It is Finished.

Finally. The Great Green Ginormous Monstrosity is finally, after seven months, complete. It signifies the longest I have ever worked on a single project. While Jake's open-work blanket may have been larger, his was made using double and triple crochet, which means each row of stiches added one to two inches to the height. This thing was worked with single crochet, which means each row added about a half an inch.

When it wasn't subtracting inches, that is.

I still feel this blanket is a study in quantum mechanics, or at least some form of new math. When I began, I know I had a foundation chain that measured 120". I realize now that the width shortened because of the chevrons- but it did, at one time, measure at least 100" across. When it was half finished, I measured, and it was at least 90". (See below.) I worried a little, at the time, about that. So I added three inches of border. ADDED. As in, plus. As in, increased. As in, if you add one apple to another apple, you are supposed to have MORE apples than when you started.

When I measured after adding the border, the tape measure told me the width was 86". Eighty-six. Not Ninety-three. Four inches SHORTER than ninety. FIVE inches shorter than when I measured it in the middle of the project.

Now, you may be thinking that somewhere in the blanket, my guage may have changed. You may be thinking, right now, "Keiyla m'girl, it's probably still 91" where you measured the last time, and only 86" at the top. You blew it." How clever (not to mention patronizing) of you to think so! But no, this is not the case. I measured top, several places in the middle, and the bottom. One thing this blanket is, is even. (A fact for which I thank all major and minor dieties capering about in the universe.) What it also is, is too narrow by nearly half a foot.

So I stretched the blanket a little. Ok, a lot. I pulled and pulled, and I promised the goblin in the blanket all sorts of yummy fabric softeners if only it would cough up a few more inches. I told it I'd put the tape measure away, and go for a cup of tea, and when I came back to re-measure, I wouldn't ask any questions if the extra inches miraculously re-appeared. Apparently the deal wasn't sweet enough, because nothing had changed upon my return.

Folks, I have no explanation for all this.

It does, however, seem to fit on a king-sized bed. Close enough.