Progress, of a sort


I thought I'd give you a little update on my solid granny blanket today. The one I was having such trials and tribulations with, if you recall?  I've posted the odd snippet of news about the thing here and there about the blog and since the last news on the subject, this blanket has gone away for a nice long rest.  So I could work on fun Christmas projects and so it could have a long, hard think about what it had done!

Well, earlier in the year I got the dreaded blanket out again.  I'd already decided that the original idea of loads of squares with nice, harmonious edges in dark blues and greeny greys was out.  I was about ten squares in when I started getting concerned and by twenty squares I was seriously worried.  Still, I'd tried a few more colourful squares before Christmas and they seemed more appealing.  So after the hiatus I worked on coming up with brighter, perkier squares.

Thirty squares in and the results were mixed.  Some were good, some were decidedly bad.  What is it with these colours?  Why can't I make them work?  43 squares in and I finally felt like I was getting somewhere.  I seemed to be getting a higher percentage of 'good' squares and I saw a glimmer of hope.  Maybe all was not lost after all?  I had one particularly productive weekend where I hit the halfway point.

Feeling like I'd finally conquered the troublesome blanket and with 56 squares complete, it was time to lay them all out and prepare to swoon at the much improved results...

I laid it all out, I took a little time to arrange and rearrange to get a nice even distribution of colours.  I stood back and took it all in....  and.... oh drat.  I don't like it!

I was a touch dismayed, I have to say.  I wasn't sure what to do but for some reason the idea of abandoning it didn't seem like an option.  Maybe because I've come so far.  I mean, half the squares I need for a blanket are complete for goodness sake!  More likely because I know that these colours are gorgeous and I should be able to make something lovely with them and I'm just too pig-headed to admit defeat.

 It was time for a crisis meeting.  I called in my sister.

We laid it out again and she was not dismayed, she did not think it was doomed.  She agreed that some squares were maybe less satisfactory than others but was complimentary about many that I had shunned.  She said 'keep going'.

So the next day, I looked again.  I sorted the squares into piles:  The Nice Ones, The Ones I Can Live With and The Bloomin' Ugly.  I laid out the blanket again, using just The Nice Ones and the The Ones I  Can Live With.  And... it was alright.  It was even, maybe, something I liked?

So, although it may very likely seem like madness to some, I undid some of The Ugly Ones.  Some just needed the last row removing, some a couple of rows and some became just little balls of wool.  I've spend a not inconsiderable amount of time, undoing, shuffling colours and re-making these blighted squares but strangely, this hideous backwards step did actually feel like progress.

For the first time since this blanket has begun, I think I know where it is going.



S x





My posts, delivered to you...

      RSS      Feedly      Bloglovin'      Email




Comments

  1. Hello Sandra
    Really enjoyed your post - it should be so easy to put colours together but it just isn't is it ? I just cannot do random at all ! I actually get really quite stressed by it - it worries me. But your squares really do look like they're coming along beautifully - definitely keep going . My post this week is the complete opposite of yours being all about one colour, grey!
    So looking forward to your final blanket reveal,
    Kate x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think it's looking lovely! Hope you think it's worth all the hard work in the end. x

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think your squares are really good, and will make a unique blanket x

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think it is going to be amazing, keep your squares you are not in love with, they will make a beautiful pillow.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's totally progress and it's so great that you have not given up on this blanket! You'll probably love it more in the end for all of the effort you are putting into it!

    - J, cozyontheprairies.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, if you're having trouble with colors then I am doomed! LOL! I do understand though and while reading your previous post about the blanket I thought too of dividng them up and using the "unpopular" or not blendable ones for another blanket some day. I'm not sure I would have taken them apart...you have the patience of a saint!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hooray - it works now! :) Your photos really illustrate your point - in the middle photo something jarred (though all the individual blocks are lovely), but the bottom photo looks just right - almost a 70s vibe going on there. It was worth the effort, and how pretty your blanket will be when done.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's looking so lovely!! Such pretty stacks of squares!! :) Happy sweet day! xo Holly

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wonderful news! And those squares look lovely and interesting and definitely full of potential. Next time I hit crisis level with a crochet project, I'm calling upon you and your sister - like some kind of wacky, crafty A Team... Chrissie x

    ReplyDelete
  10. I know the feeling, I am making a granny square scarf, I have nearly all the squares done, but now I am worrying that when I have to lay them out I will hate it!! It is a toughie this one isn't it. I hope that you work it out, and that the end result is beautiful. I am sure that it will be! xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great perseverance with this blanket but I bet the results are going to worth it in the end!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Sandra, I believe that sometimes we are a lot harder on ourselves than we need to be. You have a wonderful taste and a beautiful choice of colors. I do agree that colors need to be where you feel it's pleasant to the eye... But you have impeccable taste and I'm sure this blanket will end up looking gorgeous. Can't wait to see what is your final choice. Have a wonderful week and thanks so much for your visits to my blog and kind comments :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh Sandra I totally sympathise. It's so disheartening to spend so much time and effort on something and then to stand back and not feel the joy at all. I'm so glad you have been able to take it back and make it work for you. The squares are looking beautiful, and i'm so sure the end result will be gorgeous. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love the squares I'm seeing, I have no doubt the end result will be gorgeous as always! I really admire your perseverance, my hexagon blanket I fell out of love with lies tucked away in a closet. I'm not ready to frog it all, but then again if nothing is going to happen with it I should at least recuperate the yarn *sigh*. Have a lovely week! :-) xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am encouraged by your perseverance ... I have made six different colour combinations for a solid sq afghan, and I am finally, after much stressing and indecision, happy with two options .... so onward and forward !!
    I'm sure your blanket will be wonderful once finished!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have terrible trouble putting colours together - sometimes they look far better in my head than in real life. I do like your choice of colours though, I think they go together very nicely. I really like the solid granny too, grannies are my absolute favourite but I have never tried a solid one - you have inspired me. Thanks for the great post.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am glad to hear you are reaching satisfaction with these squares becasue they look really cute :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sometimes unraveling is productive, soul destroying though it may be. All I see when I look at these squares is beautiful, beautiful colour. Keep the faith, it will work! x

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Sandra, your granny blanket story reads so well, I mean it is like a tv serie and you want to know how it will end :-) (I mean it in a good way!!! ) i was really curious to see what you came up with. I am glad you found a solution and from the pictures the squares are really nice! I did once knit squares for a blanket, who was I fooling? To make a long story short, it ended up in the bin! Yep! I just could not look at those squares anymore without having sweat on my back :-) looking forward seeing the final result :-) hugs, Jitka

    ReplyDelete
  20. It's looking great this far and bit will all be well worth it in the end. Xo

    ReplyDelete