I Must Hate My Hands/The Making of a Full Size Blanket

I must like to torture my hands. I was at my Dad's house, and his cleaning lady was telling me how much she liked the blanket my Mother made my Dad. I was a bit confused, as though my parents are on great terms, they were divorced 32 years ago. She showed me the blanket, and I said, "Mary, I made that blanket for him about ten years ago", and thus, her Christmas (2014) present was conceived. 

Which is why I must hate my hands. I have to back up here a bit. When I thought of making her a blanket, I knew that I had made a tremendous amount of 2x2 granny squares several years ago, and they were just waiting to be used in a project. They were the odds and ends of all my miscellaneous skeins of yarn. A great stash buster project. All I had to do was put them together. Easy-peasy, right?

Yes, easy, but incredibly time consuming. I think I started this in the beginning of November, right after I finished making things for the craft fair I just posted about. I have a full time job, and some nights, I really just wanted to do nothing rather than work on this project. I should have ignored that urge. I ended up finishing the project on 1/3, but Mary didn't care. She loved the blanket.

So did my Dad! When I brought it over to his house to give to her, he thought it was for him. I had to remind him that the very blanket laying on the back of his couch was from me! He explained to me how he shuffles around the cold house each morning wrapped in a blanket, over his shoulders like a cape. How this blanket, since it was so tightly constructed would keep him much warmer than what he was currently using.

Sigh. Guess who is getting another blanket project. Actually TWO. I had posted some pictures of my progress to facebook, and my Aunt was hoping I was going to send Mary's blanket to her. BOTH of them are getting 2x2 crochet projects this year, if I finish them. When my Dad said he wore the blanket over his shoulders all I could see is him in a Superman cape, so I'm going to make him one. I still don't quite know how I'm going to construct it. My aunt's is much easier, in theory. She's getting a full size blanket. 

The only catch this time...I don't have ANY of the 2x2's made at the start of the project. Momma to the rescue! She volunteers at the Senior Center, and brings me the odds and ends that people have donated. She'd bring me full skeins, but I told her to leave them for the actual seniors, I'll just take the things that aren't going to be picked. They have an event a few times a year where they bring out all the donated yarn, and people can take what they want. Pretty sweet. Even "cheap" yarn add's up on projects, so I'm very thankful for her getting the donated yarn for me to use.

Back to the construction of the blanket. I first made the 2x2 squares into 4x1 strips.

I then made the strips into 4x4 squares.

I then made those larger squares into long strips.

And finally, I made the strips into the final blanket. Reminds me of a Mondrian painting.

This thing took forever! Just the very outside black trim took 8 hours by itself. Putting everything else together took countless hours.

Black Cat was there for everything. Bitching at me the entire time.

I actually just caught her in a yawn, but she really doesn't like it when I crochet.

Optical illusion. She looks like a kitten here. She's full grown, at 13 years old.