the hexagon blanket odyssey is finally over

Yesterday I have finally finished my hexagon blanket. Phew. I have been working on this blanket since 2011... Well, it is not finished the way I wanted it to be finished but I just can't bear working on it any longer. It was meant to be a single bed cover but is now a big lap blanket. I must say, this is one of the most boring projects I have ever embarked upon. I am not easily bored! Here is the link to my Ravelry project page, where you can also find more notes on the actual knitting (should you be so inclined to embark on this blanket project yourself). The pattern is Bobby's Garden by Megan Rogers. I would probably not follow it again should I ever want to knit a hexagon blanket again. There are some mistakes and the construction is a bit odd. It might of course be my interpretation that is wrong, not the pattern...

I have chosen Noro Kureyon wool for the blanket. Noro yarn is just so beautiful, it begs to be knitted. I really love the changing colours, creating interesting blocks even if the pattern is just stockinette.

Anyway, here it goes: the hexagons are knitted in the round, which suits me perfectly because I don't like to purl. The hexagons are added sequentially by picking up stitches from the adjacent hexagons. Simple and clever, no seams to worry about. These are my first two hexagons:


I blocked the first two hexagons in a "proper" way to see how it would look but then did my usual rushed blocking with my trusted steam iron.

The pattern suggested to work in circles, which I did for the first round. However, I couldn't see the advantage of continuing to add hexagons in concentric circles and continued to add them in rows instead. It seems so much more logical. At some point, the circle would need to be converted into a rectangle anyway. This is how the first circle looked like:


And this is how I left the blanket for months, before picking up the needles again sometimes in 2012:

I had lots of Noro Kureyon leftovers from a previous blanket project (see my "Omama" blanket on Ravelry), my first ever crochet project. I also picket up balls here and there, on Ebay and in the sales. The colours are a bit random but I like it that way. The weather is as usual appalling and the street lights were still on at 9 am... I dashed out to take a quick photo in the little daylight we have at the moment (during a three minute dry spell). Not a great picture but a picture nonetheless.

And here another picture with the blanket neatly folded up. The worst bits  to knits were the partial hexagons to make a straight line.



I have been thinking about a suitable border for a long time. The pattern actually suggests a knitted border, knitted in four parts, one for each side. Considering that the pattern is for a queen sized blanket, this is a quite an undertaking with hundreds of stitches on a needle. An undertaking I wasn't prepared to even consider. In the end, I chose a simple border of one round of single crochet, using up some New Lanark Aran yarn I already had.
  

I am so relieved that I have finished this blanket! If you have read my previous post, you will have noticed that finishing it was one of my goals for this year. I knew of course at the time that I was nearly finished but it is good to have something on your list of goals that is achievable before all the good will and energy are used up (usually by the 10th of January).

Have a lovely Monday! Cx


Comments

  1. That blanket is beautiful! Congrats for already reaching one of your goals for 2014!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This blanket is a gorgeous finish off for you. To me it looks like a lot of work, this is probably because I favour crochet over knitting. I have only ever made one blanket, it was crochet and it was baby sized so I have no idea about my staying power with a much larger project. That said you did stick with it, you got to the end and you have a big fat tick on one of your 2014 goals, well done Christina.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That blanket looks completley gorgeous. Perfect for a lap. It would be wasted languishing on a bed.

    I like the fact that you've already finished a 2014 goal. Well done!!

    Leanne xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's really beautiful, Christina. It looks like tons of work but I am sure it's worth it. I know how you feel being relieved to get it finished, I've felt that way about some projects too. It would be nice to relish every minute of a project but it doesn't always happen that way and that's okay. You should be very proud of this blanket.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is one of the most gorgeous blankets I've seen in a long time! I feel for you getting fed up with it but believe me every stitch is worth it! The colours just glow so beautifully together. What a great start to 2014's finished objects! Happy New Year Christina! E x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy New Year to you, too, Elizabeth. Good to see you here again. Cx

      Delete
  6. It is absolutely beautiful. Sorry it was hard to knit, but I do love it. The pattern is very clever, and I'm sure you'll always be happy you made it. Wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  7. How wonderful to have a 2014 finishing project under your belt. The big attraction to this blanket is that you don't have to stitch the bits together (which I hate) and I hadn't thought of simply picking up the stitches along the edge of the previous bit. Did the blanket get a bit unwieldy by the end?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hate stitching bits together, too and try to avoid it whenever I can. The blanket is quite small and wasn't that unwieldy but I wouldn't want to work on it in the summer heat.

      Delete
  8. Wow, that is wonderful. I love the colours. I could imagine being curled up underneath it by the fire with a mug of hot tea in hand. Happy New Year to you too lovely! xo

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello!

    I have been searching for the Bobby's Garden pattern for a long time now. It is no longer available online. Please, if it was a free pattern, could you send me a copy?

    My email address is safiyah@gmail.com

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

Labels

Show more