scottish dancing crochet

My 'Scottish Dancing' blanket looks like it's on a pedestal. I like the idea of this as I feel it's a trophy I've won for all the hours and hours of ripple crochet that went into its creation. 

I stopped where I stopped because, once again, I ran out of the right shades of yarn. Of course, I could just carry on regardless with leftovers, but I much prefer to keep to an overall theme and scheme. This one is 'Scottish Dancing' and was inspired by a visit to Inverness in early autumn last year when I was spellbound by the wonderful colours of the hills, trees, plants, flowers, lochs and skies. I really wanted to make something with a teal and orange combination because those are the colours in my favourite tartan (I have no idea which clan, but one which must live/have lived near water and hills covered in rowan trees). And then I added more colours for heather, clouds, earth, leaves, wild flowers.

It all 'dances' because of the ripple pattern. As I crocheted the ripples I thought of the highlands and lowlands of Scotland, the peaks and valleys, the mountains and the lochs, and all the windy roads around them. I took the pattern from 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns by Jan Eaton (no. 8 'Soft Waves') and used mostly Rowan Pure Wool DK plus a few odd waves of Jaeger Merino, Debbie Bliss Merino and Blue Sky Alpacas alpaca (all DK weight). The blanket swallowed 1110g of yarn and it measures 54"/136cm x 58"/147cm. When it's hung over the banister (second photo) the weight makes it have a 3D ripple effect; the colours not only dance on the horizontal stripes, but also the whole thing meanders in and out like a textile version of corrugated iron (and like the playground game of 'In and Out the Scottish Bluebells'). 

This is how the top section looks. I know it's upside down but I quite like the way the stitches fan out on the crests of the wave and, anyway, this is how I see the blanket when it's over my knees.

And here it is in all its glory, suspended over the stairwell with Tom hidden behind, holding onto the edge to prevent it sliding off.

When I was eight we all had to do Country Dancing at school. It was one of those things which the girls took very seriously and the boys did not. I can remember the complete tangles we got into (mostly because none of us wanted to hold hands with the boys) and it got worse when we had to do Scottish dances. So I am quite happy to restrict my 'Scottish Dancing' to crochet, and reward myself with a trophy blanket.

Comments

[kirsty]

WOW - this is so effective as seen from a distance in your last shot. Well done. Wish I didn't get such bad 'tennis elbow' when crocheting! :-(

[Jane B in Minnesota]

Beautiful & inspirational!

[Gina]

Fabulous blanket! Love the colours and the ripples. Don't know where you find the time to make so many beautiful things and still manage to bake, garden and write a book. An inspiration to the rest of us mere mortals!

[Charity]

This is beautiful! You deserve a medal after all that work. :0)

[Clare]

Wow! It's really pretty! what a lot of work!

[Amber]

Marvelous! So funny about the dancing in school! And thanks for sharing the pattern details. I'm not sure it would come out the same from my hands as from yours, but it does seem particularly nice, somehow - a nice mix of wavy and zig-zaggy.

[filambulle]

Gorgeous. A wonderful trophy indeed.

[Elena]

That's your second, isn't it. And it's just so awesome. Absolutely adorable!

[Inge]

Another great colour composition. One little item I would change, if it were mine: the pink sequence at the end (or is it the beginning?)
I have a hard time combining colours and can't say why I have this reaction, but would appreciate some one else's analysis. (I know we all see colours differently!)

[Flibbertygibbet]

It's lovely, very cheerful. At Foyles today there were three knitters and three crocheters - all doing blankets of one kind or another! Hope we'll see you soon.

[Kelly]

its beautiful! I don't have yarn to start mine yet but you're making it very hard!

[Adrienne]

Beautiful! I just got my yarn yesterday to start on mine!!!

[Kelly]

Ohh! Your ripple turned out just gorgeous! I can't wait till mine is finished and I can blog about it! How long did it take for you to complete? It's just awesome and I love your color choices. :)

[Michaela]

Absolutely stunning! My first trip to Scotland was a year ago and now I want to run back to the highlands for inspiration. :)

[Tracy]

Just beautiful - it inspires me to carry on with my ripple blanket and also makes me so desperate to make our move to Scotland.
Tracy x

[stickchick]

Your blanket is wonderful!! I can feel the rolling hills, rippling and undulating across all your beautiful colors. What an inspirational blanket and I NEEDED something lovely to kick me into gear. The thrill of a FO!! Is there any better trophy?!

[Kirstie]

Lovely! A blanket to be shared on a cold evening.

[Alicia P.]

Woman, you rival Lily Chin for fastest crocheter on earth. Gorgeous gorgeous.

[Lynn]

Oh wow that is gorgeous. I'm a little ashamed that you were able to finish two blankets in the time it took me to start one... but it will be done eventually. Any plans for a third? :)

[Alison]

Your description of your blanket is spot on. I lived in Scotland for many years and miss it so much but I can visulize it in your blanket!
Alison x

[Tania Ho]

Absolutely gorgeous !

[Kelly]

Congratulations on a beautiful ripple blanket--a lot a work went into that wonderful Scottish dance!

[Maritza]

Wow, that is just gorgeous! Once again, the colors you have selected work brilliantly together. I love it!

[Jody]

It's just gorgeous! What an accomplishment! I've started many crochet blankets in my past and never actually FINISHED any! Great job!

Oh and my hubby is Scottish and your description of the plaid you like sounds a lot like his - it's Anderson. It's teal with an orange/red.

http://www.kiltmakers.com/images/tartans_thumbs/ba017t%20anderson%20(m).gif

[Dorothy B]

It's beautiful. Scotland sounds so beautiful and I like the idea of an orange and teal ripple blanket too. It sounds bright and pretty.

I'm a Scot of the clan Cumming. Our tartan is red with medium green stripes and thin white stripes. The perfect Christmas blanket.