I’ve consulted the archives and lo! this circle-in-a-square granny project has been with me for one year and two days. The amount of effort, bored to tears-ness, lessons learned, queasy, car-sickened craft that has gone into this little number is immeasurable, incalculable, infinite. I am gobsmacked at the uncharacteristic, marked restraint: to date, I have posted but five times on the sucker.
One year and two days on, I have crocheted 180 squares, retro-fitted a flat braid join (one of the lessons learned) and woven in eighty seven squares worth of ends (so, approximately 12,467). I will admit to wildly enjoying the first third of this process.
Such is the angst now associated with this work in progress mocking me from the sofa in various states of incomplete, I am inspired to start a meme. How about this? WEAVING IN WEDNESDAY!* The mid-week, ‘hump’ day, forever more associated with finishing granny blankets? Whole weekly blog posts devoted purely to the intricacies of weaving in granny square ends.** Anyone?
It’ll make for rivoting reportage. I for one, will be devoting each of my Wednesdays to the blow-by-blow description of the weaving in of a different colour.*** After twenty seven years (or thereabouts), I shall post a crazed, maniacal WEAVING IN WEDNESDAY! success story: I finished! I absolutely finished! Not just ‘blog’ finished! Pedantic old lady finished! At which point, I shall be declared entirely insane, committed to someplace unpleasant and sit rocking in the corner with a completed granny blanket warming my lap.****
Needless to suggest, familial enthusiasm for the project has waned.
Photographic posing requests prompted much in the way of tongue-in-cheek eye rolling and melodrama.
All of which had me shrieking with laughter and re-inspired to finish, dammit. If only to inflict one. last. photoshoot. upon my poor, put-upon poppets.
* I’m joking
* It’s ok, I’m really joking
* I promise, on the lives of the beloved stick insects, I am absolutely joking
* I really hope I’m joking
62 comments:
It looks fantastic...... I love the post with it and especially the waxing and waning young people!! Priceless...
Hugz
I thought you had lost your mind- with the meme. Others have learnt lessons from this ordeal too. ( by the way it looks gorgeous) I KNOW I will never ever ever ever ever start even one granny square because I know I will makes hundreds but never want to put them all together.
So really this has been a community service.
Thanks!
it is so beautiful - weren't you a teeny bit nervous about grass stains in your photo shoot???!!! i can't even imagine the process, the weaving in the whicheehoo har bits that I don't even know or want to know about but i can say you are the goddessqueenruler of circle in the square granny rugs. Oh we bow before you...
Oh Tania. God I have so much crochet envy.
But I will not be weaving on Wednesdays. I will be sure to come over here and comment on your process if you do though. I also have contacts nearby that can come and check on you on those days... Bring casseroles to your family, etc..
P.s speaking of them is it just me or are your kids growing?
hahahaha hah ha ha.
that is the pretties blanket ive ever seen. seriously, it totally reminds me of a catherdral window quilt my granny made for me. i LOVE the white. and all the strings in the back? i'd cover it with fabric :)) x
Splendid, splendid effort.
I surely do look forward to your meme as you know I have enough fodder to fill two lifetimes.
Besides...I could post the same image each & every post & tell you it's a new square!
LMAO...You have done and gone it, that 12 bazillion number has got me mortified to start another blanket. But one day I will tackle this granny square thing. Just not while the kids are so young I think..The scary part for me is the chance something stain worthy gets spilled on it..HOLY COW I would freak lol..It is beautiful regardless and atleast at this point it can sit folded up and look pretty right?? Maybe you will be halfway done and the kids will decide to help weave those ends in..in oh 5 yrs oh so ya know? lol...
The blanket is gorgeous Tania! I guess it is like running a marathon, you have to train for quite a bit before you finish the actual race. Just think of all those ends being woven in as training and then you can relax under the blanket with your kiddos! I am sure they will have smiles on their faces once your finished!
It looks amazing and I have faith that all those ends will be woven in by this time next year.
Good job Tan!
I love it and I would love one but not enough to go through the whole crochet/weaving marathon. So give yourself a medal for getting thus far. It's beautiful! x
Eeek! Maybe that's why I can't seem to learn to crochet. Can you bribe the kiddies into weaving in all those ends???
You must be SO proud of yourself! What an effort - that stretches waaaay beyond my realm of attention! Those ends, what to do...can't you just cut them off? (no I don't crochet...)
I think you need to have a family get together (or ten) on this. They thread the needles whilst you quickly sew them away and cut. Every day you show us a shot from the same perspective letting us know how fast you are coming along. Cherrie
It does look beautiful but I'm a cut the ends off girl because I'm too , too lazy !
Well I reckon it looks unreal and worth all the angst & pain...and that's just the stuff thats been hurled my way;)
It's all worth it Tan...and if nothing else you will have a beautiful blanket and have learnt to never make one again..particularly in pesky cotton!
xxt
Oh boy will it be wonderful when it is done, even if you hate it by then!
I love that blanket so much. If I ever make a granny blanket (and I hope I do) it will be this one. Yours is beautiful, those ends do look slighlty terrifying though.
I am impressed, it is beautiful and when you finish it, bung it in the cupboard for three months then when you take it out your love for it will be restored.
Well now, I was rather hoping that you weren't joking, I would be fascinated to see how you would go about it, well for the first go 'round anyway. See, the lesson I learned, was to crochet the ends in as I am making a granny and then snip off the excess. I hate the joining up.
It looks drop dead gorgeous though! Love the photos.
it's glorious, well done. I'm sure it will finish itself off soon.
