Seasonal temperature blanket...finished!

The weather here is glorious today - 21 degrees and slightly breezy (21 Celsius, that is, not Fahrenheit! - so, about 70F). I've been diligently domesticating in various parts of the house and am now sitting with a cup of Russian Caravan tea (Twinings loose leaf, one of my favourite teas), planning my next post in order to show my now-finished temperature blanket for this year.

But, before I post some photos of the blanket please let me show you my current favourite cup:

This was a present from my honey (who is definitely my better half) last Christmas. It's from the Royal Albert collection and is called Old Country Roses.
It's not only a lovely looking cup, it is also a delight from which to drink. Well-shaped and proportioned (and just so pleasing to the eye).
In the last few months it has taken on an extra special dimension because my mum's name was Rose (as was my original birth name) so it's become a small way of honouring her memory.



Now, on to the blanket 😊


I chose to make a seasonal blanket over the past year, rather than a 1st January to 31st December blanket, as in 2018. So, I started this blanket on 1st December 2018 (the official start of Summer here in Oz) and completed it on 30th November 2019 (last day of Spring for us).
I measured the bed before starting and decided to make the blanket 18 squares across to make a decent-sized cover for a queen size bed.
362 temperature granny squares are in the body of the blanket, plus a granny square for each month and four extra granny squares demarcating each season, for a total of 378 squares (if my maths is correct). The last three days of the seasonal year were the border of the blanket and, amazingly, those days were all the same maximum temperature, so, the border is all one colour - how serendipitous!
On special days, family birthdays and anniversaries, I used a sparkly yarn rather than the max. temp. colour for that day, to make the day gently stand out from the rest.

So, without further waffle or ado, here are some photos:

Back in August, when it was still Winter, but the colours were truly beginning to cascade down the blanket.

Finished and in situ...

A look at the colours from a vertical perspective (1st December 2018 at top left to 30th November 2019 at bottom right)...

...then from a horizontal perspective (Summer on the left, flowing through to Spring on the right).

I love how the colours seem to flow like a waterfall.

The waterfall of colour from another angle.

I also made a cushion, in selected colours from each season's palette, to match the blanket. This is the stripy side...

...and this is the Granny Square side.

The sparkly purple squares for the girls' birthdays...

...sparkly silver for the boys' birthdays...

...and sparkly cream for special anniversaries.

 One steel blue square separates months...

...and two steel blue squares separate the seasons.

Finally, my signature label - a button.
I usually put a lighthouse sticker on my buttons but I wanted this one to be a "cleanskin" as it's such a lovely, classic button just as it is, in my view. I bought this from a small business in town.

There you have it - my Seasonal Blanket. I love, love, love the colour palette created in this piece of work, thanks to the temperatures of the past four seasons and our family's individual celebratory and commemorative days.
I hope it brings a smile to everyone's face 😊

God bless to all.

Creations

The last couple of months have been emotional, to say the least.
My bio mum died in late September and I found out mid-October. I can't really adequately describe the impact the news had but I realised a few things afterwards, one being that I have probably being grieving the loss of my mother all of my life; a low-grade grief, rather like a low-grade infection, that never completely incapacitates but does have an ongoing effect.
The news brought a sense of finality and ending, almost, but not quite relief, more of the realisation of a door shutting permanently. A finality that lifts a weight.
Crochet has been quite a therapeutic pastime through this period and I've turned out a few blankets and some other items.
So, without further ado, my latest crochet projects:

This started off as a memorial blanket  for my brother, whose anniversary is in November. I found the pattern online: here
My wonderful sister, whose birthday is also in November, ended up with this blanket for her birthday - she loved it :)

Another blanket for a daughter's birthday. This was a mish-mash of beautiful granny square patterns I found online, mixed with basic granny squares. I had originally planned it to be a large bedspread but ran out of "oomph" and just wanted to finish it in time. Hence, a bit smaller than planned but still pretty.

Another birthday gift for another precious daughter. This was also an online CAL:here
I chose the squares I liked and named the blanket "Orient Express" as I happened to be listening to the audio book when I started the blanket.





I have a few more blankets to share but they can wait until next time.