The next blanket, #179, is totally dark with no specific main colour. I used yarns in dark brown, green, grey, burgundy, navy and black. I like the way they all blend together. There are a number of rough feeling Shetland and other yarns that will soften with washing, but now you notice the contrast with some nice merino wool. I have included mohair, alpaca and cashmere for contrast, with a little cotton and linen. It feels nice to be able to use up a number of yarns.
I unravelled this cardigan knitted from a 1980s or 90s pattern presumably. I had a quick look for the pattern without success. The yarns are Rowan. It has been knitted intarsia style with I think Grainy Silk as background. Compared with the 4 ply Light Tweed used double and DK yarns in the motifs the Grainy Silk feels too thin. There is some thin cotton chenille too. It was easy to unravel, and the yarns are nice.
I am going through my wool store spreadsheet aiming to use up wool in order of acquisition. Next in line was this wool unravelled from a Donna Karan jumper for blanket #140 but it was too thick to be used there, and the wool has lain around since then, spring 2011. If I remember correctly it was in fact blended with 20% nylon, but you wouldn't know. I looked around for a suitable easy pattern and I came across this, Preppy Ripple Throw from the book Undercover.
I found other suitable yarn, wool, in a similar thickness and colour, and found these. Some were leftovers from C9, Geo Modern Throw.
I have seen the pattern before, under the name Feather and Fan or possibly Old Shale, a common Shetland lace pattern. It seemed to be too complex to enjoy the knitting, but once I started it was simple, just four rows with two knit rows, one purl and one with increases and decreases. Stitch markers between each pattern repeat stopped me from making mistakes. There is a mistake in the pattern in the book by the way - quite obvious if you compare the pattern with the picture. I found the same pattern on the Lion Brand website and there it was correct.
I enjoyed knitting it. I changed yarns at random and I like the random effect it has had. I had not anticipated that the colours would blend so well. The biggest surprise was the Wendy Fashion 3 Continental yarn, a wool boucle, that adds even more texture and softness to the throw.
Having said that I prefer my blankets with less texture in thinner yarns. I would only do this pattern again if I had a lot of chunky yarns that I needed to use together.
Preppy Ripple Throw C29 Yarn: chunky wool yarns Needle: 7 mm Tension: 13 sts to 10 cm Weight: 1315 gr Size: 132 cm by 175 cm Made: 24 April to 19 July 2016
I am going through my wool store spreadsheet aiming to use up wool in order of acquisition. Next in line was this wool unravelled from a Donna Karan jumper for blanket #140 but it was too thick to be used there, and the wool has lain around since then, spring 2011. If I remember correctly it was in fact blended with 20% nylon, but you wouldn't know. I looked around for a suitable easy pattern and I came across this, Preppy Ripple Throw from the book Undercover.
I found other suitable yarn, wool, in a similar thickness and colour, and found these. Some were leftovers from C9, Geo Modern Throw.
