What next, then....

You've all said such very lovely things about my big blanket that I feel really quite bashful now - which is saying something considering what a 'mouthy trout' I am (as my mother calls me).

But I can't decide what to do next.  Really I should not do anything for a while because, to be honest, all that intense crocheting actually started to hurt my knuckles, mainly the big one at the base of my middle finger on my right hand and the one at the base of my left index finger.  They got really achy and stiff, especially the day after a long session of crocheting. But then I suppose I am 47 years old and in the olden days would have already been written off as a granny if not already dead!

But I'm not a granny (and, what's more, never will be) and in my head am still only in my mid-twenties.  I'm still wondering what I want to be when I grow up.  This year I started dying my hair pink and have been giving vague consideration to getting another tattoo.  Tomorrow night (Tues 16 Nov), TLH and I are off to The Forum in Kentish Town to shake our booty to the Klaxons, and next month it'll be Interpol at Brixton Academy.  I'm not ready to kick off my dancing shoes just yet.

Hmm, this post has wandered a bit.  What I want to ponder is which crochet project to do next.  I'm still interested in the blanket/throw/cushion side of things rather than trying to make garments.  I have a throw made of circles and stars that I was working on back in February this year which I put to one side when I got caught up in the Summer Garden Granny blanket - I could always go back to that:

This is as far as I'd got.  I quite like it but it obviously hasn't thrilled me enough to want to carry on doing it as well as the blanket.  I'll think about it.

What I might do is another ripple blanket.  I made a large-ish one back in January this year for the birth of my latest niece, Lyra, in early February.  It's a lovely design and, if you can count to 4, not difficult to do although it becomes weirdly hypnotic and it was a relief to finish it. 

At some point I'd quite like to make a scarf for TLH in ripple stitch in some sort of manly colours - shades of brown and cream, perhaps - in a lovely soft yarn - cashmere, perhaps, or something with silk in it. Perhaps for Christmas next year.

No, I'm leaning towards doing a Babette Blanket next. This was originally designed by someone called Kathy Merrick and is made from fairly straightforward squares but all of different sizes.  It's a design that makes everyone go 'oooooooooh' when they see it and immediately want to rush out to their nearest wool shop.

Here's one:

(I bet you went 'ooooooooooh', didn't you?!)  I adore the bright colours in this one, and the outline in sky blue and then black is stunning. 

But it's just as lovely in more muted colours:

Or even, um, 'mutier'...

But, yeah, lovely though the subtle ones are, you just know I'm not about to make one that tasteful - it's bright, bright colours for me, baby - all the way!

What do you think?  Do you want to start making your own as well and we can have a 'Crochet-a-long'?  You can download the pattern as a .pdf file for $6.00 should you want to but looking at the pictures shows that it's just one particular style of square made in different sizes and then all joined together - how difficult can it be?!?!??