I found this interesting blanket at a tag sale. The color combination struck me as quite old-fashioned, and soon afterwards an article in the Real Estate section of the New York Times included a photo of a bathroom in a 1924 house featuring exactly the same color scheme: tile in the lighter shade of green with trim in the darker shade of green–and salmon-pink plumbing fixtures! I suspect that bathroom had been updated some time after its1924 construction–modernized to reflect the happening colors of the 1940s or 1950s.

The other interesting thing about the blanket is that it looks handmade, as if it was assembled from individually woven squares and then finished with a crocheted edge.

You can see in this close-up of the reverse side that the squares have been sewn together, leaving little yarn tails at the corners. I did a bit of online research, looking for evidence of weaving kits that people might have used for this craft in the past, but I couldn’t find anything. If anyone reading this knows of weaving kits as a bygone hobby, please tell me. You can get in touch by clicking on the “Contact” tab.  Thanks!

Since I posted this, I’ve received a very interesting response, from Barbara Minerd, a retired professor of visual communication. She wrote, “Your photo blanket was woven on a ‘Weave-It’ loom made by Hero Manufacturing Co., Inc., in Middleboro, Massachusetts. They also made knitting needles, crochet hooks, accessories, and gift kits. I have two sizes: the one which was used for your photo blanket 3 7/8″, and the other makes a smaller square about 1 7/8”. The larger square takes me about 15 minutes to weave, so you can imagine how much time it takes to weave and then sew the squares together, plus crochet the edge. I enjoy designing different color schemes as well as repeating patterns. It is small enough to take to the beach or anywhere to be creative!”

Thank you, Barbara!