Friday 28 February 2014

Summertime Patchwork Quilt Blanket - finished at last!

 Happy news this week, as I've finished my Summertime Patchwork Quilt Blanket. I started this in September 2011 and it's been a really good evenings-in-front-of-the-TV sort of project. I've worked on other things in between as well, which is why it's taken two and a half years, but I'm happy now to call this project finished. It's the last week of summer so it's just in time... and actually today a wintery cold front has blown in, so I'll need this blanket anyway! (9 degrees in February, what??)

 I used a variety of yarns. It began as a stash buster, but I had to buy a few balls as well to fill out the colour range. They are all around the 4-ply weight and I used a 3.75mm hook. For a couple of yarns which were thicker (like the blue) I used the same sized hook, but did the last round in hdc instead of dc.

I sewed the hexagons together as I worked. My method was to make about 6 or so, then sew in the ends. Then I would lay out the blanket and arrange the new pieces, and safety pin them in place. (This meant I could fold up the blanket out of the way when I wasn't working on it.) When I had a good lot of hexies pinned, I'd have an evening of sewing them in. I used my most neutral coloured thread which I decided was peach, and whipstitched them together through the back loops only. This helped give a bit of textural interest and more of a 'quilted' look.

I always knew I wanted a simple white edging with perhaps some picots. I did dabble on Pinterest for a while looking at fancy lacy borders and whatnot, but in the end I went with my original vision and I think it's perfect. I decided to make half-hexies to fill in the obvious gaps in the ends, but I liked the points on the long edges and they set off the picots nicely.

 I even steam blocked the blanket to get it to drape nicely. It was very easy and made sure that the edges held their shape.

 Here's the whole blanket laid out after I blocked it. It's a good, drapey, 1-2 person blanket, nice and lightweight, perfect for cool summer evenings.

 You can see my project page here on Ravelry.


Basic Hexagon Pattern
(US terminology)

Round 1: make a magic ring. Ch 3 (counts as first dc), dc into ring, ch 1. 2 dc into ring, ch 1, repeat 4 times (12 dc). Slip stitch into first ch 3. (2 dc in each branch of hexagon)
Round 2: Ch 3, dc into next 2 dc, dc into corner ch, ch 1, dc into corner ch, repeat around. (4 dc in each branch of hexagon)
Round 3: Repeat as for Round 2, with 6 dc in each branch of hexagon. If using a thicker yarn, do this round in hdc instead of dc.


27 comments:

  1. Oh, Ruth, you're so hard worker! I wouldn't crochet such long time --since 2011 and then finally finish a thing. The blanket is beautiful, I love how the red hexagons look between others, the edged are very elegant.
    I hope you spend nice time with your blanket in cool summer evenings!

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    1. The 'finishing' part is what's unusual for me - I've got plenty of big projects that I've started and haven't finished :) I'm very glad I got to the end with this one and it's had lots of use already!

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  2. That's just beautiful, and the edging is perfect. I agree yesterday was ridiculous weather wise!!

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  3. Very pretty blanket, I wish I had the patience to attempt something like this :-)

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    1. It's a good do-in-front-of-the-TV project! I find it hard to watch TV without working on something these days!

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  4. How lovely to see it finished! I don’t crochet anymore, haven’t done for many years, but I can appreciate how much work it is behind such a big piece :-)

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    1. Thanks Helene, I think if I'd realised at the start how long it would take I'd never have started it :) Luckily I didn't think it through!

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  5. Hey! Just a quick check up on you... how was yr place in the floods? My knowledge of chch puts you close to dodgy areas?? We are OK, surrounded by Heathcote river but quite high... thankfully. Anyways - take care, email me if you need a hand with anything!

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    1. Hi Simone - thanks for checking in! It's ok at my house and on my street, but all around us streets were blocked. Just a couple of blocks away is River Road which became an actual river. So glad it's all over now - it was nice to see the sun today! Glad all is ok with you!

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  6. Ruth this is absolutely gorgeous. I love the dreamy, creamy feel of the colours and enjoy how the darker colours push it into a luscious level. So glad for Pinterest or else I might have missed out on your blog!

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    1. Thanks for your comment, I'm glad you like the blanket! Oh there are so many reasons to be thankful for Pinterest aren't there :)

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  7. This is so beautiful! I love the color combinations.

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    1. Thanks Margo! The colours sort of chose themselves, I'm happy they worked out :)

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  9. Thank you sooo much for sharing, it really beautiful. Thank you too for being willing to share your pattern, I see so many things on pintrest, but can't make them because they have no pattern. Yes, I am cheap so I don't want to buy it. I can't wait to make one for a baby, pink, brown and yellow I think. Again, thank you.

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    1. Hi Darcy, you're very welcome! I hope your blanket turns out well, love the sound of your colour combo!

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  10. Hi Ruth...
    I love your blanket so much, and thanks for sharing the pattern,, :)

    What cosmos on the flower arrangement above Ruth? Pretty flower arrangement!

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    1. Thanks Hari! The cosmos is just called Picotee. It grows back from seed every year - some of the flowers are pink, some are white with a pink picotee edge, and some are a mixture of both :)

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  11. Hi Ruth,

    I came across you on pinterest as I'm thinking on doing a small crochet patchwork blanket and your image led me to your blog! I just wanted to say what a beautiful blog you have, and what a beautiful blanket this is! Very inspiring! I have enjoyed reading over your blog with my morning coffee and I shall be back again most definitely!

    Have a super week!

    Vanessa x

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    1. Hi Vanessa, thanks so much! Big yay for Pinterest, right? Anyway thanks for your kind comments, I love your blog too and I can't wait to see what sort of blanket you make next :)

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  12. Your blanket is beautiful, a feast for the eyes! I love the color combinations. Found you on Pinterest and discovered your blog. I'm loving hexies at the moment and your blanket is quite the inspiration.

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    1. Thanks for your lovely comment Linda, I'm so glad you like the blanket! Pinterest is great for discovering new things!

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  13. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful pattern and inspiring me with your beautiful hexagon Afghan. I started my own using fall colors. Posted it on Instagram Mia_is_mine22. Thank you so much for sharing!

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    1. Hi Mia, I'm so happy to hear this inspired you! Your blanket sounds just lovely, I hope you enjoy every minute of working on it.

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