(Originally posted on WP 10/25/20.)
I have a variety of lists usually going at the same time - the chore list for that day, the fiber to-do list, the household sewing list, and the household needs-rearranging before it makes me nuts list. This last list I am needing to ignore, as the house, particularly the living room, for some time yet looks more like a hospital room than a living room.
On my fiber to-do list has been the making of a long-enough wool afghan/blanket for hubby. Originally intended for when he is stretched out in his recliner, although lately, and for some time to come, he will need it for all the resting he needs to do on the loveseat and
then the hospital bed which should be coming at some point, which will be put into the living room.
Like me, of all the quilts and blankets in the house, he prefers wool. I'd be lost without my wool afghans!
I had intended on weaving him one, and had cogitated about the pros and cons of either putting a warp for one afghan on the floor loom (bah), or weaving 3 panels on the RH loom (triple bah).
But, as sometimes can happen, this decision has been made for me. I have been far too busy during the day spinning yarn, and dealing with current life and household work, to warp either loom. Not to mention that there really isn't room in the dining room/studio to *both* spin and weave. If I'm spinning, the loom needs to be pushed out of the way. That poor kitchen towel warp is still on it, since July!, with one towel left to weave, sigh. What I need is something easy to work on in the evenings when I'm resting with my feet up, before bed.
So, I pulled out Barbara Walker's stitch dictionaries. And noped my way through them. Stitch patterns either too busy, too small, too modern-looking, or too complicated for a weary brain and body to handle. I briefly considered EZ's garter stitch blanket, but the idea
wasn't tickling me, either.
I want something classic, traditional, which doesn't involve stranding, cables, or slip stitches. I love stranding color patterns, but not only do my hands naturally want to knit color work quickly (which isn't relaxing!), but more than likely I’d run out of yarn.
I am needing to work with *just* what I have on hand, which is about 18 ozs. of Peace Fleece Worsted in Samantha-Katya Pink, which is a lovely wine color, 7 ozs. Antarctic White (although I can supplement with plenty of handspun creamy white 56’s and long wools), and 38 ozs. Brown Sheep Lanaloft Bulky in Wheat.
These 3 colors just happen to coordinate with our living room area rug. If needed, I have some lt. olive Naturespun Chunky, or doubled Lamb's Pride Worsted I could add in here and there.
So then, garter stitch. Simple, cushy, no wrong sides.
I love quilt patterns, and remembered I had seen the Flying Geese and Log Cabin patterns knit up, so I checked. I had a feeling the triangles in Flying Geese
https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2015/04/13/flying-geese-knit-baby-blanket/
would catch me up, causing me to spend too much time ripping out, from not paying attention, so then I considered this classic Log Cabin, but I don't have the right proportions of yarn available. (Scroll down to Cloth #1.)
So, I sketched several layouts of squares – the simplest, least stressful thing one can knit! I knit a few gauge swatches, and am in the process of knitting up 40-45, 8" squares. Well, 7.75" squares, but I'm not gonna fuss over the 1/4", not for an afghan. And unlike my usual designing modus operandi, the final design is not written in stone. Once there’s enough squares knit, I’ll just lay them out and play with the order, until I like it.
Now, the LLB is a thicker yarn *by weight* than doubled PF worsted, but is a thinner yarn by grist. Don't we knitters just love these odd yarn idiosyncrasies! Not to be deterred by a small difference in gauge, I simply worked a couple more sts and rows in the LLB. We are the masters of our knitting, not the other way around!
Unlike stranded colorwork, I find garter stitch to be slower knitting, which is good for me right now, made slower still by the thickish yarn, ndls, and gauge. It’s the push-past-the-purl-bump bit! To me, those purl bumps want to be purled into, not knit into, so it has taken several decades for me to have some appreciation for garter stitch – not until I saw this Classic Elite design on the back cover (if I remember right) of a Vogue Knitting issue 9 yrs ago!
I haven’t knit it, but filed away the idea that garter stitch *can* look sophisticated.
The last thing I needed to figure out was how long it would take to knit up the squares and either seam them or crochet slip st them together, then I-cord around the entire thing. If I knit 3 per evening, it could be done in two weeks. I *cannot* hear or write the words 'two weeks' without this popping into my head.
It would be a miracle, indeed. Realistically, at 1 to 2 squares each evening, it'll take about 3 weeks. Done by Thanksgiving. OK, I'll need to live with that, as I only have about 1.5 hrs each evening to knit.
These days, don’t we all need something simple to make? Something repetitive which doesn’t tax our energy and resources. Something that allows the mind to relax and wander, to dream of better times to come…
Onward,
DAwn
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