A blanket for memories – The Barcelona Blanket

barcelona- blanket - blueIf you are a regular reader of the blog you will know that I started a corner-to-corner blanket in the summer for Little B. Over the years I have made him many blankets. When he was a twinkle in our eye, I started a beautifully soft knitted heart blanket. He was wrapped in this gorgeous cashmerino on our journey home from the hospital. Later he adopted my rather dreadful blanket which was my very first experimentation in Granny Squares. The colours are dreadful and the yarn is really rather hideous, but this blanket has seen very good service for den making.

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A couple of years ago, I made him the Ugly blanket. This blanket is one that he uses in the evening sat outside for meals around the fire-pit. It is thick and cosy and rather gloriously has his initials embroidered on it.

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But now as Little B has grown into a rather large big boy, I felt it was time I made him a blanket that he could grow up with into his adolescence and he might even want to take with him when he leaves home.

When I asked him what colours he would like me to use he said; BLUE. ‘I love blue!’. Okay, fair enough.

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At the time I started the blanket we had begun our summer holidays and visited the gorgeous city of Barcelona. The clear hues of blue and white mosaic really inspired me and even before it was finished I named it the ‘Barcelona’ blanket. barcelonablanket5

The Ends…

I can’t lie to you. A corner-to-corner blanket which changes the colour on each stripe has ALOT  of ends to weave in. Oh yes my friends this is a labour of love. Even when you feel you have nearly finished the blanket, geometry tells you, you are only half way. Can you tell from the photos that I gradually integrated a different colour into the stripes every four rows? The edging is just a very simple double crochet. This is a full size British single bed blanket. Intended to be a friend and heirloom for life. I used odds and ends of yarn that I had in my stash and some very basic acrylic to boost the colour selection and quantity.

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It is deeply frustrating that I didn’t exactly record how long it took me to complete the project. Let’s be honest it was my background slow burner which I picked up between commissions. However looking back over my photographs I think it took about 3 months to complete. When I had finished the blanket – almost the minute it was handed over to its new owner, the blanket was adopted by Stanley. Ah well, blankets are made to be used and loved.

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Memories

When I look at this blanket now I think of memories and laughter on our little Spanish adventure. I feel and watch it being loved, scrunched, draped, cuddled its new owner. A smile appears on my face.

If you fancy reading more about the inspiration journey for this blanket please have a look at this blog post.

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4 thoughts on “A blanket for memories – The Barcelona Blanket”

  1. What a lovely blanket! My son is only 3, so I can get away with crazy rainbow colours, but gives inspiration for the future as he may want something more subtle.

    1. Thank you Nat for commenting – time flies so much and before you know it they are commissioning their own crochet!

  2. I too would love a blue blanket. BTW – it’s possible to crochet ends in as you go. Lay them along the top of a stripe and crochet over them. It’s certainly better than leaving all the ends to do in one go, then deciding that you’d always planned an all-round fringe!

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