The Christmas Blanket - continued

So remember how I decided I was going to make a blanket for my Mum for Christmas this year? And I started it and blocked it and everything?


And then I said that the next step was to begin doing some granny squares to incorporate into my lovely granny stripes?

I set off making my granny squares, I had my big enormous balls of wool and I set off in a fienish frenzy, crocheting them up, checking that they were vaguely the same size as the granny stripes and generally just getting into my crochet groove.

And then I stalled.

I seem to do this and I’m sure I’m not alone. I go at things like a mad woman possessed and then, as soon as it began, my interest disappears and I find myself avoiding doing the one thing I know I’m supposed to be doing.

Suddenly, out of freaking nowhere, I decided I would start cross-stitching again and before I knew it, I’d knocked up three cards and was feeling very smug with myself. And then I saw Tabiboo’s beautiful scarf and got a terrible case of the green eyed monster and wanted to make my own scarf and before I knew what I was doing I was foundation chaining away and starting not just a new project, but a project for myself. Bad girl.

And then I realised it was the 20 something of November and I seriously, seriously, needed to get my act together. I knew what it was that was stressing me out, it was the thought that once I’d finished doing the granny square part of the blanket I would have to join all the squares together and I had absolutely no idea how I was going to do it – either how the blanket would look or how I was technically going to do it.

So the other night I forced myself to take it all out of its bag and just stop a minute and have a look at it and spread all the squares out on my bed and see how it looked. I came to a sudden realisation, I could just stop where I was. No more grannying, no more striping. Just stop making and start joining.

See? Grannies on the inside, stripeys on the outside. What do you think? (If you say ‘crap’ revenge will be wreaked upon your head by the way.)

So I have decided to stop procrastinating and start joining. Once everything’s joined it’s just a case of doing a border. Ok so it won’t be the biggest blanket in the world, but it’s only for the back of her sofa and it’s plenty big to go over my Mum – my height and body shape were inherited from Dad’s side of the family. And also if you look at that top photo and imagine a border around it, it’s going to come out at pretty much the same size as the patchwork one so that’s all good I’m telling myself.

I will start with the non-scary joining together of the grannies and then begin the very much scary joining together of the stripes and we will see how we go. Slow and steady wins the race – except not too slow and steady because I’ve checked and Christmas is definitely still happening in one month’s time.

Do you know what is annoying about making things for people for Christmas though? You can’t bloody do them when they’re about! Now that I have the buzz about getting on with this blanket I’m rearing to go and want to just do it. Except that I can’t, because tomorrow I am flitting off to my sister’s for the weekend, with Mum. GOD.

I told you this one was going to roll and roll didn't I?

One month and counting...