Finally Finished!

Forever. It actually took more like 2.5 years to complete my husband's lap blanket -- but it felt like an eternity.

I began this "lap" blanket as a way to use up a bunch of Red Heart yarn I had taking up space in my stash. After the striped part (now the center) was about halfway done, my husband "tried on" the blanket. At that point, it only barely covered half of his long legs. "I want it to cover all of me when I am cozy on the couch and watching a show." That had been the point of the blanket. I hadn't thought much about it -- I just assumed putting a blanket on your legs was enough coverage. Now we were going full cozy.

In our house, "cozy" is a big deal. Whenever considering anything, from wall paint to picture frames or furniture (and no matter how good of a deal it may be), when to watch what movies or shows, which activities to do or even who visits our house: If the thing in question is not cozy, the thing is OUT.  OUT I tell you!

The blanket had to be cozy. Or bust. He was right, of course. Snuggling up under your very own personal blanket to watch a movie at night while eating popcorn, and then maybe even snoozing underneath that blanket later? Lap blankets can't provide those services. No way.

So I set out on a longer blanket quest. One that would reach from shoulder to foot on a 6'1" man. (And just reach -- after all, no need to overdo it when there are so many other UFOs laying around!)

As I crocheted on and on ... and on, I noticed that the blanket began to look weirdly narrow. This meant that longer was not good enough -- or cozy enough, which is the same thing -- so wider it had to go. I added on and on to the sides and ends until it was just right.

Then there was weaving in all those ends...

It took an episode and a half of the Hallmark Channel's "When Calls the Heart" to get through those ends. It may have taken a shorter time had I done the weaving in without the TV on, but I needed cozy too! And you have to look up when Jack is going to do something mischievous to Elizabeth, or when Rosemary is getting totally on your nerves -- again! (What about that theater?! No spoilers!! We are binge watching through season 2 on Netflix!! Yes, my husband, 9-year-old daughter and I -- are ALL watching!)

Now, I should confess: I am not much of a crocheter. Suffice it to say that this blanket is an extension of my Christmas washcloth/dishcloth making. This one just happens to be really big. And I wanted to add dimension, so I used Erika Knight's pattern Stripy Throw from Simple Crochet. It took me half of the blanket (and several episodes of Dr. Who, not binge-watched, so a really long time) to realize that I had been doing the stitch pattern totally wrong, but I left it as it was -- to give it character, of course. If you look closely, you may notice the differences at the ends of the striped section. In addition, It may not be square or perfect but it is cozy.

And that's all he wanted.