What's Happening Wednesday

Hello.... my name is Stella and I am a control freak! (That probably does NOT come as a surprise to those of you who know me personally.) When it comes to projects, I am the kind of person who likes to make the decisions. I want to know the "end goal" and prefer getting step by step directions on how to get there. 

This month I decided to stretch myself and try to "loosen up" just a bit. I decided to participate in the Bernat Blanket "Mystery" Stitch-Along. With this stitch-along, "clues" or portions of the pattern are placed online each Monday in October. I do not know what each week's portion will actually look like until it is completed and I have NO IDEA what the finished project will look like. 

For a control freak like me, this is totally new territory! I normally carefully plan the colors for a project and purchase extra yarn, just in case something happens along the way. I also frequently count and recount stitches to be certain that each row or section is just perfect. I know what my finished item should look like and I have that as my final "goal". With this project, I don't have that luxury. 

I did make very deliberate yarn choices. The Stitch-along used the Bernat Blanket yarn, so soft and cushy! But it also gave me TONS of color choices. I decided to use one variegated yarn and 3 solids from that mix. Baby steps, I know..... but for me this project is my big step! 

I had to wait until one color of my yarn was delivered so I could decide in which order to use the colors. When it finally arrived I sat down with the pattern (clue) and stitched away. Here is what my blanket looked like after week 1:

Looking good, huh? Nice and bright. One would assume that the blanket was going to be round in shape, but I learned very quickly not to get too comfortable with that idea. 

When clue 2 came online, I printed it out and kept stitching. Here is what it looked like after week 2:

I have a nice looking square and I am still happy with my color choices.

AND.....

That brings us to this week, week 3. I just finished that portion of the blanket and here is what I now have:

I pause for just a minute to give you an update from this control freak. IF I had any inkling of the finished design, I think I probably would have switched the placement of the orange and purple, but I am still ok with it. I also have to confess that I did go back and count my stitches on this last round and my stitch count fell about 12 stitches short of the intended number. I am not sure where I lost those, but the blanket still looks like it is shaped correctly, so I won't agonize over it TOO much.... LOL!

As for the overall reflection on this experience, with each week it gets a teeny-tiny bit easier to do this. I am pleased with the blanket so far and I am anxious to see what the final one looks like. Allowing myself to loosen up and give over control has become a bit easier, but I don't think I am ready to totally shed the control "freak" inside me. I am, and probably always will be a control freak when it comes to my projects.