Gingham mania!

I came across some gorgeous blankets on a crochet blog a few months ago and they were based on the classic gingham pattern (remember the old café tablecloths and curtains and picnic basket linings)?
I love the look of gingham but had never considered it for a crochet blanket pattern - until I saw this: Gingham blanket pattern from Daisy Farm Crafts.
I was hooked (pardon the pun)!

Problem was, it was in American crochet terms (not my go-to) and I don't like having to "carry" yarn across work 😞 So I shelved the whole idea as "out of my league" and went on with other projects.
Then, a couple of months ago, I came across this post from a U.K. blogger: The Patchwork Heart gingham blanket - a post that provided a tutorial on how to crochet a gingham blanket using the C2C pattern and incorporating the JAYG (Join As You Go) method to put it together.

U.K. terms and no having to carry yarn - yay!

So, I decided to try my hand at making my first crochet gingham blanket.

TaDa!

One of the essential things I learned from the Daisy Farm blog is that, to do a gingham blanket correctly, you only use three colours: a neutral colour and then a dark shade and a light shade of your main colour. Otherwise, you will end up with a patchwork blanket and not the proper gingham-look pattern.

The lighter shade of the main colour is used in every row and is alternated in each row (see above). The neutral colour and the dark shade are used in every second row. 

The border was my youngest son's creation, a mixture of double and half-treble crochet stitches in the three blanket colours.

I used Four Seasons Marvel in Cream as my neutral colour, Porta Craft Lavender as my light shade and Four Seasons Marvel Violet for my dark shade.
These are 8 ply yarns and generally call for a 4-5mm hook but I like using bigger hook sizes as they make the blanket feel softer and more drapey (is that a word?) in my experience.

I was so pleased with how this turned out that I've decided to make my better half one (in his preferred colours).
I can see a flurry of gingham in the near future and am already picturing in my mind's eye how certain shades might look together.
 I love choosing colours for projects 😊

I hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm (or cool, depending on your season). We're almost halfway through this crazy year! Wonder what's next - I'm sure we'll find out soon enough from the corporate media complex.
All musings aside, if  I was only able to say one thing to anyone who reads my blog it would be this - do not put faith in the mainstream media (MSM) to tell the truth and report facts. About anything.
When I woke up to the fact that many (if not most) of the MSM were not journalists, but rather puppets for a propaganda machine, things began to make more sense.

 Truth is out there but it is rarely found in the MSM.

Edit post: my latest gingham blanket is now finished and features below.

My better half and I recently celebrated our anniversary and this was his present from me. He loves it 😊

His present to me. We both love tea: loose leaf tea made in a proper teapot - nothing like it!
This teapot pours beautifully. Anyone who enjoys proper tea knows the importance of a good pourer.

Take care and God bless.