A Starry Ta - Dah!

The Star "Blanket" is finished!! I can't quite believe how fast I was able to finish it, when I think how long it took originally to start joining all 93 pesky stars together. Probably only about 5 hours work to join the stars - and only 2 ends to stitch in not 86!!
I joined the final row of stars last night and then decided to do a final round of DC all the way round the edge, adding a picot to most of the star points as I reached them.
I just need to wash and block it now. And it will need quite a bit of blocking to make sure it stays flat and doesn't want to just curl at the edges - steam blocking maybe?? We'll see.

I took one (not very well lit) photo when it was done and I think you can just see a picot or too on the far edge. I'll try and get some better photos at the weekend.

The planning for the next project(s) is well under way and the wool has arrived early at work, so I'll be popping in at lunchtime to go and drool and choose!!! Woo Hoo!!!

PS Here's a couple more photos -

The Star Blanket - another WIP

I dragged out another WIP this morning. (I know, I can hear you saying what about the purple/pink crochet bag?? Is that finished?? Well no, not quite. I've added plastic canvas to the sides to form a gusset, and then stitched funky foam to the inside of the front and back panels to add some body. It's all ready for the lining but I really didn't feel like sewing today. Sorry...)

Anyway, like I say, I dragged out another WIP - the Star Blanket I started making for my Mum, way back in the spring of 2014 (can't believe it was 3 years ago, it's flown by!). She died that summer and I put it away to be finished another day. And that day has now come.

I never intended it to be the kind of blanket that would keep you warm - it was more a small colourful throw, that would lay across the bottom half of the bed and look pretty. I started it straight after I had finished my hexagon blanket - long before I had heard the term "join-as-you-go".... All the stars have been individually edged with white and joined to their neighbour. One. By. One. That's a lot of ends to stitch in! 

But you know what? While I was looking for a really good join-as-you-go tutorial ready for when I make a circle-in-a-square baby blanket very soon, I saw people asking if you could join hexagons that way - and you know what? You can!! Oh how I wish I had known how to do that when I made the hexagon blanket! Ah well.

So anyway, I had a little think and realised that I could join my stars in a continuous line as well - I just needed to take my time and think about where I was going next and hey presto - join-as-you-go stars!! It'll be finished in no time now!

It's beautifully bright and colourful. I've used Stylecraft Special DK that I bought from Wool Warehouse. I had seen a star curtain on Sue Pinner's blog and I sent Wool Warehouse a picture, asking if they could suggest which colours I could use to make my own version. They were most obliging and I quickly set to making "pointed" flowers, which would then be joined to form stars. Very effective.

It shouldn't take took long at all to finish joining the stars - I've completed 2 rows already today and I haven't really spent long on it at all. Once they're joined, it will get a good wash to really soak the yarn to soften it before being stretched out to dry naturally. I may then give it a little steam as well. I want all the edge stars to stay pointy, not curled up. 

But what I do with it then I don't know... It would make a really colourful wall hanging but I have no-where at home to hang such a thing. ) Oh how I wish that I had a craft room...)

So if you have any ideas what I can do with it,  I'd be very interested to hear them. It would be a shame to fold it up and hide it away again...

More photos soon!! T xx