Stripey Crochet Granny Monkey Blanket + Pattern and Border Tutorial

As soon as I found out my brother-in-law and his wife were having a baby, I knew I wanted to make a blanket for the new addition. I was already working on the Crochet Baby Granny Blanket and also the Granny Square Scrap Blanket but I had a few ideas floating around in my head. I really liked the way that the Baby Granny Blanket turned out in the random stripes, so I was thinking about something along those lines but different colours. 

Completed Project: Granny Stripe Crochet Blanket

I am so proud of myself for persevering with this blanket and finishing it off (See previous post here about my failed attempts!) While it may not be perfect, it's still very usable and (I think) looks pretty great!

If you would like to have a go at this blanket, visit Maybe Matilda and check out the pattern here. The very BEST thing about this pattern is that there are step by step photos.  I don't know how many times I had to go back and refer to the pictures to see if I was doing it right. So helpful. I really don't think I would have attempted it without the pictures (so Rachel if you read this, here is one very grateful fan!)

What I'm Reading February 2014

I've always been quite an avid reader, except for about 5 years during and after University where I was so sick to death of academic reading, I needed a bit of a break. 

I thought you may be interested to know what is on my bedside table! That in of itself is a bit of a joke because last Christmas (2012) I was lucky enough to be given a Kindle e-reader. It's definitely up there in one of the best gifts I've ever been given. I know some people would be put off by reading off a screen, but I actually have no trouble and sometimes I even think it's easier. 

My main reading time is before I go to sleep at night in bed. I like to read for half an hour or so (realistically this is usually more like 45mins to an hour as I always get caught up in the story!) and I generally lie down. I used to find it quite hard when reading a large novel  (either large in size or number of pages) to hold the book while I'm reading, my hands would get a bit sore and tired turning pages. So for me, the beauty of the Kindle is that I'm reading from a small novel and only tapping the screen every now and then to "turn" the page. 

(If you're not sure what a Kindle is or you're wondering which model I have, click here). Also a quick mention of the pictures, because I only own electronic copies of these books, I have used images I took from my Kindle. So this isn't a particularly visually stimulating post sorry! (not sorry- it's about the books!)

So without further adieu, this is what I'm reading...