Mark Twain

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do ...
Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Thursday, June 2, 2022

Finished: The Patch Work Blanket

As I mentioned in my previous post - I saved a lot of pictures of blog ideas to trigger future posts.  It is going to take some time to get caught up.  Each deserves it own time in the spot light.  If you missed the last post - be sure to check it out.  There is one very very cute bull dog featured there.  And he has almost entirely left the puppy stage.

During the blog break I did finish the weave-it square blanket that I started about 15 years ago.  


Weave-it squares are done on a special 4 inch square loom and the pins or nails are arranged in groupings of 3.  All the squares are sewn together just as you would sew together a granny square blanket.  Pictured above are 3 weave-it style looms.  The wooden one on the left was the first loom I purchased.  It took me a bit a research before I found someone who would make one.  There were original versions available on the secondary market but they often were expensive as they also qualified as antiques.  These looms were popularized in the 1930s through the 1950s.  Recently they are are experiencing a resurgence in popularity. The white loom on the right is a Zoom loom (a weave-it loom by another name) manufactured currently and has some comfort design elements.  But it works the same as the wood loom.  The clear loom on the bottom is also a weave-it style loom - only it is 8 inches square, but the nail placement is the same - groups of three.  


You might remember this picture from a previous post.  A collection of squares - some sewn together and some not.  And many not even made yet.


Here it is finished and folded up.  It makes a perfect square.  I decided to put a border on this blanket using some of the colors to pull it all together.  At first I was going to make it with a one color border, but I couldn’t settle on the one color.

I finally decided that 4 colors from the blanket - one for each side would look the best.

All for corners and colors.

As I was sewing the blanket together, I was not entirely satisfied with my seams.  Some of them looked very uneven and almost amateurish.  But try as I might, the seams were sometimes just messy to my eye. The pictures below show what I mean.  



But despite the rough look of the finishing I couldn’t help liking it.  There was something about the finishing that was appealing and I couldn’t put my finger on it.  And then I remembered what the true meaning of “patchwork” was.

United States[edit]

Patchwork enjoyed a widespread revival during the Great Depression as a way to recycle worn clothing into warm quilts. Even very small and worn pieces of material are suitable for use in patchwork, although crafters today more often use new 100% cotton fabrics as the basis for their designs. In the US, patchwork declined after World War II but was again revived during the American bicentennial.


The picture above shows that patchwork items were not entirely perfect and often the fabrics and colors used were not necessarily planned to coordinate perfectly.  And that was the feeling that my own weave-it blanket was echoing in my mind.  Not perfect but as a fully finished item - very appealing.

The weaknesses of this blanket in my mind are:

  • This blanket has many types of fiber contents and as a result will never be machine washable and dry-able.  Yarn was picked on color primarily. 
  • Because of the various types of yarns and the various colors - the seams would never look entire finished to a perfectionist eye - which sadly I seem to have.
  • It has a ton of ends.  The problem in my mind is that each end represents a break in the fabric of the blanket - a weak point!  There are tons of weak points.

But despite those weakness - I LOVE it.  I learned a whole lot about what yarns work with this weaving and what don’t. I LOVE that this used scrap yarn. It was yarn I loved from previous projects and couldn’t throw away the left overs - and finally, finally I got a chance to put them to good use.

Perfection!!

And already grabbed and used!!  



22 comments:

Leftycrafter said...

I think it is perfect. It looks very warm and inviting.

Tasha said...

Hello, I’m new to your blog an liked what I see. Have alots in common. I’m starting back to blogging I miss it.
Your blanket is pretty. Love those colors

A :-) said...

Love the Weave-it looms! And love the blanket/afghan that you made with it! I have a 2" square one that was my grandmother's! It's not particularly useful because it's so small, but I think I have another one that's the 4" size somewhere around here!

Michelle said...

Looks like a blanket that will be PERFECT for winter snuggling! Now that is a kind of weaving I might be tempted to try...

Wendy said...

I think your blanket looks great. Others would need to look hard to find your imperfections but mostly they will just see a lovely handmade blanket.

Marie Smith said...

I love the blanket. It reminds me of the old quilts the women made around the fire in the evening when the youngsters were in bed…homage to the original patchwork. Perfect!

Linda said...

It is a snuggling blanket! What a satisfying project 😁

happyone said...

Nice to see the finished weave-it blanket.
I'm working on another baby one now! :)

Leigh said...

The patchwork blanket is beautiful! I just love the colors.

I think patchwork is a wonderfully creative way to work with fabrics.

CathieJ said...

Oh I think that blanket made from those woven squares is just wonderful. I would describe it as rustic. It looks so cozy. I am glad you are back to blogging. I did look at that adorable pup. Such great photos!

Rajani Rehana said...

Beautiful blog

Rajani Rehana said...

Beautiful blog

Sandy said...

Congrats on getting your blanket done after all these years. I have some projects that have been put aside for an extended period of time so completely relate. And yes...patch work...you hit on square on the head.. Will get you added back to my blog list. It's nice to see and hear from you again.

Becki said...

Oh, I love your patchwork blanket of woven squares, Elaine. It must feel so good to have it completed after so many years. You and your family will enjoy it for many years to come. You should make the care instructions well known as someone is going to inherit that someday and they'll want to keep it nice for as long as they can. :) It's a keeper!

Rajani Rehana said...

Please read my post

Sandy said...

Have left several messages here as I do my blog rounds, but don't see them. Waving hello and hoping you're ok.

Sandy said...

Me back waving hello as I make my blog rounds. Hope you're well.

Cynthia said...

Your weaving looks beautiful on your chair. I really like the colors.

Sandy said...

Making my rounds and waving hi.

Anonymous said...

So glad to see this post. Did not recognize it as new because the format looked exactly the same. Your hand-sewn seams have consistency which makes them cohesive to the eye. You know the phrase, one error is a mistake, two errors is coincidence and three (or more!) is a design. You have a beautiful design. So glad you had the grit to finish it! I may die trying - no immediate plans, of course! Just an inevitable by-product of SABLE. Every time I attempt a stash busting project I need to buy new yarn to finish it….Good job!

Anonymous said...

So glad to see this post. Did not recognize it as new because the format looked exactly the same. Your hand-sewn seams have consistency which makes them cohesive to the eye. You know the phrase, one error is a mistake, two errors is coincidence and three (or more!) is a design. You have a beautiful design. So glad you had the grit to finish it! I may die trying - no immediate plans, of course! Just an inevitable by-product of SABLE. Every time I attempt a stash busting project I need to buy new yarn to finish it….Good job!

Sandy said...

Waving hi as I make my blog rounds. Hope all is well with you.