Thursday, February 12, 2015

A Shale Blanket for the Little Laddie

As I was learning to knit, I was eagerly anticipating knitting blankets for hopeful future babies. When we found out that we were expecting, one of my first orders of business was finding the perfect baby blanket pattern. It didn't take long to settle on the Shale Baby Blanket by Jared Flood!

This was, by far, the largest knitting project I've yet undertaken:




Large, but very rewarding. I really liked having a long-term project that I could take with me -- and it didn't take long to memorize the pattern, making it the perfect "mindless" project. The yarn is Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Cobblestone Heather. We knew the baby's gender before I made my yarn purchase, but I still opted for a neutral color; I didn't want anything too bold, and I'm very happy with the color. It's lovely and soft after blocking, and was fabulous to knit with (very little twisting while knitting!).




Well, sort of mindless. My biggest grief with this pattern is that unless you're very on top of counting sttiches as you go, you don't discover your mistake untill four rows later -- at which point it is virtually impossible to fix said mistake. Can you guess how I know that? It actually took me quite a while to get the hang of the pattern in the first place, to the point that I almost gave up. Fortunately, I persevered, and after frogging back several inches and restarting the lace pattern, it finally stuck. I had my share of mistakes along the way, but this is probably my first "perfect" project because I took the time to fix each one. That sounds as if I exercised great strength of character; in reality, the pattern just doesn't tolerate mistakes!




I thought the pattern was straightforward and well written -- my only change was to do 52 pattern/row repeats, instead of 58. As it was, after blocking my blanket came out to 35" by 43" (instead of 32" by 40"). I'm glad it came out a little larger than the pattern indicated, and also glad I stopped when I did! By my calculations, there are over 30,000 individual stitches in this blanket -- not counting all of the stitches I had to tear out due to mistakes.




It's satisfying to note progress in my knitting skills as I undertake new projects. When I first started, it was hard to even identify mistakes, much less know how to fix them without just starting over! Now I recognize mistakes much faster (usually before they're catastrophic), and can even correct simple things (like a purl stitch instead of a knit stich) without having to tear out a whole row -- or even several rows!

Now, the dilemma is to know which project to start next! I'm thinking it might be the Fleurette cardigan -- I have a beautiful linen yarn to use, and I think it will be relatively conducive to Guam's tropical climate. At any rate, I need to find something soon; my fingers are itching for something new!


Raveled here.

10 comments:

  1. Beautiful, as always, Shannon! :) It scares me just thinking about it! :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Elizabeth! It was a labor of love, that's for sure. :-) Not that I didn't enjoy myself in the process...

      Blessings,
      Shannon

      Delete
  2. Beautiful! I love the color.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, that's beautiful! Lucky baby :D
    Oh, goodness, I can't imagine living in a place where it's 'always summer, never winter'. Even here in Florida we have a few cold days, thank goodness. Where I am it was probably about 40 degrees this morning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Elizabeth,

      Thank you for your kind words! :-) I'm a bit skeptical about the always summer bit -- well, more about the humidity than the temperature, really. But I'll enjoy the "simplicity" of a constant climate for a few years, and then we'll be on to something new! Though I really can't even think that far ahead right now. :-)

      Blessings,
      Shannon

      Delete
  4. Beautiful!! The color and design are so classic. You did a terrific job Shannon! I know I would have lost patience with such a project. : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarah,

      Thank you so much! It really was a very satisfying project -- and while my patience did wear a bit thin towards the end, it was actually somewhat soothing to have so much repetition. I had plenty of time to memorize the pattern, so it was more interesting than a "knit-purl" project but not so complicated that I had to keep checking the instructions. If that makes any sense at all. :-)

      Blessings,
      Shannon

      Delete
  5. The blanket is so beautiful. I'm sure it will be used for many years to come since it is so classic. Praying for you and your little one's safe delivery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your thoughtful words, and for your prayers! It will certainly be a delight to (Lord willing) wrap our little one in it once he arrives!

      Blessings,
      Shannon

      Delete

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you so much for stopping by!