Blanket retrospective

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Barbara at Made in K-Town is hosting one of her awesome link parties, and this month the theme is crocheted blankets.  I was inspired to share some the blankets I made before I was blogging.

Way back in May, I posted about the project journal I used to use for my crochet projects before blogging.  Thanks to those lovely files, I have some great pictures of blankets from back in the day.  Be warned, these pictures were all taken indoors and I didn’t originally plan to share them with the world :).

2005

… was the year of the throw (a.k.a. lapghan) for me.  I had finally learned how to make a granny square (courtesy of a this free pattern from the JPF Crochet Club by Julie A. Bolduc).

I made this for my dad’s birthday.  I had never joined granny squares before so I hadn’t really thought about all of the ends that would need to be woven in.  I finished it on time, but was totally overwhelmed by the ends (48 squares, each with two yarn tails, plus I whipstitched the squares together with yet more yarn tails).  I actually took it back from him (yep, I did wrap it, ends and all, so I would have something to give!) and then let it sit in my closet for two more years until I was brave enough to attack the ends.  Since then, I’ve learned to weave in my ends as I go :).

I found the Lapghans pattern by Marilyn Coleman on the Coats and Clark website shortly thereafter, and took to making one-piece granny blankets.

My first bedspread sized blanket was Garden Stripes by Aline Suplinskas in the Afghan Collectors Series from The Needlecraft Shop.

I also made my sister a lapghan when she went away to college.  I used the Campus Colors pattern by Carole Rutter Tippett from Quick and Cozy Afghans.

Believe it or not, these are just a few of the crocheted blankets I made in 2005.

Monet Pineapple

This is one of the patterns I fell in love with after 2005.

Monet Pineapple by Janie Herrin is one of my favorite designs in my beloved copy of 100 Afghans to Knit & Crochet by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss. I made several versions, but the one in this picture was a wedding gift.  It’s unfortunate that you can’t see the detail of the beautiful pineapples in my picture.

And, for good measure…

I’ve thrown in a picture of my favorite quilt.  I call it Log Cabin by the Sea.  This is the first first quilt I started (in November 2005), which I finally finished quilting in February, 2008.  I love it!  We sleep under it every night and it is super cozy.

What are your handmade favorite blankets?