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Thursday 8 October 2015

Sunburst Granny Square Blanket


Growing Up Is Hard To Do

I think we all dread the day our children leave home.

There is the attraction of having a spare room again,
and being able to see the bottom of  the laundry basket from time to time,
but with that comes the
empty nest syndrome that so many people have described to me over the years.


I have been with my 'work family' for so long,
their children have become integral parts of my life without realising it.
I have been privileged enough to watch them grow from
gorgeous little babies into amazing adults that we can all
feel incredibly proud of.


Therefore when my lovely friends daughter came to leave for university recently,
we all felt the stomach churning wrench of being left behind.


The though of our loved ones not waking up in their own bedrooms any more is never going to be an easy thing to accept, but I remember reading a quote many years ago that said -

If you love someone set them free
 If they come back they are yours.
If they don't, thy never were.


Tell that to their mothers as they weep inconsolably for weeks after they have gone.

Never the less, Abby left for Leeds and I really wanted to give her a gift to remember us all by,
 but also something she could keep as a memento of her first steps into adult life.


I knew immediately that a hand made blanket would be perfect and so I set about racing against time to make something really special for her.
As always the clock was against me and I didn't manage to finish her gift in time for her leaving but I sent it down to her a couple of weeks later.

I have been wanting to try out the sunburst square by Priscilla Hewitt for quite some time, so this seemed the perfect opportunity to give it a go.



I was really pleased with the end result and the colours seemed to come together so well.
More by luck than planning!


Miss Bee helped to choose the colours
during a recent trip the wool heaven also known as 
Black Sheep Wools.

My favourite colour is blue,
 so when we chose this delicious mix I couldn't wait to get started.

I calculated the size of  the blanket,
 and it worked out at 7 x 9 squares plus a decent size border.
I used parchment for the border which I felt was a nice change from the usual cream or white that people tend to go for.



I chose Stylecraft Special Double Knit in 

Sage
Zing
Storm Blue
Petrol
Meadow
Cream
Parchment

and Stylecraft Life DK in 

Mint
Ice Blue



The border was simple but I think it looks effective.
I didn't want to detract from the detail of the pattern in the squares,
(and there were quite a few of them stacked up around the house).





I have used this on a couple of other blankets 
and it always looks good and is very simple to do.

There is a very good picture tutorial over on 
Cherry Heart



The final row of edging was taken from Attic 24's granny blanket edging.


As my confidence with my crochet skills grows,
so does  my bravery to mix things up a little with pattern and colour combinations.




I have so enjoyed creating this gift for Abby
and my only hope is that she enjoys it's lovely, snuggliness 
as much as I have,
and that she thinks of us all 'up north' when she uses it.




Until next time, enjoy your day.