back in the swing

Hey, thanks for the comments about my dead cat, you guys. It means so much to me that you are all out there, feeling sad for me. What do you mean, there were no comments? That was such a heart-breaking post! No one commented? Really? Oh right, no one reads this. But thanks anyway, to the friends I know in real life who reached out and let me know they cared. That meant a lot. We still miss Totie around these parts, and I doubt that will go away any time soon. Sigh.

Anyway, in happier news, I finished the Hemlock Ring blanket! I don't know why I wanted to knit this so badly. The last thing I need is another lap blanket for the couch, seeing as I got a snuggie for Christmas (complete with one for Stella too)

BUT it is such a pretty blanket, and I happened to see the Eco Wool in a Yarn Store in Pittsburgh, and knew that the blanket only took two skeins so... I bought it. And then it sat in my stash for 4-5 months (not actually that bad, when you think about some of the other yarn I have...) before I got around to knitting it. And it might be sitting there still, if some of the other ladies in my knitting group hadn't decided they wanted to knit it too. We had a mini-KAL, and I think I'm the last one finished, but maybe the second one to block. And man, that was a trial.



Spanky said no to blocking it on the bed, so I had to block it on our stinky living room rug, crawling around on my hands and knees trying to pin it out evenly. And look at it. It's not even! Because I ran out of pins, and I ran out of steam, finally, and figured it was just for me, so who freaking cared anyway. That was after my creaky knees and sore ass kind of gave up too.

But look at that flower:



Isn't that gorgeous?

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed

Needles: US 10 for the flower (because those were the only DPNs I had) and US 10.5 for the feather and fan. I ended up stringing all my Boye cables together to make one massive circular needle for the end, but it was easy enough to use and worth it not to have to go out and buy a super-long circ just for this.

Yarn: Cascade Ecological Wool, 1.75 hanks. I think I probably have enough left over for a cowl or a hat for myself, which I'm pretty excited about, because I really like the yarn. I don't think I could have gone another repeat and managed the bind-off, so either you play it safe, or you end up on Ravelry begging someone for a few hundred yards of one of their skeins. And do I look like that kind of person? Pfth. So I have a pretty big ball left, but considering that you get about 478 yards in each skein, I still used about 600-700 yards. Maybe more. I'm not real good on the estimations, and I can't weigh the remainder. Once I blocked the blanket, the yarn was really soft, and it's pretty warm on the legs. I've been using the blanket while I knit my next project, and I do love it. I just have to carefully fold it up when I'm done using it to preserve it from the pets. They tend to treat whatever's on the couch as theirs, and I'll be heartbroken if anything happens to my blanket.

Notes: The finished blanket was about 38 inches unblocked, and I think it is about 54 inches in diameter now that it is blocked, so it's big enough to cover my lap and wrap my feet in when sitting on the couch, as well as go up past my waist. Good for snuggling! All in all, a success. I love the blanket, love the yarn, and would happily make more things with the yarn, although I don't think I have any desire to knit another Hemlock Ring. Oh, I did the knitted edging on this, and it was not hard at all, just awkward, as you have to turn the blanket back and forth. I like the way it looks though. I can't wait to bring it on Tuesday to see what the group thinks.

Next up, Veil! Plus, a baby sweater I knit for a co-worker that has entirely too much finishing, and a project for my niece's birthday. Then maybe I can get back to knitting a sweater for myself. I should probably start with the summer ones at this rate, even though it is still cold here. And extremely wet. BRR.