A Blanket for Peachy

Hi Knitters,

Do you remember Peachy's squares from a long time ago? Peachy loves to go to the knitting group with our neighbors which she has done for the last couple of years or more. Over these years she has knitted square after square at the knitting group but I know that she mainly goes for the cookies and hot chocolate and fun with her friends. I can relate to that.

I finally pulled out her squares and rectangles and oblong shapes again as I had promised her I would help pull them together into a blanket of sorts. The squares had been hiding in a bucket in my closet for many months. The shame.
Let me tell you that putting this blanket together wasn't an easy task. The squares had no real rhyme or reason and to get them to form into a blanket took some serious prep work and figuring out. I decided in order to get a little more consistency I would first add two rounds of single crochet around the edges of each square. This helped so much. I wove in all of the ends at this point as well.

After each square had the crochet edging in place I steamed, pulled and stretched it to form a square or really more of a rectangular shape. The squares became so neat and tidy and Peachy was beyond excited about all of the progress. She couldn't believe how good her knitting looked. She is so funny about it like there is no expectation at all. I set out all of the pieces on the kitchen table and I was pretty pleased to see that the funny little squares would actually form a blanket.

Next I set out crocheting the squares together using a slip stitch seam which made a fantastic little decorative ridge. I love the ridges. First I crocheted the horizontal seams together and then the vertical seams together.

Seam, seam, seaming..... You can see the horizontal slip stitch seams (the camera angle makes them look vertical here) and the open vertical seams.
Now I've got the seams finished and running both ways. Peachy used all sorts of yarn for her squares. There is wool, acrylic, blends of all sorts and even a little sparkly yarn thrown in. Some were yarns she picked up at the knitting group and some were from balls she picked out from home, various yarn shops locally and also from shops we visited while on vacation. Her squares tell many stories.
After all of the seams were complete I went on to add three rounds of single crochet around the entire outer edge. This made the blanket really come together.

By the way, crochet makes my hands hurt in the most awful way. I couldn't wait to put the hook down. I don't know what that is all about.
Peachy is thrilled with the outcome of her hard work. She has decided to keep her blanket and now has it proudly displayed on her bed. I don't blame her for keeping the blanket. It took her years to make all of those squares and I think it is sweet that she wants to hang onto her work. Peachy is not a passionate crafter but will join in on occasion and that is why this blanket seems like a monumental achievement for her.

Will she start another? That is yet to be determined.

best, susie