Chaser

Actually, I have no idea what a chaser is, but the word appeals to me right now. The wooly Rambling Rows afghan project helped to chase away my knitting blues, right down to the last three days of obsessive i-cord edging.

I finished it an hour ago, photographed it right away, in its unblocked but nicely-shaped condition.

After pondering edgings in my last post, I completely forgot to photograph the i-cord in close-up, not that there is anything special or different about my brand of i-cord. I followed the suggestion that Kelly Petkun made in a recent Knitpicks podcast (or at least one I listened to recently), about knitting the first outward stitch of the cord through the back loop to keep it neater. Good idea.

I also experimented with new-to-me i-cord tools, using a thin metal dp needle to pick up blanket stitches and a size 7 wood dp needle to do the actual knitting, since I was using a worsted-weight wool. Using a needle that much thinner really helped to speed things up. I am glad I had knitted every edge stitch of the garter stitch blocks, otherwise, I imagine that getting a firm enough edge to pick up stitches from would have been problematic.

I am pleased that I was able to stick strictly to stash yarns and yet come up with a color combination that made sense. Although I have a large stash, it isn't a very coherent one. I accumulated a lot of it when I was knitting for children and dolls, so a vast majority of my stash consists in orphan skeins, and combining colors and even weights is a necessity.  But recently, I have learned to enjoy that step as a designing challenge -- a much better frame of mind when I do cast on.

This was knitted with 3 shades of Cascade Eco Wool, which comes in a great selection of natural colorways; some discontinued Debbie Bliss Merino dk wool, double-stranded, and a fingering-weight tweedy alpaca, also doubled.

Although the earthy tones are a pretty good match for my too-beige house, the blanket will soon make its way to Afghanistan where I hope it can keep a little child cozy and warm.

Comments

[KarenW]

I love the way the natural shades enhance the squares. I just want to reach through the computer and feel the texture, very appealing. The i-cord is beautiful. Congratulations on another wonderful donation to a4A!

[Barbara]

I like the way the colors move through the blanket, very nice. This gift will be like a big hug from you to a child miles away.

[Nancy]

Lovely!

[sonja poor]

It turned out great! I love the variation of all the natural colors. Terrific job! And sounds like you enjoyed it all, too.

[riotyarn]

It looks perfect. Great job!