Please motivate me to finish this!!!

[Susie]

Ishers, please tell me to finish this project (if you are one of my lovely blog readers don't read any further because you must be already sick of me moaning):

A while ago, I set off making a crochet blanket for my brother for Christmas. Because I am dim and did not check the measurements properly on the pattern, I thought I was making a small lap blanket whereas actually it fits a king size bed (entirely my fault - pattern is excellent). When it is done it will look like a graphic equalizer, which is great, but this means I am making it out of 108 squares, all either solid black or with a black border. I thought crocheting 108 squares largely in black was bad enough, but in the end I could more or less do it by feel. Then at the weekend I started sewing it up. Sewing together black squares when it goes dark at 3:30 is just agonising. I have to squint at every stitch and I am so slow. I am about a third of the way through and, Ishers, despair has hit. Please tell me I can finish this effing bedspread and get it off my mental to-do list, it is taking hours and there are a million and one other things I should be doing! (My brother loves handmade things - I don't begrudge him a single DC - but, God, it is slow).

Does anyone else need encouragement to finish anything? I don't know if you all said you had unfinished blankets lying about from 1983 that would make me feel better or worse...

[Big Al]

Susie, get your arse into gear and get the blanket finished !!

[Big Al]

Susie,
If you think of it as every stitch is one closer to finishing the lovely blanket you have put so much love and effort into for your brother then it will soon pass by. Also think of it as a thing of bueaty, something YOU have created YOURSELF for a loved one and not some hypermarket crap that can be seen in millions of homes up and down the country.
There may be zillions of other things to do and maybe all are as important as the blanket but if it gets dark at 3.30 then why not do some of the other things after 3.30 and concentrate on the blanket during daylight hours. That will give you a time to focus on the blanket and then time to focus on other things after 3.30. A time and place for everything.

Whilst you are doing the blanket don't think of other thngs that MUST be done as you will let your mind wander off the blanket. It's apiece of love, a piece of quality, a piece of you all put together for your brother.

Oh and as for the 1983 bit...... I have posted on this forum about a crochet blanket I started about 42 years ago !!!

[boboff]

Think Rationale, is his Birthday in the Summer, wait and finish it for his Birthday, use some of the pieces to make a pillow case and ( just one side) and put a note that the Duvet cover will follow later?

That or do as Al says.

[Zech]

I can't do better than what Big Al said (either post!) but I think you're mad - no, that's wrong - very brave embarking on that blanket. Having said that, if we avoided things just because they were difficult/tedious/utterly nightmarish to finish, we'd never achieve anything worthwhile.

You can only do one thing at a time, so it's just a matter of choosing your priorities: Is that blanket worth more than all the other little things that aren't getting done. I say yes! That blanket is going to be awesome when it's finished!

[Millymollymandy]

Oh just don't worry about it - I have a jumper I started two winter's ago and I need to sew it up........ well I have got as far as doing the neck and sewing up the other shoulder, but now I've got to finish off the sleeves now that I can check for length, and then there's hours and hours of sewing to do.

So I'm faffing about on my computer starting a blog instead. Where no doubt in time I will be moaning about said jumper.

[Thomzo]

Susie - get off the **** computer and finish that **** blanket will you. I want to see a picture of it.

Zoe

[Susie]

Big Al, that was lovely, thank you (and I remember you posting about your blanket ! ;-) ). Rachel, yes, I am mad and I am repenting at leisure. Boboff, his birthday is in November, that would give me a very long time to finish it and I may have to do that in extremis. MMM, I hate sewing jumpers up almost as much as I hate blankets so I am sympathetic, also I am very interested in your putative blog, let us know the url. Zoe, you're right, and I'm going ;-).

Thank you everyone!

I have now sewed 7 rows and need to do 5 more. I can manage the short seams by artificial light so I'm going to do a few more and I'm sure my eyes will uncross eventually (honestly. This is starting to feel Dickensian).

[southeast-isher]

flipping heck just get on with it! x

[Millymollymandy]

A really good light helps - I found I couldn't do any sewing up under the normal (long life) light bulbs so we have a moveable (can't remember what it's called - halogen?) spotlight thingy - so bright you can't look towards it but it makes a huge difference to see close up work like knitting. I am still trying to figure out this blog business so you will have to wait until I make it public!

[Susie]

Doing it SE ISher! ;-).

MMM - we have a halogen floor lamp and you are right, if I set myself directly under it I can just about see to sew, so that is useful as now I can do the long seams after dark has fallen (you know, in case I ever need to leave the house in the daytime ;-) ).

I am in the flow of this now a bit more and the end is in sight . So thank you all again, this helped!

[Big Al]

nearly 59% of it done and only 41 % to go. Each piece added is another 8% ish towards completion.

[Susie]

Right, I finished this last week but it's taken me this long to recover emotionally ;-).

Just wanted to show you a pic (sorry it's a flickr link, I can only resize pictures on the laptop and I'd have to get it out, fire it up etc.

It looks a bit wonky because I hadn't pulled it straight (and also because it is a bit wonky, to be honest). I'm very pleased with it but I'm swearing off giant crochet blankets for a couple of weeks at least ;-).

[Mrs Moustoir]

Well done!

What's next then....?

[Green Aura]

Excellent. I knew you could do it.