Project Friendship Blanket

I am ready to begin!

After a few weeks researching, exploring and practicing, I am about to begin my crochet project.

source

Inspired by this, I plan to create a free-form blanket to nurture and comfort me for many years to come. I have decided to go primarily with yarn, rather than fabric, as I want something soft and snuggly to wrap around me when my body is struggling and my energy is low. However, I will add interesting scraps of fabric if they take my fancy. I will use natural and recycled yarns and incorporate interesting bits and pieces as I go - think beads, embellishments and interesting finds!

Because this is a friendship blanket, I invite you to contribute - perhaps by crocheting/knitting a piece to be incorporated, sending some leftover yarn or an interesting bead or other embellishment. Or maybe giving me instructions for a variation or stitch I can add or suggesting a colour or type of yarn to add.

The end result will be with me in colder months when my fibromyalgia sends me to bed and will inspire me visually during the hot weather when my MS fatigue does the same! And if I ever end up in hospital, it can come along to remind me I am always surrounded by friends. This will be an ongoing project, ideally never quite finished, like my life and my circle of friends.

So now I am putting aside my laptop and picking up my hook and yarn and begin at the centre ... with you alongside me as I go.

Friends are people who know everything about you, 

and they like you anyway

Call of the ... wool?

I have come to accept that the Universe leads me in strange ways to new things in my life, with repeat random exposure until I get the message.

These past few months, She has been whispering and muttering about knitting and crochet. In books I am reading, in blogs I am following and into the ears of those around me who are suddenly created with hooks and needles.

I have been both a knitter and a crocheter in the past - I granny-squared my way through an enomous afghan about 30 years ago and knitted baby clothes and even a large 80s jumper (sweater) for myself in glorious baby-pink! Last year I dipped my toe in the water with a scarf/snood thingy.

But this is what is putting out the siren call right now : (you must dismiss from your mind my Mount To Be Read and my lack of scrapbooking and just humour me!)

Source

Kye describes her work "This is a rug I made of scraps and recycled fabrics several years ago.I have always loved workings with fibres,always freeform,I cant follow patterns,my brain just doesn't work like that.Its crochet,but i used scraps of fabric. i crocheted the circle,then crocheted triangles around the edge of that circle and built it up like that"

Uh-huh, right so I just .... what, exactly do I do?

I am putting it to the Universe to send me some guidance through my social network! What sort of fabrics would you choose? What size strips would you create and how do you join them? What size crochet hook would I choose? I don't even know if we have a decent wool shop locally anymore, with nice old ladies in pastels to guide me and i don't think rocking up at Spotlight will do much good!

I look forwarding to hearing from you all soon :) I would love to make this a friendship project and ask my cyber-friends to share fabric or fibre to be incorporated, but have no idea what to even ask for!!!!!