Ripple blanket, it is a marathon, not a foot race.

I am happily on my way with the border of my ripple blanket.  I am can hardly wait to show it off to you dear reader.  I have a few more rounds to bring it together.  It will be a while before I do my "Big Reveal" moment because I really want to write out a pattern and diagram so anyone that wants to make one can, including how I squared it off and the border.  This is a very scrappy blanket and is using up the end of my yarn stash.  I have almost depleted my yarn for blanket making.  The edges of this border will be far more different than what is pictured.  The pattern is about to change soon, and have loads of waves and fun... Stay tuned!  All I can say about it is... It is copied from the towel edging that came from my grandmother.  If this is any clue to tell you about it, my mother is 87 years old, and the design is from the 1920s with my own personal twist and changes.  When her mother was alive she crocheted a border on every single towel, bed sheet, pillowcase, etc. that she could.  She used a fine needle and fine thread.  There was no textile that was safe from a crocheted lace border.  What I am about to make, is copied from one of her towels.  When grandma passed away her things (many of them) went into storage.  When my great auntie passed, we got all of them. To this day, there are a lot of lace and fine crocheted things floating around our home.  Oh to have all the borders on all bed sheets, towels and washcloths covered in lace now!  I admire her for doing so. 

As you can see, the plastic laundry basket is getting pretty empty.  It is nearly at the bottom and this means I am almost out of yarn.  This was the quest with making my last few projects.  I wanted to use up my yarn.  I had some yarn I purchased and some that I inherited and over the last several projects I did my best to use them up.  Some of the colors were dark, and some were light.  I wanted to use them however so I could start fresh, with a new stash...  As much as I look at yarn like I look at a box of crayons in the way that a child does, my box of crayons was not always what I would choose.... But I progressed, and pushed through to add them and use them and make them work, for I feel that even those odd colors can add a lot of dimension to a project.  But, loving color as I do, even the colors I would not purchase have a place in little spots to add highlights and depth like an artist does with paint.  

Over the last week or two, I started adding to my yarn "hoard".  I went to my local "Mega Low Mart" (if you don't know to what I refer I apologize... but that store is within walking distance to me and one of the few places to purchase acrylic yarn.  I get a 2 mile walk in which is good) and bought a few skeins here and there.  I went to my local Joanne's fabric store as well, and bought more yarn.  It is a mixture of Red Heart Super Saver, Vanna's Choice and Caron Pound of Love, and Pound of Baby Yarn.  

I have a few more colors to go!  I need some more salmon type colors and lipstick colors and yellow colors to complete the collection.  Soon I will have a "crayon box" to choose from that I actually like and love.  This excites me to no end... Imagine!!!  A box full of "crayons" to color my world with and most all of them are colors I purchased because I like them.  It to me is like a brand new box of crayons, before the paper has been peeled.  So exciting and so many possible things to make.   I do have a few random skeins left from previously not pictured that are still dark and such but I will still use them randomly to add shadows and depth.  Heck, all colors do have their place, it is all how you use them.

It was all in all a successful day however, as I did damage to my pocketbook, I also loaded up on more fiber once again.  That is a great day!  Colors are dancing around in my head already :)  

Until next time... xxxxxxxxxxxxx