My best friend is getting married this year. The date is to be confirmed once a location has been sorted, but I have already started pondering the present. I made her a patchwork quilt for her 21st birthday so was thinking a woolly throw/blanket may be a chic contribution to her rather lovely home that she is renovating with her fiancee…
One of the reasons that we work together so well (I think!) is that we are quite ying and yang in terms of taste… Or maybe at least different edges of the same side of a coin. We both love style, elegance and ‘good’ pieces, but her taste tends towards the chic, elegant and understated end, whereas mine is rather more thrifted, bright and garish.
An example: within the space of three months we had both happened upon similarly shaped rocking chairs going for a song at a couple different charity shops. Mine was taken home, immediately adorned with cushions and throws and now sits in Tilly’s room, having undergone little more than a quick wipe with a jiffy cloth. My friend took hers home and got to with the sandpaper and Farrow & Ball to create a rather more perfected, gorgeous item.
And so it is with her home. It is a Victorian end-terrace and they have, slowly and deliberately, taken on one room at a time, ensuring each and every installation is to the highest specification. They have lived there for five years now and have so far rewired and insulated, but, due to their finances, only really ‘finished’ the bathroom.
I heartily and admirably look on as they save for each room in turn, preferring to live in the current state and wait for the quality they want, rather than make do with low-cost quick fixes that won’t stand the test of time or taste.
All of which leads me to my blanket choice… After much pondering, meandering, sighing and wishing, I think this one from the White Company may make the final cut in terms of ‘inspiration’ piece…
The blanket manages to be delicate and weighty, intricate and understated and neutral and detailed, all in the same fabulous piece…
If they’re happy putting off their wedding until 2013 at least, I may be setting forth shortly…
And as we went to University in Leeds, I’m thinking this yarn in Ecru or Mink could be fabulous for provenance (but not so great for washability or potential for shedding), or this one for elegant shades (I’m thinking Oyster or Cream), thrifty price-tag, and smooth non-pilling warmth
And as for patterns… I’m so far mulling over the possibly-a-little-bit-out-of-my-league Hemlock lace throw here (which could fulfill one of my 30 before 30 attempts, but even so…), the baby chalice blanket here which may not be quite ornate enough or any suggestions that you lovely people may be able to come up with…
Other design inspirations that didn’t quite make the grade…
From the top:
Breezy baby blanket design at Pickles
The fabulousness of a brights-with-neutral-border Granny Square Afghan
Knitted bedthrow from Mias Landliv and her stunning bedroom chair corner
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