Freedom To Knit!

Last we left off here- I wanted to start as many things as I could cram into my Ravelry queue. BUT- I didn't. I remained firm. I remained strong. (I may have remained bored...) I finished the red Mystery Blanket! (With the help of licorice and podcasts!)

Behold! A gift for our friends- the red blanket of mystey reveals itself to be the Chinese symbol for FAMILY.


MAJOR kudos go to the husband, who didn't give up, (even though I'm certain he had thought it more than once), and helped me figure out the right gauge graph to overlay on the pattern. I could not have had such overwhelming success without him. The photoshop-fu is strong in that one!


Pattern: Family Blanket- my own design
Needles: US 6 (on my Denise set)
Yarn: (Yarn snobs please look away) Bernat Satin Sport in Rouge (4 balls)
Notes: I knit this in 14 days. I did a garter stitch border, with row upon (boring!) row of stocking stitch. Knitting the symbol was complex and involved much consulting of the pattern- but I was smart and wrote it down so I could technically do it again- or tell you how I did it someday.

I'm quite pleased with this product- it's simple and yet impressive. My only complaint/regret is that I didn't knit this in wool. My reasoning behind knitting wih acrylic for babies is simple- they poop.... and vomit.... and drool and all of this results in needing to wash their stuff 100 times a day. I cannot, in good conscience, give a wool blanket to a new parent and hand them a detailed list of washing instructions. Not when I know they wouldn't EVER have the time to hand wash it. And so- acrylic away. (Although knitter babies might be different...) In this case, if this gift was for a knitter, (which it is not), I would have preferred the wool, because it would have blocked out perfectly. I have beefs with this blanket. It folds in on the sides, it curls a little and ends don't always lie flat. This all could have corrected itself in the blocking-- except that you can't block acrylic. And so I must buck up, tell myself it isn't that bad, (while the perfectionist in me can't look at it without twitching), and move forward.

With the blanket off the needles I celebrated the way any knitter would- with a novelty project.


Yup. The Noro scarf of "everyone-is-doing-it-and-so-must-I-because-I-am-nothing-in-the-face-of-knitterly-peer-pressure". Everyone is making these! (Some of us are making several of these!) I'm not even sure who this is going to be for! (anyone?) But I had to follow like the lemming I am, and make the scarf.

I must admit- I get the addiction, seeing what colors will blend together next is so exciting. All it is, is two different dyelots of Noro Silk Garden self striping yarn, and every two rows you alternate it. It's knit in simple rib- and yet it is ridiculously fun to see the colors change and mix together. I love this scarf more than I should. (Although not the yarn-- while it provides the colors, the jury is out on the yarn-- I'm more of a smooth, merino girl myself, but we'll see how this washes and save the judgement for later.) I'm halfway into this project- and it was the perfect way to knit some stash yarn AND scratch a distraction off the list. (I can now say I knit the Noro scarf...)

In other news- I celebrated a birthday 2 weeks ago. I celebrated like any good knitter does- with hand knits and yarn!

Would you believe this is my first hand knit gift from someone else (as an adult)? The MiL knit these up for me, knowing that I'm often FREEZING in my office. I love them- and have had several people drop not-so-subtle hints that they want a pair too! Thanks again Phyllis- they're great!

And yes- I said Yarn- who doesn't love a little birthday yarn? Yarn on your birthday doesn't count (neither do calories in your cake btw) - and so it was amassed. (Thanks again to Viv, Crystal and the MiL for the Loopy Ewe Certificates and yarn!)

This lovely "precious" is Estelle Yarns Cadenza... and THIS lovely "precious" is Estelle Yarns in Arequipa...

If I haven't said this formally- I will now... the yarn diet is ON.

No Loopy arrival yet- but there's that coming, with the promise of mitten (!!!!) yarn and a sweater pattern. With this blanket off the needles- and the freedom to knit what I want lingering- I can't wait to hit the ground running and get on with the stash diving!