So... did I make it? See for yourself:

Sadly no. I still have almost 3 vertical seams, and all the outside border to do. But it's not all bad news. I went back through the blog archives here, and while I did make the pattern graph on the 15th of July, I didn't even know how to crochet then. I learnt on the 19th, and on the 22nd I went and bought (well, DP bought) the yarn to start the blanket with. I started on the red squares that day. So, in order to have spent a year or less working on it, I need to be finished by the 22nd. No sweat.