Granny Arrows Scrap Blanket

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This blanket I finished last week was originally going to be a Christmas present, but luckily I had enough sense at some point to realize it wasn't going to get finished in time if I still wanted to work on all my other Christmas projects...  So here's a late Christmas present for my sister and brother-in-law.

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Before they moved to Brooklyn, they had Ugly (my scrapghan you can see in this post) on their bed for the longest time.  So when they moved to Brooklyn I wanted them to have a similar blanket.

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And what better opportunity to make a blanket with a square I designed myself?!  I used my Granny Arrows pattern for this bad boy with some scrap worsted weight yarn (actually, the yarn that was previously my scary snaggle monster), and a size J hook.

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With the scrap yarn, I made 100, four round Granny Arrow squares, and joined them all (ten rows of ten squares each) with a linen colored yarn (took 7 skeins of vanna's choice for the joins and the border) using the join-as-you-go method.

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I love using only scrap yarn because you get to play with so many different color combinations!  Even if you say "ok, for this square, I'm going to pick four colors that will probably look awful together," it still ends up looking great!  (Does that sound crazy?)

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Green and purple are Ginny and Jarrod's colors, so I tried using those colors a lot.  Oh!  I didn't even mean to take a picture of it, but above you can see a green and purple square with a center that is the same color as the joining yarn...  If I'm making a blanket like this with several colors, for fun I like to make the first round of one square the same color as the joining color... just for fun.  Kind of like a "where's waldo" thing. (Ok, that probably sounds crazy!  Moving on. [Did a couple of you out there just run to check your blankets I made you? Haha!])

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Once all of the squares were joined, for the border I did one round of "Granny Arrows," one round of single crochet (1 sc in each stitch and ch 1 space, 2 sc in each ch 2 space, and 3 sc in each corner), and one round of reverse single crochet (which I think is sometimes called the Crab Stitch).  I love the look of the reverse single crochet even if it is a pain in the butt to crochet backwards!  It makes a nice simple edge with a bit of texture.

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It's amazing how much you can get out of a bunch of little bits of scrap yarn!  The lesson here today is:  save your scraps, because just like saving your change, it all adds up!!  (Yes!  I knew I was going to be able to fit that adorable owl piggy [that would be a strange hybrid] bank in a blog post somehow!!  My friend gave it to me as a thank you gift for helping out with her wedding back in August.  If you like looking at beautiful weddings, you can see hers on her wedding photographer's website, kristinpartin.com.  You might even be able to spot some doilies and cake toppers made by yours truly...)

Comments

  1. Wow! That is all from scraps??!! I'm beginning to think you NEVER put down a crochet hook. lol!

    Lovely wedding. I especially loved the cake toppers you made... too cute! :)

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  2. Super colorful and great present! They will be happy with it!

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    1. Thank you!! And yes they are, which makes me happy!
      Have a great week!
      Kate :}

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  3. I've just pinned this blanket on my crochet board : LOVE IT!!!!!!
    happy weekend Kate,
    xxx Ale

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  4. Hi Kate, I love love your granny arrows blanket and the gorgeous pictures you took of it.
    The joining colour is perfect and the crab stitch edging looks stunning.
    Jacquie x

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    1. Thank you so much Jacquie!! So glad you like it!
      Kate :}

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  5. What a gorgeous snug-looking blanket, Kate! Your sister and her husband must have been thrilled to get this belated present. It's so worth all the effort when you see a finished crocheted item, isn't it?
    I had a look at the very lovely wedding photos and noticed your lovely doily decorations! There seemed to be some sort of foot-washing ceremony at one point in time. Does it have a symbolic meaning? The bride looked happy and beautiful - as brides should! There was one cute little blond boy touching a tree trunk which particularly caught my eye. So sweet!
    Have a lovely weekend!

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  6. I love your blanket, it's gorgeous !!!

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    1. Thank you so much!!
      Hope you have a great week!
      Kate :}

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  7. Wow, this is absolutely stunning! Im sure the recipients were delighted!

    Helenxx

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    1. Thanks Helen! Yes, they loved it, so I'm happy!
      Kate :}

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  8. Your sister and brother-in-law are so lucky to receive this beautiful blanket as a gift. Great work. :)

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  9. Wow! This afghan turned out amazing, it's absolutely beautiful. I save all of my little skeins of leftover yarn as well, and over the last six months or so have been slowly piecing together a few different scrap-yarn blankets, hopefully to give away come Christmas 2013. I have a lot of self-striping yarn that I'm not a huge fan of, but seem to have tons and tons of it (a lot of garage-sale purchases and gifts from friends' elderly grandparents), and all those self-striping yarns are being added into these scrappy blankets. I truthfully think scrap-yarn blankets are some of the best kinds there are - I'm even working on one of them in the Squaring the Big Circle pattern of yours! The color combos are hideous...And I love it! :)

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    1. Thank you so much!! I definitely agree about the scrap-yarn blankets being some of the best! I'm also not a big fan of the sefl-striping yarn, but I bet it's perfect for a scrap blanket!

      I'm so glad you're enjoying the pattern, and when you're done with that scrap-yarn one with the hideous color combos- I'd LOVE to see it!!
      Happy crafting!
      Kate :}

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  10. Gorgeous! I'm sure it will be a well-loved blanket!

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  11. Beautiful! Can you believe I crocheted my "first " granny square just yesterday? Now seeing your scrap blanket, I want to do more! Thank you for your link to the joining as you go...for some reason I get so confused if a pattern calls for this process and end up putting it away! Ugh! I will certainly be back to this link when I am ready to try it again!

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  12. The granny arrows are great! Somehow I thinkm I missed that square. It looks a bit like a quilt block (and you know I love that). I have made a few granny afgans but not in a long time. I have several in my favs at Ravelry (including circle to square). So many beautiful things so little time.

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  13. Looks very cuddly snuggly, i do love a granny blankie. x

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  14. That's gorgeous - a fantastic gift!!! I love ALL THOSE COLOURS - and I love that you've used grey to fix all the squares together!
    So far, I only have about 20 squares done. Goimg at this rate, I may have a blankie by 2050???
    Carly
    x

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  15. Gracias!! Yes, she loved it, and I agree that late is better than never!!
    Have a great week, and happy crafting!
    Kate :}

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  16. It-s a wonderful blanket!!

    I love the owl too, I do save my Euro cents (red coins) in a box... I guess I will buy new yarn with it :)

    have a nice day

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    1. Thanks!! I think that's a perfect thing to spend your saved Euro cents on!!
      Hope you have a nice day too!
      Kate :}

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