A blanket for a season...

Late last year I "stumbled" across a blog post that featured a truly stunning blanket (see here)
(I say "stumbled" in quotation marks because I don't think it was coincidental. I was meant to find that post at that time.)

I pored over the post, admiring the beauty of the work, to the point where I decided to try my hand at making my own version of the blog lady's Isle of Skye blanket.

I studied the photos on her blog until I felt I had the pattern in my head (helped along by a comment left in the comments' section about spacing) and then I set to work planning my colour scheme and gathering the appropriate yarn.

I decided to use as much scrap yarn as possible and keep to a blue/brown/cream theme, much like the original blanket, but with bolder hues of blues and browns rather than pastel shades.
I scoured op. shops for colours and the correct ply-thickness (8 ply - similar to D.K. in the U.K. or light worsted in the U.S.) and found a bounty of yarns, both wool and acrylic (I didn't mind a mixture).
Some yarns were no bigger than a golf ball but, if I loved the colour, they were included.
Each square in my blanket was only four rows in total so even the smallest balls of yarn seemed to be enough for at least one patch (I only remember one or two where I had to join another yarn before a square was finished.)

I used a 5mm hook, the join-as-you-go method, a border of linen stitch, and completed the project in 10 days - and I loved every minute of it; it was a balm to my soul and carried me through a challenging and difficult period of time.
I called it my "Night Season" blanket and I am deeply attached to it; when I look at it I am not reminded of the situation at that time but of the joy and comfort and deep peace I experienced whilst fashioning each and every stitch. The peace that passes all understanding, as the Bible calls it, encompassed me as I worked on what I later realised was a blessing and a gift from the Giver of all good gifts.

So, here it is, imperfect and not a patch on the original that inspired it, but much loved, nonetheless - my Night Season blanket:

I thought about taking the washing off the line before taking photos but it was only 7am and the dew was still on it!

A close-up of the border and my "button label". I did a linen stitch border but realised afterward that I should have gone up a size in the hook as it is a tight border stitch (lesson learned).

Artfully draped over our chaise longue like it was made for that spot :)

I made it big enough for a lap blanket (unlike the original, which was much larger).

Folded...

 ... or crumpled, the colours just draw me in and hold my gaze.



Did I say how much I love it? (joking!)

It's not going to be a show pony, though, it's going to be put to work, keeping people warm -family and visitors alike!
Life's too short to put away the good things, the lovely things, the expensive things; get them out and use them. Splash beauty everywhere, it's well worth the effort :)