wecareblanket 01

It was determined by others that the blanket corners curl too much so I need to figure out a plan for this blanket. I might get a sewing machine working and then cut off my icord border and work a new something that's not as problem causing[1].

Maybe it will be donated to the humane society instead and I'm already working on other blankets.

Sigh. This is the correct course of action, even if it's hard to hear today. The only person I have to blame is myself for continuing forward and thinking "yeah... that'll block out".

What caused the corners to pull in? There are a few factors, choose one or all:

1. I am not used to the ... inelasticity of acrylic yarns.
2. When I changed colours I pulled tight.
3. Subtle gauge differences between all my different yarns and colors.
4. I should have worked another ridge straight before turning.
5. When I was decreasing I pulled tight.

A lesson that I should have thought about long before I got to this stage. I can be obtuse.

Notes

[1] This is generally a good border for blankets. Even ones knit from the corner! See all my reasons above why one I've knit many times this time was not.

I brought the blanket to coffee and bagels this morning, and everyone raved about it. They were impressed by the size; several remembered when I started and they thought I was knitting a pillow case or maybe a shawl. Their compliments, and the coffee, boosted my energy and helped me knit even faster.

After dinner tonight, I finally finished it. I cut the yarn and spread the blanket out on the floor to admire it for the very first time. That moment always feels so magical, especially knowing it was created with just two sticks and some string.

Even Dot couldn’t resist giving it a once-over. As soon as I told her it wasn’t meant for our snuggles, she gracefully stepped aside; she’s a lap blanket cat who knows not every blanket is hers. Now, I have the not-so-fun task of weaving in all those many scrap yarn ends I’ve been ignoring.

Overall, I’m really pleased with how this blanket turned out. It was a totally improvised, by-the-seat-of-my-pants knit, with the only goal of hitting about 36 inches square. The sisterhood is planning to drop off their first batch of blankets this week. Even though this one won’t be in time, I’m thrilled to have finished it. I've already started sketching up the next blanket!

Each ridge is two stitches closer to the end. I can't deny that I'm excited for this. This blanket has long passed the point I'm ready for the next one.

This is also because I received a yarn donation and I can't wait to start another.

Doesn't Dot look excited?

There are a ton of mistakes and I'll need to be creative in my finishing so it doesn't look homemade, but it still shows love made by every stitch.

I'm not sure what metaphor is best but I have reached the magical number of 36 for the side of this blanket. That means I can begin decreasing!

However, I'm about to run out of one of the colours I've used for the garter stitch sections, so I need to think how I'm going to do this other half. And If I'm going to make it symmetrical or not. Knowing me, not. I love order, but there's something about asymmetry that makes my heart sing.

Note: the tape measures aren't accurate. It's difficult to lay the blanket out solo and my circular needle is significantly shorter than the hypotenuse.

I'm also now wondering if I should've worked one ridge plain for a smoother corner turn. Honestly, I'm tired of this blanket and some choices I made at the start, including one big glaring error which I'm debating if I'll snip-graft-fix because it bothers me so much or not. And there's more ends to weave in that I want to think about. I'm already dreaming of the next blanket.

The challenge for me is both multiple projects at once and I'm not retired. Many of the women I'm working with are either monogamous on each blanket or retired. They are obsessed (in a good way) and we have more blankets at this point than I expected. They are an inspiration.

I didn't bother to swatch so nobody knows. Logic is that it should grow a little upon washing, because of the applied icord border I'm not anticipating significant growth. However, I'm still not yet at the magic number of 36.

It seems that these last few inches before I switch to decreasing are taking forever. Since each row adds two stitches and I'm knitting about 50 inches and no I'm not about to count my stitches.

Yesterday I took the blanket for a short road trip to one of my favourite places (Ikea). I came home with two new ways to store yarn (storage foot stools).

At 9:40pm on Monday May 5th, I'm now at about 34 inches. Closer!

Today was a gorgeous outside (mid 70s) and I was able to work on the blanket for a bit. It's very slowly growing. I'm finally at 24 inches (61 cm) along the edge. I'm only 2/3 along the edge am beginning to question why I thought working on the diagonal was a good idea. Though once I get to my target length I'll be able to decrease!

I’m mostly knitting during coffee in the morning. It’s not much time. During our weekly knitting group I’m generally helping everyone else so I’m not making as much progress as I’d like. It’s currently at approximately 22 inches along each side. I need to make more progress.