Rambling Nan

It wasn’t long into my camper van kitting out journey when I realised that I would be wanting to keep enjoying weekends away in the van as far into winter as I possibly could. And, because “Honey Bumble”has no heater when the engine is switched off, some warm bedding would be a must.

It just so happened that languishing deep in the depths of my craft stash was a part-finished knitted blanket. And the prospect of sleeping in a cold camper van spurred me on to revive the project.

My craft stash is like a graveyard for unfinished projects. There are several assorted half-made makes in there. A moroccan themed crochet blanket in jewel like colours, a chunky knit jumper that I’ll have grown out of before I finish, three quarters of a pair of socks, a cross-stitch picture of a pheasant in a snowy field, a painting by numbers that hasn’t seen the light of day for years, and oh dear – more yarn and fabric than it’s possible to store tidily.

A double-bumble trip with J provided an ideal opportunity to crack on with some knitted squares to make a warm winter blanket for Honey Bumble

I have this need to keep my hands busy, but I also get bored and disheartened if either a project is taking too long, or, if I hit a snag with it.

The problem with the half-finished blanket that I had earmarked for the camper van, was that although I loved the pattern, I really wasn’t keen on the colour. Could it be salvaged in order to keep my toes warm on cold nights?

First things first – assess how much work would be needed to finish the blanket…..and then find a way of making it more aesthetically appealing.

The pattern is a collection of knitted squares, each one a different textural design. I had already completed one of each of the squares but decided that baloney wasn’t big enough and so embarked upon knitting a few more.

However, try as I liked, I could not fall in love with the colour. A kind of apple green that would look lovely as an edging for a baby blanket but viewed en-mass was just too overwhelming. “Why on earth did you buy wool you don’t like?” I hear you say. Well, I actually bought two whole packs of commercial baby yarn in pale green and yellow to knit clothes for an exciting new family member. A grandchild. Time has blurred my memory and I can’t remember now if it was C or A – whoever it was, it feels as though it was a long time ago.

Gary the cat doesn’t mind about the colour of my hand-knitted blanket – he just knows that it’s warm.

My work colleague, Miriam had started a side-hustle selling yarn online and in various local markets and festivals. M is great! Her business is called The Woollery and has now become a full-time enterprise for her. (we both stopped working for the turf grower at around the same time and now are both self-employed albeit in different industries)

Anyhow, M kindly supplied me with copious quantities of yarn at ‘mates rates’ and my knitting needles very quickly flew into action. The lemon yellow yarn has made several small garments for grandchildren and a little blanket for the dolly’s pram.

The pale green yarn sat in my stash drawer for ages until I stumbled upon the blanket pattern whilst at a crafting event with my pal Teri.

Fast forward 5 (ish) years until I committed to buy Honey Bumble and the blanket project is ready to be revived.

To tone down the colour, I decided to buy a selection of yarns in various shades of green and brown. Fortunately, Miriam had supplied me with a yarn that’s as popular today as it was back then, AND it’s readily available in a wide range of colours. It’s called Sirdar Stylecraft DK.

These days my tastes in yarn lean more towards natural fibres – wool, cotton etc. I think they’re more gentle on the environment. However, if this green blanked was ever to come camping with me, it needed to be finished. And, it needed to be made in a yarn that is washable, dog friendly and yes, affordable.

After several knitting sessions, including one very memorable one with my friend J on a double-bumble night away I found I actually had too many squares. Well done me! Which meant that I could assemble the blanket and have it ready for winter usage.

Finally! a finished project.

Now, what shall I make next?