Better late than never

Say hello to Neil’s Christmas gift.

(and, apparently, a pair of pretzel crumbs that really, really wanted to be in the shot)

When I gave the blanket to Neil over two months ago, it still needed about 36 squares and a border, but I wasn’t too concerned about it. That would take at most another two weeks of nights in front of the TV, and since we were all on Christmas break, I’d have plenty of time for stitching and could probably finish it in half the time.

Of course, you know where this is going.

I chose to finish Neil’s mother’s sweater first. And then I worked on the blanket but ran out of yarn to finish the last few squares. And then I remembered another project with a deadline, so I started that (along with a sweater for myself, because, hey, why not?). Back to the blanket then, but the border was a bigger yarn-eater than I expected and I ran out. Twice.

Finally, finally, I put the finishing touches on this bad boy a few days ago.

The good news is that crochet work-in-progress is not like knitting. There is one (one!) live stitch in crochet, and as long as you find a way to securely deal with that one stitch, you can actually use your in-progress work, while it is still in-progress. I love that. And so Neil’s blanket has gotten a decent amount of use since Christmas, despite it’s lack of being actually properly finished.

Just like the previous three blankets I’ve made for our family, this one is destined to be the subject of an eBook. It is the last of my Family Blankets series, but it is also by far the simplest.

I’m so happy that all four of us have our own crocheted blankets now! They all go well with the colors in our family room, although Flufy refuses to keep his granny square blanket in there. He sleeps with his.  I’ve gotta finish sewing that boy’s quilt so I can have the lap blanket back in plain sight where I can enjoy it again! (Although, I do rather love that he sleeps tangled up in a jumble of lap blankets [one crocheted, and one quilted] that I made for him. It’s like he’s wrapped up in a maternal hug all night long.)

Look for a Neutral Squares Blanket* eBook in April. I’d do it rightthisveryminute, but I am going to act like a grown-up and spend March working on my taxes and various other financial thingamabobbers (yes, that is a grown-up term) that I have a history of putting off and then fretting over when the deadline approaches.

I will say, though, that this blanket is the last piece in a puzzle I have been waiting to complete for a good six months. I have some cool blanket-related ideas that I am eager to work on as soon as humanly possible, and I hope you are going to like them!

Stay tuned 🙂

*blanket name subject to change