You’d be forgiven for believing that I managed to knit and crochet myself into a coma this month, and whilst at times it was a close thing, it’s really been procrastination that’s kept me from blogging recently. That and food, oh god, so much food! Christmas dinner, Boxing Day lunch with the faaaaamily and then Turkey Soup Day after that (nephling no 1 is campaigning for for the latter to be made an official national holiday). Can you picture Jabba the Hutt with a lap full of crochet blanket and a cat sitting on each side like a pair of furry bookends? Because that is me right now.
Between all the eating, I did manage to exchange gifts with my nearest and dearest, which means I can now start to share pictures of the things I’ve been making.
Remember I teased you with this picture last month?
It was a sneak peek at my latest version of this beautiful pattern by Celeste Young, which is available for free on Ravelry. This is the fourth blanket I’ve made to this pattern (you can find my original version here, the Hulk inspired one here and the third one here), but as soon at the yarn arrived I just knew this was going to be my favourite version!
Is that not just beautiful? (The yarn, not my weird toes – pay attention!) As you can probably see from the photos, I took advantage of Stylecraft’s new expanded palette for their Special Aran collection.
I chose: Lipstick, Pomegranate, Spice, Gold, Meadow, Khaki, Teal, Denim, Royal, Emperor, Plum and Magenta. I love the colours, but I wish they did a proper yellow because the Gold is a bit dull for rainbow purposes.
Want to see the finished blanket?
Oh, I know you do…
One more pic?
Well, okay then…
You can probably see why I found it very difficult to give this one away! But I was good and gave it to nieceling number 2 who immediately squealed and wrapped herself up in it, before spreading it one the floor to roll around on it like a puppy. She’s normally very into fashion and make-up and is desperate to be a teenager, so it was lovely that something as simple as a blanket brought out the playful little girl we all know and love!
Her big brother tolerates her painting his nails every now and then, as long as it doesn’t interfere with his ability to play with his Nintendo DS. In particular he loves all the Mario Brothers games, so that’s where I looked for inspiration for his Christmas presents. There are some fantastic free amigurumi crochet patterns on Ravelry (are you sensing a theme here?) but I went with Yet Another Mario Mushroom Pattern by Ami Amour and Piranha Plant by Lupita Suarez.
It’s been a while since I did much amigurumi from a pattern (as opposed to just winging it!) but I was really pleased with the results… which I will show you in my next post!
Yes, I really am going to drag these Christmas present posts out for a while. Because I’m evil like that. Also, I’ve gone back to working on some of my larger WIPs so it’s probably going to be ages before I have anything else to show you!
~applause~ You did a wonderful job on all your blankets. They’re gorgeous. Your niece is a lucky young lady to get this one as a gift.. I like your color patterns in your blankets. Well done.
Thanks for the link to the pattern. I put it in my future project file. 🙂
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Thanks! Making a blanket for someone else and to a deadline is a labour of love, but thankfully these work up quickly! ☺
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Oh that’s lovely! At some point I want to do a proper rainbow blanket, but *sighs* the time! Ahh well, it will happen soon!
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Thanks! This pattern really does work up quickly. Trust me, it’s the only reason I managed to make four of them this year! ☺
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That is a gorgeous blanket. I’m thinking of doing something similar from a book of ripple patterns that I’ve just bought. Love your colour scheme 🙂
Do I spy a Firefly/Serenity poster on your wall in that one photo?
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Thanks! And yes, we’re Browncoats. (Mr BAM has insisted that I add that the poster is a limited edition.) ☺
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So So So PrEtTy!!! Happy New Year to you 🙂
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Thanks! 🙂
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That is the most beautiful, gorgeous blanket. I bet it’ll make your niece smile every day.
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Thank you! And I hope so! 🙂
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Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I’m well jealous of this blanket – delicious colours. Happy new year! Jean
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🙂
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Oooh gorgeous!!
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🙂 Thanks!
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Wonderful blanket, I hope it is much treasured. I made one for a Christmas gift and know how hard it is to give away when you’ve put so much love, effort and time into it:)
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Having sworn off making any more blankets from this pattern for a while, I still find myself picking colours for another, and another….and another! 🙂
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