Despite my most concerted efforts, the granny square rectangle blanket is done.

When I got up yesterday, I was in the middle of the first of what I believed were the final four rounds of the granny rectangle blanket.

I had chosen the colors for what were to be the last four rounds, I knew in what order I would use them, and I had a darling border planned.

So when I finally got to the crochet part of my day, I really thought that it was just a matter of time — the time it would take to finish the last four rounds, the time it would take to weave in the ends, the time it would take to block the finished granny rectangle, and then the time it would take to crochet the border.

But then as I finished crocheting what was to have been the third to last round of the blanket with Red Heart Super Saver blue, I realized that the blanket was done:

There were not going to be two more rounds, because anything I added would simply detract from the perfect blue ending.

To be sure, there was work left to do. There were ends to weave in, dog and cat hair to lift off, and the entire piece needed to be blocked and then laid out to dry, but for all practical purposes, it was all done but the details.

I was a little disappointed.

The whole time I had been working on the rectangle, I had dreamed of a crochet elephant border I had come across, and while it looked fine if you looked at just one small section:

but the overview made it clear that on this scale, this particular elephant edging did not work for the overall design:

So with just a small bit of regret, I frogged the elephants I had crocheted, gave up on the idea of them for this project, wove in the ends, trimmed them, and then gave the blanket a good soak in soapy water:

followed by an equally good soak in warm water and vinegar, followed by a spin and rinse in the washer, and then I got this photo:

and this one as well:

Then, I set it out on a bed under a fan to dry, and this is how it looked just as the sun set:

Now that this piece has been “put to bed” both literally and figuratively, I bid adieu to this piece and look forward to whatever crochet adventure lies ahead.