Wheels Within Wheels Blanket - Finished!

Wow it's a wild and wooly day here.  We have been without power for four hours and it has just gone back on so I can get on here and post this!

Anyway, I thought I'd show you this blanket that I finished recently while I was on my finishing off drive.  I think this was started well over a year ago, and then sat on a shelf in pieces for a long time.

I am so glad I have finished it!  I really love the random coloured rings and the way they pop against the grey, it was a lovely way to use up lots of half balls and left overs from other blankets.

Sorry about the overkill of photos, but it has been very grey here and the lighting hasn't been great for such a colourful blanket.  So I have taken quite a lot!

These two shots are before I blocked and shaped it properly, it was quite puffy and didn't lie flat.  You can see the difference in the top pictures where it is lying much flatter and draping quite nicely over the back of the couch.  This blanket really benefitted from a good blocking I think.

So here are a few facts about this blanket:

Pattern: Wheels within Wheels by Frankie Brown  (Great pattern!!)

(I did change a few things, made the wheels bigger and the squares bigger too.)

Yarn: For the centres, scraps of 8ply from other projects, mainly Heirloom Colorworks, Babywool 8ply and Loyal DK.  The backgrounds where in a medium grey, but I can't remember which yarn exactly.

Size: 30 squares, 75 x 90cm, roughly a cot size blanket.

This was a really fun blanket to make, and I think I will be making a few more of these later in the year.  

What do you think? Do you like the grey?  I think you could have a big play with colours in this blanket and come up with lots of beautiful schemes....

Anyway, I've gotta run, talk soon!

 (I'm off to see if I can add my tapestry washcloth patterns to the Ravelry site, I think that will be the easiest way to do instant downloads.....learning new things every day round here!!)  :)

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Creativity Blog Hop...

Hello!

I am taking part in a Blog Hop today, and talking about creativity.  I was tagged by the lovely Kate from Just Pootling, hi Kate!

There are four questions to answer, and hopefully they will shed some light on my creative process! So here goes.

1. What am I working on?

Crochet in general, and more specifically at the moment I am working on a tapestry crochet washcloth in a new pattern. And I am also making little knitted hearts for a new dangly thing for our bedroom. I am finding that these small projects that I can complete in a few days are giving me a lot of pleasure.  Not to say I don't like a big time consuming project, but I was having trouble deciding what to make next , so small projects are great for the interim.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Um, this is a hard question, I am not sure my work is all that different from others in the crochet world!  Maybe I have a distinctive colour palette?  I love to play with colour and pattern, and am drawn to stripes and things that have the potential for lots of layering of colour.  I also like 'solid' crochet, I am not into lacy, gappy patterns, so I think there is chunkiness to my work that might be a little different to others, maybe it feels more contemporary than traditional?   I like making big slabs of crocheted fabric in lovely wools and calling them blankets!  But then I like making little pretty frivolous things too!  I also like the tapestry crochet technique at the moment, and I don't see too many people using that in a big way, so maybe that's a little different too.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

I crochet because it brings me enjoyment and I like to see my ideas come to life.  I love making things, and find I am never bored or wondering what to do, as there is always another idea to try out.  I also like making things just to prove that I can!  I get a lot of satisfaction out of making something to the best of my current abilities, and there is still so much to learn!  I am also quite surprised how good it feels to see someone else appreciate something I have made with my own hands, it gets a bit addictive this making caper!  I love crochet because there are so many creative possibilities with this craft.

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

I seem to always be doodling or writing little ideas.  My creative process seems to start with an idea, or a technique, stitch or colour combination, and then I will do a bit of drawing to see if I can sketch out how it might look in the end, and then I really just have a go!  I love trying new things out and learning new techniques to broaden my creative choices. I tend to figure out the details as I work, this means an idea can change as it  grows and becomes a real thing.  Something that looks good on paper might not actually work in reality, so I am always open to changing things when I am crocheting.  Or I might have an idea for something and do a little drawing, but not have the skills to bring it to life yet, so I like to revisit old ideas every once in a while as my skill base grows, I often have moments of ' oh I do know how I can make that now' when my skills have caught up to my ideas!  One of the best things about crochet,  it is very easy to pull stitches out and try again! 

So there you have it, a little insight into me and what makes me tick creatively speaking.

Here are 3 other lovely bloggers to pass the baton onto and continue the hop for next week -

*Heike over at Made with Loops

*Butterfly Sparkles over at Butterfly Sparkles Designs

*Emm over at Crochet.Reading.Travels.Stories.Life.Love.Me

So what are you up to today, creative wise?