Wool-Eater Blanket: Complete!

After two years, my crocheted Wool-Eater blanket is finally complete!  When I looked back to see what my last in-progress post was on this project, I realized it was over a year ago... Whoops.  I originally started this blanket on Super Bowl Sunday in 2012 as a way to pass the time and use up some leftover yarn.   My original plan was to finish the blanket before Super Bowl Sunday of 2013, but that didn't happen.  We had two extremely warm summers and I had to put the project on hold longer than I expected.  But I did manage to finish the blanket on Super Bowl Sunday of this year.

The finished blanket measures 52 x 66 inches, or 4'4 x 5'6.  It is incredibly warm and basically covers my entire couch!  I've been snuggling up under the blanket for a while, but now I can use the blanket without the threat of accidental unraveling.  Next on my project list is a second Wool-Eater pillow, similar to the one I made in 2012.  (Woah, has it been that long already?)  The idea is to use up the last remaining scraps from the second half of the blanket.

This blanket isn't just for humans, it is also the cat's favorite!  Frankie (my roommate's cat) will curl up and nap on the Wool-Eater blanket or pillow any chance he gets.  Sometimes he will cry to be let into the living room, just so he can nap on the blanket... Yeah, he's spoiled.  But who doesn't like a good wool blanket?

Modern Fleece Blanket

Usually I make handmade Christmas gifts for at least some of my family members and close friends.  Now that the holidays are over I can finally blog about a few things without ruining any surprises!  This year my list of people I needed to get gifts for was much shorter than usual, so I ended up only making 3 gifts.  I knit a headband for my sister-in-law (blogged here), knit a scarf for my roommate, and made a fleece blanket and pillows for my boyfriend.

When I asked my boyfriend what he wanted for Christmas (and his birthday, which is also in the end of December), he requested something handmade to put in his new apartment.  It took me a while to figure out what to make because my boyfriend likes very streamlined and modern things, and many of the things I make are not quite that style.  In the end, I decided to make a big, snuggly blanket and a couple pillows to put on his couch.  Instead of doing a tie-together blanket around the edges, I came up with a modern patchwork design that would fit better with his style.

I started by going to the fabric store and picking out fleece in a range of colors.  My boyfriend's favorite color is blue and his apartment is primarily black and white, so I picked out a dark blue background, and bright blue, aqua, white, and gray for the patchwork pieces.  I also grabbed two 16 x 16 inch pillow forms.  Once I had all my materials, the first step was laying out the 3 yards of background fabric and cutting off enough for the fronts and backs of the pillows.  Next, I measured and cut the smaller lengths of fabric into 7 inch wide strips.  I bought between 3/4 and 1 full yard of all the other fabric colors.

Once I had about a dozen fabric strips cut, I started laying them out on the dark background.  My goal was to create an irregular pattern by alternating colors and adjusting the length of each block.  Honestly, cutting and arranging the fabric was probably the most time consuming part of the whole project!  After everything was arranged to my liking, I pinned down the pieces so they wouldn't move and got busy at the sewing machine.  (It was tough wrangling so much fabric!)  For each row of patchwork blocks, I sewed the long edge all the way across and then came back and sewed the short edges individually.  Then I trimmed the extra edges off the background, and it was done!  He thinks the blanket is awesome and was very impressed.

Update: Wool-Eater Blanket

It has been a while since I have posted about my progress on the Wool-Eater Blanket...  Mostly because I didn't work on it all summer, and I was busy with work and craft shows all fall.  Now that Christmas is over, I can get back to working on some projects for myself.  I have added a couple colors since my last update.  The blanket is now big enough to cover my legs going the short way as well as the long way.  But... still not really big enough to completely wrap up in, and not big enough to share with someone else if I really wanted to.

My plan is to do two or three more colors after this one.  I'm thinking about a dark green, then repeating the magenta, and light pink from earlier in the blanket.  (I bought yarn since writing this post.  I decided on dark green, another row of the seafoam color, teal, and "orchid" which is the pinkish purplish one.)  That should add a few inches on each side.  I started the blanket on Superbowl Sunday last year, so I am trying to finish it by Superbowl Sunday this year.  Once the blanket is all done, I can work on the second throw pillow for my couch.  So hopefully this will be my last "in-progress" post about this project, and the next one will show my finished Wool-Eater Blanket!

Wool-Eater Progress

I haven't posted about my Wool-Eater blanket in quite a while, but I am still steadily crocheting away!  I have added six or seven colors since my last update.  That is about an extra foot in width and length.  The blanket is getting big, but still not big enough to wrap up in during the winter.  I would say at least 5 more colors...  But who knows how long that is going to take at this point.  Luckily, I have a window A/C unit this summer so it is still comfortable to crochet when the air is blowing right at me.

Wool Eater Pillow

In the beginning of February I started crocheting a Wool Eater blanket using the pattern by Sarah London.  The pattern is being used for a crochet-a-long on Sarah's Blog as well as spawning a flickr pool and a group on Ravelry.  I have been really great about crocheting every week and being consistent on such a large project...  The weekly updates?  Not so much.  My first update was after 7 color rounds.  More than a month later, this update is at 14 color rounds.

Seven color rounds doesn't seem like a lot to have done in a month.  However, I took a little detour and made a Wool Eater pillow to match my blanket and completely obliterate the last remaining scraps of yarn from the first 10 rounds.  I started with the smallest amounts of yarn first and made a square Wool Eater block.  When it looked about the same size as the pillow form I bought, I started on the backing.

For the back I made a square the same size as the front using single crochet.  I tried to make the color distribution as random as possible using the leftovers from the front of the pillow.  When it looked basically the right size, I attached the front and back squares in a way similar to starting a new color with the Wool Eater pattern.  The top and bottom were easy because it is clear where each stitch needs to be.  For the sides I just guessed how far apart the stitches needed to be.  (Clearly I was very scientific with the whole pillow process...)  I am thrilled with how it turned out, and I am planning to make another pillow after the blanket is finished.

Current Project: Wool Eater Blanket

My current project is crocheting a Wool Eater blanket.  The pattern makes a very close and textured fabric.  I discovered the project as part of a crochet-a-long.  I'm getting started on the crochet-a-long a little late, but I am making great progress on the blanket.

I am using this project as a way to use up some of the partial skeins of wool yarn I have hanging around.  I used the red yarn to knit my very first pair of socks.  The variegated pink and brown yarn was leftover from making my sister-in-law a pair of socks.  The brown yarn was remnants from making a hat for my dad...  And so on.  This project also gives me a chance to buy a few new skeins of yarn that I know will get used right away!

For the next colors I am thinking about using tan (the stuff I dyed with Black Walnut in the summer), gray, dark magenta, and red.  Any suggestions on what colors to use after that?