Monday, January 30, 2012

Hexagon dilemma



Great news, one of the friends in our knitting group is having her first baby in April...a little boy...awwww! She was hoping for a blankie and asked specifically for one done in "entrelac!" Being ahead of the game, I had already ordered some yarn, but when I stared knitting realised the yarn and the pattern just didn't work together. Sheesh. Since I just couldn't return the yarn I had to rethink the whole project!!!! You know that sorta thing happens to me all the time! I literally poured over  patterns on www.ravelry.com and this is what I came up with....not "entrelac" you say...but come on it has come of the same techniques e.g., picking up stitches building on the hexagons etc., so I went full steam ahead. Did I mention hexagons are all the rage! Okay enough idle chatter and long winded explanations.
Yarn:-Plymouth Encore Colorspun 75% acrylic 25% wool. Color#7722 'Very Bright Kids.' This is a great yarn with long colour runs..only one problem 'tho there was too much bright pink, which I had to cut out! Consequently now have about 14 little balls of pink if anyone wants it! I also used color# 7822 'Drifting' and #7711 'Lemon Lime. This yarn is machine wash, tumble dry.....perfect for a baby! Needles:-Double Pointed Sz#8. The whole blankie was knit on double points and I had absolutely no seaming to do! Woo hoo!
Pattern:-Modular Afghan by Anna-Beth Meyer-Graham. This is a beautiful pattern. The recommended yarn is Noro Taiyo and if I had been doing this for me I would have used the Noro! The pattern is included in the book KNIT NORO The pattern writer suggested weaving in ends as you went along...not me..as you can see in the first pic...I had about a million at the end! Duh, that wasn't too bright of me! My only modification was applying a 3st I-cord to eliminate the curling edges and it did help somewhat!
I loved knitting this...but I have ordered more yarn for an entrelac blankie. I wish I could have consulted with Leslie about the blankie...but I'll make another as I really don't want to disappoint her!!! Anyhow..this is my first finished object of 2012 and I'm happy with the result. Happy knitting everyone and Happy New Year!