as making 2 rows of 10 squares, and for a day I wondered what to do with the crumpled and sorry looking strip of squares.
In the end I decided I couldn’t/wouldn’t finish it as my technique has changed so much it wouldn’t have matched. I decided to frog some of the joins (I’d used the join as you go method), and rejoin those squares in a 5×4 formation and turn it into a doll’s blanket. It was pretty quick to do that, an evening’s work at most. However, the squares are really wonky as I didn’t turn them each round when I made them. (I also didn’t know about blocking!) It was a bit disappointing but I weighed it up and decided not to frog it all.
I then added a border. Because it was only small, I decided it was a great opportunity to experiment with a new stitch. I’d had a go at crab stitch briefly before but abandoned it as it didn’t suit the project. This time it seemed suitable but I could not make it work. I could do about 10 stitches on auto pilot and then I started thinking about it and I couldn’t do it any more. (You know that feeling when you’re spelling and word and look at it again and can’t decide whether it’s right or wrong, even though you’ve written it thousands of times before? It was just like that.) In the end a combination of just about every YouTube video and photo tutorial enabled me to complete the whole thing. It’s made a lovely sturdy border with a great texture, as long as you don’t look too closely at my tension!
I don’t think there are any more projects lurking, although it was nice to see that (in my humble opinion!) my crochet technique has improved over time. I’ve read ‘warnings’ before about picking up old WIPs as your tension and so on changes with experience and for me that is certainly true.
I’ve also been working on Mr C’s blanket, I’m only a few rows away from finishing part 4. I have used the darker green as the ‘main’ colour for the border (see my post to Buy or Not to Buy for the full saga) and so far I think it’s working well for me. (No danger of this ending up in a cupboard for almost 2 years, Mr C would remind me constantly!)
The mermaid tail has remained untouched for this week, as I’ve been busy with other projects and the half term holidays (lots of lovely visits to friends and family, plus a less than lovely trip to the dentist planned later in the week).
What are you working on? What happens to your long forgotten WIPs- frog or finish? Let me know!
It looks good! Well done for hanging in there and finishing it!
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Thanks, I really had forgotten all about this poor project!
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Well done before age 21!
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Ha, thanks, I don’t think it’ll keep her very warm though! 😂
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I love the crab stitch edging! I have only tried that once and yes….it is a fine line between not concentrating enough and over thinking.
Currently I am working on a baby blanket. When it is finished I will have to post it.
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Glad it’s not just me! Looking forward to seeing a photo of your baby blanket, I need some inspiration as I’ve got one to make. 😊
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I have to go purchase one more skein of yarn. I miscalculated! The pattern has it as a rectangular blanket and I wanted it square so I did some tweaking.
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Whoops! I’m sure it’ll look lovely once you’ve finished it all. 😊
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I love the brightly colore work and am so glad you completed it! What a cheerful blanket-Mr C is lucky too-His is lovely as well!
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Thank you, I’m glad I found it too. 😊
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Usually I know that abandoned WIPS need frogging, they just need to hide somewhere for a while before I’m mentally prepared to actually frog them!
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I think if this one had been all one colour I’d have frogged it, the sheer number of tiny lengths of yarn meant it had a lucky escape!
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I love the colours in this, the border finishes it off beautifully. I currently have about 5 WIP’s! I actually like the feeling I get knowing they are there waiting for me!
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Thank you. I’m down to 2 WIPs now, and planning to keep it that way unless I get distracted by something really pretty!
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I like the colour scene of the doll blanket, and the khaki one is coming along well. 😊
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Thank you 😊
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It’s very pretty. Love it. I am knitting a mermaids tail. It’s a lot of work.
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Thank you, I find the mermaid tails are a lot of work but repetitive so I don’t notice as much.
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I’m trying to finish old WIPs for sure but it can be pretty hard! I really like your border, looks great 🙂
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Thank you, hope you get the old WIPs finished. 😊
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Pretty colours
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Thank you, I’m really happy that I found them as there’s enough left to make a decent sized project. I’d kept all the balls of yarn in the same bag and forgotten it all!) 😊
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It turned out pretty!!!! very nice work =)
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Thank you 😊
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