Sunday, August 12, 2007

knitting from the vault ....

i must admit, i am kinda stunned over the number of socken orphans i have .... i almost started a mate, i almost started another orphan, and i did wind a new ball of yarn into a cake. but, i did not knit a sock. instead, i sort of retreated.

i pulled out something from my archives ...


this is from summer 2000 IK. from the moment i saw this blanket, i just had to make it. i can't remember if i started it that summer, or sometime later within the year ... but, i will say it's probably one of my oldest UFO's ... not that there's anything wrong with that.



...if i knew then what i know now ..., i probably would had made a different yarn choice. i actually am using the yarn called for in the pattern, classic elite's waterspun. on its label, it is described as a felted wool. i remember then, people remarking that when they machine washed it, it felted more ! duh. the label says hand wash. the blanket is knitted with two strands held together (and takes a whopping 64 hanks of yarn!!!). if i were to do this again, i would substitute the yarn for plymouth's encore chunky ... which is machine washable and would only be single stranded.

so, i pulled this out today because the temperature today was actually under 100*. what a difference a few, or 10, *'s make!

i had made a mistake in one of the panels the last time i touched this blanket. today, i ripped back about 30 rows and fixed it. the cable of the center panel was a bit too complex for me to bother trying to drop down and reknit. also, it was good to get reacquainted with the other stitch patterns in the panel.

i'm not back to where i was, but i envision some smooth sailing as long as i don't stray away with long absences.

my previous posts are here and here. my status? well ... i've knitted one and a half narrow panels, and more than half of a wide panel. the blanket is three narrow panels with two wide panels. regardless, it is fun and satisfying. it's slow, but it's good.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

mmm cabely goodness!

Stacey said...

that is beautiful. do you have all 46 hanks to make it? (I think they discontinued that yarn, didn't they?) love the color you chose...one of my favorites!

gray la gran said...

thank you :)

indeed, i have all 64 hanks ! and then some ... i probably purchased at least 70 (by the bag). the yarn was discontinued in 2004, and i've not seen another yarn like it since.

it is pretty stuff though!

sgeddes said...

It is a beautiful color and I love the pattern. I think when it is finishe doyu will have a beautiful blanket!

Peggy said...

Wow, it looks beautiful! I also made the same mistake with my first blanket project (also an UFO). I bit the bullet and started again using some washable yarn! Can't wait to see yours all knitted up.

Anonymous said...

Such beautiful cables! Yes, you should definitely finish that project, and you'll be happy (and warm) all winter long. :-)

Hmmm, I think I feel some cables coming on, too... :-)

Anonymous said...

But the important question is..........Do you have enough of the yarn to knit Stuart a blanket with those beautiful cables, too?

gray la gran said...

stuart is not accustomed to the finer things in life (other than having a sombrero hand picked and carried all the way from cozumel) ... i think, should he get a blankie, it may be made from (shhh !) ... acrylique ....

Anonymous said...

Stuart needs a nice RED Encore Chunky blankie :D
E.C. is da bomb,man...

Kelly said...

The blanket looks warm and cuddly. You're right about the yarn choice. I've made a baby blanket once and I told myself that I wouldn't put the mother through all of the pain of hand washing her kids' garments.

Anonymous said...

All those different cables look so intricate, but so beautiful! I admire your diligence in pulling this one out in the heat, it's going to be a gorgeous blanket.