The Preschool Auction is coming up and I decided to make a throw.
I started off by trying to make a pattern. I swatched an argyle pattern. I liked the swatch, so I cast on a whole blanket and started knitting. I wanted a crisp diamond pattern, I got a mish mash and SLOW going. I was on a tight deadline and I needed to move faster. So I regrouped.
I went somewhere tried and true, the Purl Bee, and started the Eleventh Hour Blanket. As promised, this project FLIES!
I knit with 2 strands of Michaels Loops and Threads Cozy Wool in the color Fleece.
I used a size 36, which is like knitting on broom sticks with hose pipe in between.
The edges were done using the attached i-chord method, with a single strand of of the Loops and Threads in the color granite.
I wanted this throw to be about 50″ across, so for my gauge, I cast on 50 stitches. I was getting about 1 stitch per inch (clearly, this is NOT hard math.)
In the end, it grew a little bit, but that was fine with me. I used 14 balls of the cream “fleece” color. (please note, I used them doubled. So I knit 7 balls worth, but I used 14 balls) And my throw was so big, that I did go into a second ball of the gray trim color. I did the i-chord trim with a 13 needle, and a single strand of yarn.
This project was really fun. It was very satisfying to see progress. This is also what sponsored the post about knitting safely. The BIG needle require a little finesse and a lot of resting. It’s not hard knitting, but you do have to maintain a loose grip because, by the end, it is going to be a heavy project.
I want to do another one, for our house. And I want to make it out of Ella Rae, Mega. The same yarn I used for the Circle Scarf.
© 2005 – 2013 Kathy Lewinski & Susan Cornish
I would love to make this but I’m very allergic to wool. My hands once turned red from touching a sweater that had only 25% wool. What other yarn can I use one that is not wool?
Diana, You could certainly make this out of a non-wool yarn. Almost anything would work. The beauty of this project is that it is a blanket. So it does not have to “fit”. You can just pick a yarn, do a gauge swatch, figure how big you want the piece to be, and work out how much you will need.
Enjoy! It was REALLY a fun project. – Susi