January 10, 2005
Finished Knit: Sheepish Baby Blanket
Hey, everyone, look: I can knit more than just scarves and hats! Just in time to celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. (and missing my Christmas deadline by just a hair) comes my first completed knit project for my niece, Little Miss D.
The pattern comes from Family Circle Easy Knitting's Fall 2004 issue, and I tricked it out with the following mods:
- I used Mission Falls 1824 merino superwash wool in pistachio for the body of the blanket (I stuck with Berocco Plush in black and white for the sheep).
- I upped the needle size to US 10 1/2 (6.5 mm) to yield slightly more than the suggested gauge so the blanket would be a little bigger and a tad looser.
- I duplicate-stitched the sheep onto the finished blanket--rather than working them in intarsia according to the chart--to facilitate quicker knit-up of the blanket itself, and I stitched on sheep in a checkerboard pattern as opposed to one in every single square (the overall texture of the piece was too bumpy that way, I thought).
- I decided to make one black sheep, and it was Byrne's idea to give the bad boy center placement on the blanket.
- I omitted the pompoms on the corners of the blanket, because, well, they just seemed a little too fussy for a kid from Brooklyn.
Yarn was procured, and many dumb questions were answered, at Yarn!, my now-favorite local yarn shop, on the sunny island of Alameda right here in the Bay Area. Local knitters: Do check this place out. The people who work and knit there are so knowledgeable and so friendly, I always leave there with a warm, fuzzy (ahem) feeling, a full shopping bag, and lots of inspiration.
In other sheep news, check out the exclusive cool-kid knitter's accessory that purlgurl scored (further evidence that the ladies at Yarn! rock).
9 comments
Wow! That turned out sooo cute. I love the choice of the green. So like the modern baby that she is.
Mom
I love it!
So cute Arin, you are quite talented!
i soooo want to know how you did the sheep without intarsia! -ew (you don't know me, i think...)
Arin, it's just darling! I wanted to let you know that you inspired me to take up knitting again...and maybe one day I'll graduate from the scarf frenzy. Thanks for the tip on Yarn!--will def. have to check it out.
You should go into business doing this! Absolutely gorgeous. I love how the picture of you holding it up is reminscent of those pictures of us in elementary school at open house holding up some macaroni art. You have clearly progressed while I am still pasting macaroni on wide ruled paper.
I just love my blanket from Auntie Arin! I took it to Mommmy and Baby Yoga the other day with Mom and it was just perfect. I definitely had the best blanket of the bunch!
IF you want to see Delia with her blanket: http://reeserunefamily.typepad.com/photos/delia_winter_05/imgp0689.html
Do you have the pattern for this? I have been searching high and low for the magazine and no one has it
Thanks