Winter Project

I'm joining up with Jennifer of Thistlebear for her Winter Project Link Party today. We're getting some snow falling today, and the thermometer reads a mere 2 degrees below 0 Celsius ... not too bad ... but the grey overcast skies are gloomy again. Perfect day to knit!

I've been working diligently on a new lap blanket for my dad. Every so often when I visit him his room is quite cold, and the only blanket he has in the closet is a cotton one. It's a bit big and if I lay it across his knees, he throws it off again. I thought he might like a smaller blanket and finally decided to knit one for him. 

I've been dithering over this idea for a couple of years for one reason or another. The cost of the yarn was a drawback, but then I found some yarn on sale for $2 a ball just after Christmas. I scooped up ten balls ... five of teal and five of grey. I had to buy acrylic yarn since the nursing home has to be able to throw this in the washing machine and dryer (can't really ask them to handwash a blanket, can I).  This is Impeccable yarn by Loops & Threads and 100% acrylic. It's quite soft and having it sit in my lap I can feel that it's also warm. The yarn suggests six 6 mm (US 10) needles, which is what I'm using in circular needles (knitting back and forth though, not in the round). 

At first I wasn't sure about the colours together and thought they might look too dreary. But now that I've worked them in stripes I think it will be just fine. My dad has always liked the colour of teal. The actual colour is much more green than is showing up in the photos. 

I'm knitting this in a basic stockinette pattern with two rows of each colour. This way I can twist the yarn at the end of the second row to catch up the second colour all the way up the side. I also knit a garter stitch border across the bottom and up each side. There are 12 rows of garter stitch across the bottom and eight stitches on either side. This will help the blanket lie flat without curling up at the edges. 

I was doing fine with the stockinette stitch at first. I wanted a mindless pattern so that I could work at this while watching a movie or while the kids had their naps. I've finally gotten to the stage where I can knit without looking at my work if there is no pattern to follow. If I have a detailed pattern to follow, I just cannot do anything else except knit or I make mistakes. But then I got bored at about 36 rows and added eight rows of a basket weave pattern. Not sure if I'm really happy with that break (I don't like the way it rises up above the flat stockinette), but I've added those eight rows three times now, and I guess it looks okay. I am not ripping it back to change it.

The blanket is a generous size at 55 inches across. I'll make it at least that long, or maybe even a little longer ... Dad has very long legs! So far I have used two full balls of yarn and the next two are close to finished ... so almost four balls of yarn. As I say, I have ten balls for the entire blanket.

I also wanted to show you the scarf that I was working on with the Noro yarn. Love all the colour changes! As you can see, the scarf is not very long with just two balls of yarn. I'm either going to purchase more yarn to complete the scarf the way I would like, or else maybe make a hat like Karen of My Little Home and Garden showed on her blog here! Love this hat, and Karen says it only takes one ball of the Noro yarn. I'll share that when I get back to it after finishing Dad's blanket. My dad is 93 and I really want to be able to give this to him in the next couple of weeks.

I got quite a few rows in yesterday while our furnace and water heater were being installed, and again this morning with cups of tea before the sun came up (well, the sun is up there somewhere, I just can't see it!). Now I'm ready for more tea ... "mighty chai" by David's tea is ready for brewing :)

Cody was enjoying the snuggle on the couch with me this morning. He gets too hot quickly though and hops back down to his usual spot at the top of the stairs where he can be the first to alert us to visitors.

Blob of fur that is my dog

Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy