Crochet Fluffy Ripple Blanket

Remember the 12 balls of yarn I bought on sale at Michael's on Boxing Day? I decided to crochet a fluffy ripple ripple blanket for my son. Lion Brand Homespun Thick and Quick is not my favourite yarn to work with as it tends to stick and catch on the hook but it does make a soft fluffy blanket. It's just the sort of blanket our son prefers so worth the effort.

I bought 12 balls of yarn thinking it would be too much. I asked if I could return unused yarn and confirmed I needed to keep the receipt and return it within 60 days of purchase. No problem, I was hoping to finish this blanket before our son headed back to University on January 3rd.  

I used two colours to make this blanket; pearl and dove. Pearl is the slightly darker colour. When my son headed back to University, I was still three balls short of finishing and I was beginning to think I might have to buy more. In the end, I used all but a small amount of each colour.

I finished the blanket on Monday night but had to wait until Friday for some decent sunlight to take photos. Our son's room faces West but the sunlight fades fast after work. I plopped the folded blanket in the middle of his bed before unfolding it a bit then spreading it out across the bed.

The blanket fits crosswise on a queen size bed with lots of coverage down both sides. Twelve balls of bulky yarn make a really big blanket. I also stretched it out lengthwise on the bed. I like it this way as well.

I love the way this blanket looks and it really is oh so cuddly. Here is a closeup showing the stitches. I do love this colour combination. It's such a warm neutral look that I'm sure our son will love too.

So I've shown the blanket both crosswise and lengthwise on the bed but here is the way I imagine it will look when our son gets it, all crumpled and cozy and ready to use of course.

In case you would like to make a blanket just like this one, I've included the Nitty Gritty Details below:

I followed this basic crochet ripple pattern by blogger Lucy at Attic24.

Supplies:
12 balls of Lion Brand Homespun Thick and Quick yarn
  - 6 balls of pearl (creamy white and taupe)
  - 6 balls of dove (warm cream)
Hook size N 10 mm

Starting Chain = 129 (9 x 14 + 3)

Stripes worked as follows:
Start with 6 rows of pearl 
Alternate: 4 rows of dove (7 times) and 2 rows of pearl (6 times)
Finish with 6 rows of pearl

Border in pearl: 
Starting at lower right corner with front side facing up. 2 dc (double crochet) in each row end up the side. 3 sc (single crochet) in the corner and sc in each stitch across the top. 3 sc in next corner. 2 dc in each row end down the side. 3 sc in third corner and sc each stitch across the bottom. Finish with 3 sc in last corner. Join to first dc and finish off. Weave in all ends.

Finished size: 92" (wide) x 72" (high)

Note: Each ball worked approximately 4 rows with a starting chain of 129

Cost:
12 balls x $7.99 (sale price) = $95.88 + $12.46 HST = $108.34 Total
12 balls x $12.99 (original price) = $155.88 + $20.26 HST = $176.14 Total
Savings: $67.80

Total Time: 
I'm not really sure how many hours of work went into this blanket as I didn't time how long it took to finish each row. I can tell you I started December 27th and finished January 5th (10 days total). It was a relatively quick and easy project.

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Christmas Wrap Up

Christmas this year was much like other years with the focus on family, fun and food. In an effort to simplify, we have scaled back on gifts but still have plenty under our tree. 

My parents and son join us for breakfast and our Christmas morning is off to a good start with capuccino, biscotti and gifts. 

After breakfast and before starting dinner, we hike to the Sifton Bog Boardwalk. Last year it was cold and snowy, but this year it's mild and clear, a perfect day. 

Our dinner is relatively easy with everybody contributing. I cook the turkey, broccoli and brussel sprouts. My parents make a huge pot of mashed potatoes, my sister-in-law makes crockpot stuffing and my mum-in-law makes gravy, trifle and lemon pie. With so much help, we are able to relax with drinks and more gifts while dinner cooks.

Our family Christmas dinners include lots of laughs, lots of fun and lots of food. We all save space for my Mum-In-Law's Santa-adorned trifle. It has become a favourite family tradition.

We all had a bit of fun with a magnifying glass from my Christmas cracker this year. Who can resist making googly eyes? Funny how we all picked our right eye to enhance. I wonder what that says about us?

So to wrap up our Christmas this year, I have to say it was truly wonderful. Of course we missed our daughter and her family but I am happy to hear they are enjoying themselves in Brazil. I feel lucky to have such a fun and loving family both at home and abroad.

With such a simple Christmas, I managed to fit in lots of crochet time over the holidays. I am working on both a cowl and a big fluffy blanket. 

I decided to finally use some luxuriously soft and expensive hand painted yarn I bought a couple years ago. I am making a cowl using this pattern but my yarn is finer so the cowl is too short to loop around the neck.

I love the colour and can't wait to see how it turns out. I might make another in the grey/green colour only longer for looping next time.

I plan to keep going until all the yarn is used up. As you can see there is quite a bit left so I think this cowl will be warm and cozy once it's done. I'll be sure to share a photo but it might be awhile yet because I also started working on a big fluffy blanket this week.

On Boxing Day I couldn't resist buying Lion Brand Homespun Thick and Quick yarn on sale at Michael's for $7.99 a ball, a significant savings from the original price of $12.99. I bought 6 balls each in Dove and Pearl to make a fuzzy ripple blanket for my son. I don't enjoy working with chunky yarn as it tends to snag and stitch details are lost in the fluff.

My son loves fluffy blankets so that's why I'm doing it. I decided to follow the same ripple pattern I used to make my Cosmic Rays Ripple. It looks completely different but still very nice and of course totally cuddly with such chunky yarn.

I'm hoping to finish this blanket by Saturday but I also want to write a year end review and I'm running out of time. Wish me luck.

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