Rainbow Ripple - something new

Well, when I say new, I actually started it on 1 November, but have only worked on it every now and again since then.  I've finished the first colour repeat though, so thought I'd blog about it.

The pattern is the Neat Ripple from Lucy at Attic24 .  I made a relaxed chain that I thought would be wide enough for a single bed-sized blanket and did the first row, just leaving a tail of unworked chains once I didn't have enough for a full pattern repeat (I'll unpick them later).  I could have used a size or two larger hook for the chain, but was upstairs and my hook case was downstairs - and I'm a bit lazy at times.  It worked out that the blanket is 210 stitches wide - so 15 ripples.

I've got 11 colours and cream and am doing one row cream, followed by two rows of a colour.  It's for DD2, my 'special' little one, who is 9 and autistic.  She chose the colours and is calling it her Rainbow blanket, bless her.

Oops - just realised I photographed it upside down - the raspberry pink was the first colour I used!  I'm not sure about the orange, but it was one of the colours she chose and I know her well enough to know that it should stay in the blanket.

I'm really enjoying making this.  It's been a while since I made a ripple out of sock yarn for DD1 (which could do with a few extra rows as she's grown taller since I 'finished' it).

I've also been using the leftovers from the first Stylecraft 'Lucy Pack' to make a circular cushion cover, but that's a very new thing and isn't worth photographing at the moment.  I'm using the colours in the same order that I did with my Granny Stripe blanket and it's destined to be a bed cushion!

There's not much else going on here really.  The weather was rather chilly yesterday morning at 7.30 when we left to walk to the train station and when I went there a second time a couple of hours later (this time in the car) to drop off hubby and then do a bit of shopping, the car's display was telling me it was 5C outside.  It's a bit warmer today, but still gloomy enough to warrant me getting out the slow cooker and putting inside some sliced red onions, a browned brisket of beef, some red wine and water, ready for this evening.  I reckon 8 hours of cooking should be fine for it and the slow cooker's excellent for nights when hubby's not sure what time he'll be home, which is what's happening a lot at the moment as he's working with colleagues based in his firm's New York office, so there are quite a few evening conference calls going on.

I popped into the shop where I work yesterday (I work there Sat evening and Sun afternoon - 10 hours a week) and got waylaid by our assistant manager to go over the Christmas rota and confirmed when I was working.  He'd been trying to phone me, but the Internet hub needed re-setting - Internet connection was fine, but the phone line had dropped out - so he couldn't get through.  I'll be working Christmas Eve and New Year's Day, but have said that as I've gone in on Boxing Day for the last two years I'd prefer to not work that day.  Haven't broken the news to hubby yet though!

Until next time, take care.