Tuesday, January 08, 2008

FO: spiral blanket

So, what was I doing with all those spirals? I was making a blanket.

In the end, I made 42 spirals*. Then I laid them out on the kitchen table, pinned them and linked it all together with a boarder made of a deep-red wool. The MC is a variegated boucle I bought at Avril in Japan (don't ask any more details - I don't have them and when I did they were in Japanese), the CC is Rowan's pure wool aran (with the disturbing colourway-name of "blood"). I used a mix of 4.5mm and 6mm hooks.

I then spent several evenings weaving in ends. This is the key problem with crochet blankets.

Spirals wrap

It was one of the Christmas presents for my mother, which is why I've kept it secret so far. She turned 60 this year, so I thought an (ironic) "old lady blanket" would be a good idea; the crochet spirals are meant to be a twist on the traditional granny square. Because she's no square, she's my momma (plus, neither me or my brother aim to make her a granny for a while). It's based on one of my favourite scarves, which itself is inspired by some of Ruth's amazing hat creations.

I was aiming for a lap blanket, but I realised I didn't quite have enough of the spirals to cover the required area and I didn't want to space them out with too-large a red boarder. So instead I plumped for a giant wrap. As it turns out, Mum seems to find the extra warmth around the shoulders really good, and she's been wearing it loads while she works from home. This picture gives an idea of how it hangs over the shoulders (and a clue as to scale).

Spirals wrap 3

Plus, apparently it reminds her of a bed jacket her mother made her years ago. One of the unexpected outcomes of my adventures in yarn is it reminds mum of her own mother. She loves saying "I dreaded that thing about turning into my mother, turns out my daughter did it for me" and I enjoy haunting/ poking fun at her with it. It's that odd thing about being the kid of 50s/60s teenagers. They rebelled against their parents and made a big fuss of it. So do we follow them in such rebellion (which, if you think about it, isn't really that rebellious, as you're doing what they did), or find other ways of bugging them, like aping their parents? The delights of postmodern generational relations. That said, it probably isn't just a matter of post/late/ liquid modenity; it's not as if notions of revolutionary generational change are especially new. Still, its nice how craft often weaves links accross time, whilst allowing generations their own take on things (as evidenced by book titles like this). I wonder what my Granny would have thought of Ravelry?

Spirals wrap 2

* This number wasn't deliberate, but I'm a geek so it pleased me.

16 comments:

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

Such a beautiful creation, even if it does come from 'blood' (?!). I had to laugh about your mum noting that you were turning into mer mum, my mother frequently makes the same remark (she is also a 60s type of gal!)!

Anonymous said...

Lovely colours!

did you go to many yarn shops in Japan? We are going for our honeymoon in Spring next year so I must get info from you at some point!

YowlYY said...

I love it! The colour combination is a winner, and no way it can be called an "old lady blanket" :)
As I cannot crochet to save my life, my idea would be to knit one using the Nora Gaughan's hexagons...that I could manage!
Thanks for the inspiration and happy knitty 2008!

RooKnits said...

It's gorgeous. I love the colours.

kathryn said...

What fantastic colours!As one of her generation I can see why your mum loves it.

loopylulu said...

You have so much patience making 42 of those. Looks worth it though, very pretty "old lady blanket".

Veronique said...

What a lovely stole! I love that colorway.

Christie said...

It's so beautiful! You mom is so lucky to have you!

Oiyi said...

It is so gorgeous! What a lovely gift. The colors are fantastic.

Mette said...

Love it!

startare said...

Loved reading your post, which runs deep (like blood, like mother-daughter links), and is full of interesting thoughts. Very good wishes for the new year to you and your mum.

Anonymous said...

lovely colours!!!
beautiful!!!

Anonymous said...

Amazing work you did with your blanket!

Stacey said...

that is beautiful! the colors look amazing!

Lolly said...

This blanket is stunning! beautiful work :)

Viagra Online said...

What a creative blanket, I'm totally sure in this weekend I'm gonna start with this project, because I need something new, because I'm sick of the common blankets.