A Retro Kind of Blanket

 

I remember the 1970s. I know, it shocks me too that I've become this old. I started school in the middle of that decade, so have some very clear and vivid memories of outrageous flared trousers, platform shoes and bright, swirly prints. And lots of hair - let's not forget the hair!

This blanket for The Smile Foundation started off as a scrap buster, but 20 rows in and 8 colours later, it suddenly hit me that this was using all the colours I associate with the 1970s - the burnt orange, browns and greens, cream and apricot.

And so began my retro blanket, albeit completely by accident. I stuck to the same 8 colours throughout, just adding rows in a random way.

These are not usually colours I would use together in a single project - I had enough of this the first time around, forty odd years ago! However, I really love this blanket. It is super thick and fantastically squishy, absolutely the two most important hallmarks of a handmade blanket.

This was a great blanket to work on because we had a really cold snap while I was in the middle of making it. I'm pretty sure it could have been finished a few days faster but it was just so great having the warmth and the weight of the blanket draped over me as I added more rows.

The technical stuff in case you are interested (or I need to remind myself of what I did some years down the line):

Charity Double Knit and a 6mm hook
Colours used are Rust, Ecru, Cloud Blue, Apricot, Citrus, Camel, Tiger Lime and Pine
Finished blanket measures 120cm x 140cm

This blanket is simply a very large traditional granny square (kind of in keeping with the era as well) to about 117cm with an extra 10cm added on to the top and bottom, and them edged in orange with more double crochet (US) and finally, four rows of single crochet (US).

Here is a better view of the full blanket. I am extremely lucky that Mr K has all the photographic goodies and gadgets required to take the great pictures I use. He really does put a lot of effort into each photograph, sometimes taking over fifty shots for me to choose just one to use. He also puts up with a lot of bad communication from me when I try to explain the kind of shots I want. He always makes it work, despite the fact that I am a terrible photographer's assistant. Thank you from me, and the child who will receive this blanket.