Mike's Bricks Blanket ...

Bricks Blanket Pattern

March 15th, 2017 - The Finished Project

The above pic is the finished project. It is nearly 6 feet long and about 4-5 feet wide. I will get full dimensions another time. 9 skeins in all: 4 Countryside, 3 Country Blue, and 2 Vintage White - Bernat Super Bulky, L hook. 

March 14th, 2017 - My hubby is testing it out. He's loving the length. He's 6 feet tall and you can see that it's hanging over his fee as he lays out in a chair. His head is not covered and I had a skein and a half to go. 

I found this pattern for the bricks blanket on a yarn tag when I was purchasing some Bernat skeins for my hubby's project. I had a hard time with the written pattern alone, so I went on YouTube and did a search for Bernat Bricks Blanket. There it was! I watched it, thought, "I can totally do that!" I especially liked making the first row go into the back of each stitch as it really makes it stand out and match the final row of chain 4 stitches.

The first attempt ended up as my son's blanket. The pattern told us it was a great blanket and only needed 4 skeins. But it is half the size of this particular project.

So, initially, my hubby asked for a blanket to put on his legs. This fit the bill, but did not cover his feet. Then, as the weather got colder, it did not fully fit his needs, should he pull it to his chest. My son fell in love with this blanket and would go on and on about how soft it was. So, we gave this to him. He's already outgrowing it and I need to add a pair of skeins to it. 

For Mike, the larger blanket was a long time in the making as I'm a full time teacher, but he loves the finished product. Also, I took it everywhere I could to get it done. I spent 7 hours in an ER (not for me) crocheting and talking. Many of the ER nurses stopped to feel the blue/white/countryside blanket and asked a million questions. Some were fellow crocheters. One nurse said his wife hasn't done much and he had me write down all the details of the colors, yarn, hook, and so forth. I gave him a weblink, suggested he check out youtube videos for TheCrochetCrowd and Yarnspirations. 

The blanket is heavy, but super soft, and gorgeous. It was worth the time spent to make it and I'm uber proud of it. Many folks looked at the 'right' side and ooh'ed over it, then looked at the 'wrong' side and thought the front double crochet stitch was super hard. 

This whole thing is just a lot of chains, single crochets, and double crochets. Super easy to begin, easier to continue, and really doesn't take long at all to complete. It's warm. It's soft. 

Thanks Yarnspirations and The Crochet Crowd (and Mikey) for the pattern videos! Also, thanks to Bernat for the idea and the awesome yarn!

Obsession by Animotion... It applies..

Ok, so it's a creepy kind of song, but I hear it in my head when I'm crocheting because I feel like this hobby has become a true way for me to relax. In many ways, it is mindless, yet it requires, demands, that I focus my attention on it. One distracted thought and I have missed a stitch or a flaw appears.

I started this almost a year ago. I believe it was April of 2016 when I said to my hubby that I needed a hobby. I needed something to help me relax. Problem is, the usual things I flock to cost money, take too much time, and have little variety to entertain me. If it takes too long, I lose interest. I get bored. I give up because I see little to no progress.

Crochet brings me back to my childhood, with my mom trying to teach me. I have a blanket she crocheted for me. There was an afghan on our couch that she made and my sister, possibly my brother, too, had a blanket she made. I love the idea that we have these things she made for us. Not just baby blankets, but full blown blankets that, well, I still use, at least.

Now, in the last year, I've tried a variety of things. I made a baby blanket - in hind sight, it was a first and not my best, but the mother-to-be loved it. I have made several baby blankets, a few beanie hats, and made quite a few sad-looking pot holders/hot pads.

I have one pattern I love. Bernat's brick blankets, by the Crochet Crowd. I made the first one with the idea that it would be used by my husband to just cover his legs. But he felt it was too short. Yes, it covered his legs, but he wanted it up to his chest. So, the first one went to our son who fell in love with it. He uses it as his blanket in bed.

On ravelry.com, I have this up with all the details. It's not too big. My son is 6.5 years old, nearly 7 actually, and it's already too small for him. I may add to it when I have time, perhaps a lighter color or something solid on both ends to give it a pop. It's a super-easy pattern and adding to he blanket to give it length is real easy. 

Currently, I am working on my hubby's blanket. It is wider by 2 brick sections, which is about 6 inches. It is also NOT 4 skeins, but will be 9 when it's done. The pattern is coming along swimmingly and I love how it looks. My hubby jokes that it finally looks like a REAL blanket. 

So this is the pic for the blanket at the two-thirds progress mark. As I type this, I'm on skein 8. It's Country Blue, Countryside, Vintage White, Countryside, Country Blue, Countryside, Vintage White, Countryside, then the last will be Country Blue again.

You can see this at my ravelry site: Mike's Bricks Blanket

You can see more of my projects at: QueenBanzia @ Ravelry