Earlier this summer, we went on a little-road trip to Hopewell area, close to Fundy National Park, to meet my prospective puppy that I was going to be getting, Ellie. Not only was it a wonderful to get to meet my future puppy, I got to meet the very kind breeder and her family. They welcomed us into their beautiful historic home that they were in the process of renovating. During our time puppy cuddling, I chitchatted with the breeder and we really connected! We eventually had to say goodbye and head on our way home. The drive home provided us with beautiful views along the way! Along certain parts of the drive, we could see the dark blue bay of Fundy, getting even more stunning as the fog rolled in.

A few weeks later, we got some devastating news (if you follow my Facebook page, you might have seen). We lost my baby Ellie to an illness that it detrimental to puppies and devastating to breeders. It was a heart-breaking time. As a thank you for the fact I would be getting one of their puppies, I decided to make them a little gift. That’s where this blanket comes into the story.

During my next almost weekly Michael’s trip, I decided to pick up some yarn to make this gift. I wasn’t 100% sure what I was going to get for yarn nor what I was going to be making. I remembered the picturesque ocean views and that the breeder told me she way aiming to decorate their home in a beach theme and that’s what sold me on doing a beach-y themed so I decided what would be best was a blanket.

I was super indecisive about what yarn I would use. It was hard to find a yarn to match that theme but them I saw the Loops & Threads brand Barcelona Big! yarn that is sold at Michael’s in the colour Mist. It was the perfect blend of sandy browns and all different shades of blues that you could find at the beach. Another bonus about this yarn was how it felt; it is amazingly soft with a nice fluff to it. To my surprise (and pleasure!), it doesn’t contain any wool, it’s 100% acrylic so it’s very durable and can be machine washed in cold water. It is a bulky (size 5) yarn but isn’t as bulky as some other 5’s but definitely heavier than a worsted weight (size 4).

On the label for the Barcelona Big! yarn, there was a pattern for a corner to corner throw which inspired me to do a corner to corner blanket as well. The pattern was for a small throw, about 44 inches square, but I prefer bigger afghans so instead of needing 3 skeins, I needed to use a tiny part of a 4th skein. I was happy with my decision to make it bigger because it ended up being a great size to curl up with on the couch. My finished product was about 66 inches on each side and worked with a 6 mm hook.

To make this blanket, it’s very simple if you know how to do the corner to corner stitch. Here is a detailed tutorial from Craftsy with images to guide you on how to do the C2C stitch. Using a 6mm crochet hook, I kept increasing with the C2C stitch until the blanket was the length and width I wanted which was about 60 inches. With this stitch, each row increases the width and length in the shape of a right angle triangle as seen in the photo above. Once I got to the size I wanted, then I started decreasing and ta-da! Easy as pie. I wanted to keep it nice and simple and not distract from the geometric texture created by this stitch and the smooth colour changes so I didn’t do a border or anything around it. The edges look nice and finished with this stitch so I didn’t feel the need to do a border however the Loops & Threads pattern from Michael’s does call for one.

If you decide to try this pattern or learn the C2C stitch, let me know! I would love to see your finished products. This pattern would be great to make a nice cuddly blanket to keep you warm during the upcoming winter months! It is a relatively quick afghan to work up since it uses a bigger hook and thicker yarn. I was able to wrap it up in about a week or two however I’d allow more time if you’re new to corner to corner. Happy stitching!