Kaffe Fassett Outlined Star jacket

Nearly thirty years after the publication of Kaffe Fassett's Glorious Knitting his patterns still appear in charity shops.  I had nearly given up hope of finding another one, three years after the last one, when I came across this jacket.  The pattern is Outlined Star, although this precise jacket does not appear in the book.  The one there is in a yellow colour way, and the  yarns aren't given.

The colours in this one are pale, some even fluorescent, although that does not come out in my pictures.  The strong mauve shade slightly spoils the effect, and I would have left it out.  The yarns are without mistake Rowan yarns, so perhaps it was knitted from a kit.  It is knitted to a chunky yarn tension, very thick, with a chunky tweed used singly, DK wool combined with 4 ply and the 4 ply yarns trebled in many places.  There are three yarns per row, and the three are woven in with every stitch so it is very thick.  The jacket shows no sign of wear so I suspect that it may have been too uncomfortable to wear.  It is big - with chest circumference of 124 cm.

Altogether it weighs over 1340 gr.  In theory that would be enough for one blanket, but not knitted at a chunky yarn tension.  So if I want to use all the yarn, or most of it, for one blanket I will have to combine it with other yarn.  I haven't decided yet.  It will go into the wool store with all the rest.

And just because I like it so much two pictures of blanket #143, now that it is finished.  I have crocheted an edging, all the ends have been fastened, and it has been washed.  Although fastening ends can take a long time I find it enjoyable; it is very peaceful, and you feel you have achieved something.  Washing serves as blocking; it makes the blankets smoother.  It is also otherwise a good thing.  Some of the yarns may have been around for 20 or 30 years or longer collecting dust, and the blanket is too large to keep on my lap so I let the edge fall on the floor when it gets long enough. 

Another blanket

Another long break without writing.  I have been doing some knitting, mainly on the new blanket, #143.  This one is double knitting weight on size 4 mm needles.  I enjoy knitting it.  The light colours cheer me up.  The yarns are good, too, several cottons and two mohair.

I unravelled a mohair cardigan for this.  It was quite simple, in a broken rib pattern, very easy to unpick despite mohair's tendency to stick.  Compared with the white mohair that I also use it seems thin.

I was going to unpick a second sweater, this crochet top by Chillipeppar.  I started by unpicking the edging, but I changed my mind when I saw the yarn.  It is very thin cotton, several unspun threads.  I decided it would add nothing to the blanket, so it went to the dump.  Now that I have got so much yarn in the wool store, I have less patience unpicking garments.  It's not that I don't enjoy it, but it seems to take so much time when I could be knitting.