i learned to knit when i was five. my beloved grandma c taught me, and i think i fell in love with knitting solely because of the variegated yarn that we used for my first project.
i still have that doll's skirt!
since that time, yea so many years ago, i have:
~knit on planes, trains and in automobiles
~knit through church services (!), while watching movies in theatres, during book club meetings, while talking on the phone
~knit for money, knit for charity projects, knit for family and friends, knit for myself
~knit patterns from books and from designs that i created in my head
~knit with mohair, cotton, acrylic, wool, and combinations thereof
[ i would love to know how many gazillion miles i have knit, over the past 36 years].
~i have never knit while running, walking, driving a car or operating heavy machinery
~i have never knit with silk.
until now.
i finished the baby blanket project!
i am really not sure how practical a 100% silk blanket is for a baby. but, boy, you should feel how incredibly soft and silky (natch) the blanket feels.
i saw this yarn at last year’s knitter’s fair and had to pick it up. four skeins cost me $160 plus tax. i was so eager for the tactile experience of creating something with this glorious yarn that i put the money aspect of the purchase aside and just went for it.
hand dyed made in canada
the yarn sat in the condo casa while i worked on other projects until march. then i had to wind the skeins into balls. remember this mess?!
it took me 6-8 HOURS to wind each skein - what a disaster!
happily, this…
what a bird's nest!
…turned into this:
the finished blanket
can you see the slight variegation in shades of blue? it's quite subtle
overall, i’m happy with how the project turned out. i am very glad i used an aran pattern (that’s the cables and twists) as the yarn helps that patterning of the diamonds and seed stitch to pop right out.
i’m a little disappointed at the sizing:
the blanket is a bit longer and shorter than i would like it to be
because i had the four skeins of yarn, i simply knit four strips, then sewed them together (at the price of that yarn, you don’t exactly want to waste any of it!). ideally, each section would a be little longer and a bit more narrow. however, i realize i’m being rather picky with this observation. the dimensions really are just fine for a baby blanket.
i’d definitely knit with silk again, the feeling of working with the yarn did not disappoint at all. but next time, i will have dad wind the yarn into the balls, and i will just knit!!
is there a september outing you are anticipating with glee? mom and i have only missed ONE knitter’s fair in over 15 years! five sleeps til we go!
Comments
so beautiful! you really do have quite a talent.
September is shaping up to be a very busy month for us. I’m looking forward to 3 things this weekend: my best friend’s birthday party, a lululemon yoga event on Saturday, and a trip to our lakehouse to celebrate our 1-year wedding anniversary!
oh, those are wonderfully fun events, dorry! and happy anniversary to you and billy! one year – wow, time flies. all the best to you both! xoxo!
Cathy the blanket turned out beautifully!!! You are so talented — really! And I remember those balls of yarn, I wasn’t sure you’d ever get them untangled!
I have some neat knitted items to show on my blog in the morning — they were State Fair winning items. I think you’ll get a kick out of them (and maybe you’ll be inspired to try them out)
Cathy your knitting is a work of art!! I really had no idea you could knit like this…truly beautiful work!!!!
I REMEMBER THAT VARIEGATED YARN AND THAT SKIRT (I’m sure I had one almost just like it)! Ah, memory lane can be such a happy place to go. The new blanket is lovely – I can only imagine that if feels like a dream. I have virtually no outings scheduled for September at all so nothing of note to be looking forward to. I think we need to set something up soon though!
yes!!! i swear i made that skirt during our “knitting club” weekly meetings…we can call it a club even though it was just you, your mom and me, right?! i love that you remember this!! i definitely can help you with getting a september outing on your calendar!
That blanket is beautiful. Hard to believe it’s the same formerly tangled skein!
At the moment I feel like I’ve been moving around so much that I’m happy to not have outings planned. I’m sure I’ll get bored with this though, especially since September is a nice time to be out and about.
Wow! I’m so impressed—I love the blanket, and I’m sure it feels amazing!
My outing for Sept is a Riesling Hour – dinner with guided tasting/food pairing for local wines. I’m going with two friends, and I think it will be fun (even though my wine palette is seriously undeveloped!
Have a great day Cathy