purlsandmurmers

A Blanket Project

I finished the "swatch" for the blanket project, so denoted because it was in truth the first square of a modular blanket.  The resulting size was 18" x 18", just about right for the project I had in mind.  I am happy with the resulting fabric and the plans for the blanket using this yarn at this gauge.

 

You might remember this photo from my last post.  Yes, I am repeating.

 

Yarn:  Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande

Needle Size: 10 1/2 US

Gauge:  12.5 stitches and 23 rows equals 4" in garter stitch.

 

After the swatch was finished, measured and I did the requisite calculations concerning if and how this would work out for my chosen plan, I spent part of Sunday doing the math.  I am using the design form Mason Dixon Knitting (book) for a blanket called Moderne Log Cabin Blanket.  But that blanket is knit in a lighter weight wool and the final blanket is smaller.  I wanted a blanket out of this particular wool.  I wanted this blanket to be between 25% to 33% larger than the initial pattern.  Both of these criteria were satisfied and I am looking forward to both the knitting and the final blanket.

 

This will be a blanket of some weight, but not quite as heavy as a wool blanket knit at the same gauge.  In fact, although a light airy blanket can be a treat, I also like a bit of weight in a blanket, along with the accompanying feeling of being grounded and snuggled in that comes from being wrapped in wool or alpaca. I love the warm loft and lightness of down, but I also love the comfort and security of blankets.  Maybe the only reason I like winter is that I love being wrapped up in wooly things.

 

All the requisite calculations have been made although you don't see them in the photo above.  Let the knitting begin.  Or continue as the case may be.  I am still working on the Westknits shawl where progress has been slow, mostly because I have been distracted with other tasks.  I should finish the second section up this week and begin on part three.   Working on two projects, at two radically different gauges, should actually better on my hands as each project allows some rest and recalibration between various joint and nerve issues.  Or not.  We will see.

 

 

Short and To the Point

Usually, I love bobbles.  I love sweaters with bobbles, not that I own any at the moment; I even love knitting bobbles.  That said a long row of forty-some odd bobbles did get a little tedious.  I didn't mind knitting them per se, but I can also admit that I prefer my bobbles scattered out across the body of a sweater rather than marching like soldiers along a solitary row.  At least I prefer not to knit the long row.

 

 

But the final result, that happy row of bobbles,  makes me smile.  

 

The west knits shawl continues slowly, and I am in no particular rush.  I have seen some of the finished pictures; I feel no need to be surprised, am in fact content to know what is coming.  Life seems filled with more than enough surprises without deliberately adding more.  I also find that, despite my initial misgivings, I like my colors and they way they are playing out, even where the contrast is less obvious.  I think I will enjoy not only the knitting, but the wearing of the final shawl.

 

 

Other than this, there is not a lot of knitting progress.  I knit every day.  But my energy is also returning and many things pull my attention away from knitting. There were a few days where that knitting might consist of three bobbles.  But at the moment I find that it is good not to define myself as a person who accomplishes things, a woman of projects, rather instead, just to occupy my own space and do what I will, be what I will.  How long that will last, I have no idea.  It is the antithesis to a lifetime of training. 

 

I did spend about a week winding the yarn for a blanket project that is in the works.  That too was slow work as turning the ball winder was difficult on my hands as well.  Intermittent stiffness, tingling, even occasional pain, is just the backdrop to life however.  There are days I can do more, and days I can do less.  The point seems not to be bemoan what is not, but to celebrate the work of creation itself, to find new ways to work.

 

 

The blanket is still more or less in the planning stage.  It will be modular.  I am knitting the first square, which is more or less a gauge swatch.  I have learned that very large swatches, knit over a period of days, are the only way I can adequately compensate for the variations in gauge due to the varying stiffness of my fingers.  I like the fabric that is being produced, and these larger, size US 10 1/2 needles, are easier when my fingers are more recalcitrant, but am not yet ready to tackle the math and finalize the design. 

 

Winter is just around the corner.  A new shawl, and a new blanket for that matter, may be appreciated.