I've been crocheting for just over a year now, but I am often really impatient with what I'm making and get frustrated if I can't start and finish a project within a couple of hours. I decided that instead of setting myself projects I expect to finish quickly, I would start a blanket to have as an ongoing project, meaning that I'd get used to having something on the go rather than getting annoyed when it wasn't finished! The good thing about this pattern is that it is simple and repetitive and so the perfect thing to do whilst watching television.
I luckily stumbled across The Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework during one of my Oxfam shifts and priced at £5.99 there were enough crochet and knitting patterns to justify buying it, as well as detailed and informative instructions for the other crafts that are basic enough to teach yourself from. Having flicked through it and already used some of the patterns I can safely say this book is invaluable and would recommend it to all yarn lovers, especially as there are some copies selling on eBay.
For my blanket I decided on this wave stitch because I love how wavy blankets look and it also seemed a very easy pattern to follow. I cast on 169 stitches and my blanket measures 38 inches wide, the perfect width for a blanket to snuggle in whilst watching television but perhaps a bit too small to cover a single bed. I also like this pattern because a lot of the wave patterns I have seen don't have the gaps between each wave which I like, and also skipping the two stitches to make the gap reduces the amount of time it takes to crochet each row - very useful if, like me, you aren't used to working on something so big and get frustrated at a lack of speedy progress!
*I will point out here that the UK vs US crochet terminology often causes confusion, and as I taught myself crochet from American tutorials I am familiar with the US terminology and often have to look up the UK equivalent to be able to follow UK patterns. Here a tr is just a dc in US terms!*
I have been doing ten rows of each colour, and using Patons Fab DK in shades Cream and Strawberry (not sure why it's called strawberry as it's more of a deep pink) but it's quite fun to say my blanket is made of Strawberries and Cream.
I'm not sure how long I'll go on crocheting for, I have a couple more balls of wool and will probably stop when those run out. Not sure if I'll sell this, gift it or keep it for myself, I'll see how much I like it once it's finished!
Caf
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