Ha! Yep, that's a feeling I know very veeeeerrrryy well ;) HOWEVER... do not despair! It actually doesn't take as long as you think. I'm posting about my absolutely and completely FINISHED hex blanket on Thursday (have to save it for My Creative Space as there isn't a lot else going on here!) I approached that hairy back-side (so to speak!) with all the same trepidation and dread and horror, but once I got started it just went along swimmingly ;) I got a no.2 crochet hook and threaded the loose ends in that way. Great for evening TV watching. This was all finished before we went away and then I finished off the border when we got back. Anyway... must stop rambling. Key message here is do not despair, it will all be over before you know it :) Kx
ok, gone is my smug "I am only using one colour for each square" smile - replaced of course, with dead pan, gobsmacked, "oh my goodness that blanket is gourgeou!" Great work!
that is just beautiful. i say leave the back as is - im all about half done stuff....
L.O.V.E it. Truly, madly, deeply.
The weaving in, not so much.
Probably why my granny square blanket started around the same time as yours is still a pile of granny squares shoved into a bag at the back of a cupboard somewhere.............
Oh, wow. I'm sorry, but please do go insane if you must, because you just have to finish it. It's absolutely gorgeous and can't be left undone. Even if it takes 27 years.
The blanket looks so amazing! at least all that tedious work will produce a pretty awesome family heirloom!!!
It looks stunning. Leave the end as they are and anyone who wants to snuggle under it had to weave in some ends while they do.
I'm sure you've stopped 'seeing' it by now but it really is the most fantastic and beautiful thing.
And I'm sure like childbirth you will have forgotten all the hard bits soon after its finished and be ready to start the next!
The front looks great!! ;)
If you just keep it folded no one will ever see all those ends? ;)
Blanket = good
Use of lo! in a blogpost = very good
An all round satisfactory result.
It's gorgeous! But, you have me completely convinced to postpone granny quilt making until I am indeed a granny.
OMG Tania, you can post as many photos as you like, I love it, it's STUNNING beyond words.
xo
Oh but it's beautiful!!!! Maybe you can pay the poppets to weave in the ends? A penny per...
Also wanted to say, I love the way you write. Can't remember how I found your blog, but I'm absolutely entranced.
~Cinnamon
Beautiful. The blanket is beautiful... even with all those ends hanging out. Gorgeous.
... why not adopt a post-structuralist approach to granny square throws and just leave all the ends as they are. It could be a metaphor for something????
...Tis lovely though. I'm fully awareness I can say that with a level of detachment that only comes from NOT having to weave in those ends. I have considered training my husband certain craft skills such as (but not limited to) this. Moohahahaha That's my witchy laugh BTW
:o). You have just brightened up a very grey and miserable morning here! I so know where you are coming from, having a couple of blankets reaching the very same stage...
Mxx
i don't know anything about those ends..but those pics are wonderful!
kids expressions = priceless
♥
And it's so very pretty!!!
Ends ... what Ends ???
Aren't they called a fringe?
Sometimes wonderful things take time. Your afghan is beautiful - I don't envy you the weaving ends part though :)
I have a bedspread that I've been working on for >20 years. It's sitting in my closet waiting (patiently) for my enthusiasm for crocheting with thread to visit again - it usually makes an appearance every 2-3 years. I'm down to the joining of motifs and edging part so I think I may finish before I forget how to crochet (and my name. . .)
Wow, it's incredible! I have just started on mine... 3 squares down... now I'm thinking maybe it's not such a good idea.... On the plus side, I'm weaving in ends as I go along!
Oh my goodness! Labour of love, or what! Well, it looks lovely, and I'm sure it'll be completed before you're a granny, and treasured long afterwards.
It is perfect!!!!
NOW this is BRAVE!You deserve a huge BRAVO for making such a beautiful piece and kept going for sooo long!
I think that would have been turned into a bath mat or a brooch :)... with my patience for long projects!
The pics are so funny with the kids expression:)
xx
It looks wonderful. Maybe if you leave it out under a tree for a night some little weaving in fairies will come and do it all. Or perhaps I'm verging on insane too.
Wow. I am impressed. I know I do not have the patience for a project of that magnitude! I would be rocking, crying in a corner by now. Hats off to you, sister.
looking beautiful Tania but I have two words for you - ripple blanket!
Your blanket is gorgeous and I couldn't resist showing it off on Cuteable this morning - hope you don't mind?
http://cuteable.com/
It's amazing!!
Great!
Giulia
Oh stick with it! It's so so very delightful! And you'll look dashing in the nursing home swathed in that.
Wow! Looks amazing! I think that perhaps this is one of those call a friend kinda things. Maybe a weave-it-together kind of blog meet thing. It would be such a shame to see you weaving ever ends every Wednesday from here to, well, eternity....just a thought ;) xox
What a gorgeous blanket - oh, those ends to weave in - my least favorite part too.
Glad to have found your beautiful blog.
Warm wishes,
Tonya
I'm very glad you came to see my blog from so far, ha ha ha!!!
Thank you!
Giulia
...did you see my "granny square" some post ago??
Giulia
he he he he... I wrote a weaving in wednesday post tonight ;)
Ah yes this project. I saw that photo too and started the blanket. I'm using the most wonderful soft and colourful italian baby wool (3 ply no less!) - and therein is the catch. The company that produces said beautiful soft colourful baby wool seems to have gone bankrupt and did I buy enough of the white to complete the blanket? I think we all know the answer to that is "No". So until I can find an acceptable substitute my granny squares are on hold.
Having said that, your blanket looks so lovely I might just start it up again.....
oh wow - it is gorgeous! Good luck on Wednesday ;)
Oh I LOVE this blanket! What gorgeous colours. i personally, can't wait to see it finished...I know you can do it!
Maybe you could just put a backing on it and skip all that weaving in...
I vote you use your child labour to weave in those ends.
Hello,
Your crosing is fanominal.
I love your Work.
greatings send you Conny
I make voor my child a Grannyplait to.
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