Monday, January 22, 2007

Finished Object: Pinwheel Afghan II

AllisonAfghan.jpg


Pattern: Oat Couture’s Pinwheel Afghan, DK weight, solid color version
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (80% Pima cotton, 20% Merino wool, 215 yards) in Alpine Lilac, 6 skeins
Needles: US size 6
Recipient: Allison and Greg’s baby
Modification: I did a provisional cast on and grafted the first and last row together.

Comments: I finished this baby blanket a week ago but didn’t get around to writing about it. As it turned out, procrastination was a good thing. Peter and I gave the blanket to the parents-to-be last night and I received the most enthusiastic response to a handknit gift that I have ever gotten—and it was from the dad-to-be, not the mom-to-be.

Allison unwrapped the gift (she knew what it was because Peter told her when I was knitting it—bad Peter) and was very happy and excited when she saw it. But Greg was fascinated. He kept studying the blanket and trying to figure out how it was made. At first, I gave a pretty general description of the construction, but he wanted to know more. He kept grilling me until I had explained how short rows worked and how to make lace.

After Greg understood the construction of the blanket, he suggested that the blanket could be made with different colored wedges. That’s right—a guy who knows basically nothing about knitting suggested a modification that is actually included in the pattern!

THEN, he suggested to Allison that the two of them learn how to knit. :) Allison didn’t want to have anything to do with it, but Greg was serious. He really wants to learn how knitting works. (I wasn’t sure if he wanted to learn to knit or just learn how the knitting changes yarn into fabric.) So, I suggested that he visit knittinghelp.com and look at the videos. I also told Greg that I would teach him to knit if he wanted.

Scout Happenings
Standing on a book make it easier to read, says ScoutThose of you who have sharp eyes may have noticed the chicken wire that now graces our stairwell railing. We have not taken to raising chickens in the house. (Though the idea of having fresh eggs is very appealing.) The wire is, in fact, known as Scout wire. Soon after we moved into our new home, Scout discovered that she could go outside of the railing and walk along the four-inch wide ledge—the four-inch wide ledge over a one-storey drop above a slate floor. Then, Scout learned that she could RUN along the same ledge. After watching her do this a few heart-stopping times, Peter installed the Scout wire.

My name should be first, says ScoutSince the installation of the Scout wire, Scout has been keeping busy in other ways. Lately she has been reading Mockingbird by Charles J. Shields, a biography about Harper Lee. Scout was named after the main character in To Kill a Mockingbird—one of my all time favorite books. Mockingbird (the biography) was published last year. My parents went to hear the author speak and bought an autographed copy of the book for me. As Mr. Shields was inscribing my book, my mother casually mentioned that I named my cat after Scout Finch. So Mr. Shields added a little something for Scout. Now Scout thinks it’s her book.

19 comments:

Ingrid Hendy said...

I love that baby blanket. It is very elegant...what a lucky baby. The chicken wire is a nice touch too...I'm sure there is some shabby chic way to authenticate it.

Anonymous said...

What a great gift for a baby! When I gave my mom a pair of socks recently, it was my dad who was amazed, totally checking the socks inside out, and asking me how they were done. :-)

Anonymous said...

What a guy -- he wants to know how everything works, not just guy things, but EVERYTHING. And hurrah for literary kitties!

Anonymous said...

The blanket reminds me of the Helen's Lace shawl with the pie wedge design...elegant but not actually too complicated. I'm so happy your present was enthusiastically received!

Your kitty is just so adorable. I just showed C the photos of her with *her* book. I bet she secretly has a blog too!

Jennifer said...

Beautiful baby blanket! Now that's a powerful handknit, that gets a recipient to want to learn how to knit.

Elizabeth said...

Wow, you're fast! That baby afghan came out of nowhere. It looks great - and I love that the dad-to-be wants to learn to knit. Very cool.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous blanket! I have yet to make a baby blanket, but when I do, I'll probably try that pattern. I think anything rectangular would bore me and not get finished, but if I knit something in strips I'd have to seam it... the pinwheel seems like a perfect alternative!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful blanket. I love it!
now I have something else to add to my knit list....

Anonymous said...

I made one of those blankets! (Because I saw the one you made and lurved it.) Such a fun pattern!

And I read that book! (I don't think you had anything to do with that, though, unless seeing all the pictures of Scout somehow subconsciously influenced me to want to read about Harper Lee.)

Anonymous said...

I feel like you knit that super fast! Scout is such a cutie. Definitely makes me want a cat just like her.

Agnes said...

This is a very beautiful afghan ... no wonder the dad was so fascinated. Do you think he would take up knitter because of this? Not an impossibility.
I love cats ... but intellectual cats are really fascinating! Will Scout write a book review after reading the book?

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful blanket. I think knitting is appealing to a lot of people because of the engineering involved in it. I know it's what keeps me coming back for more.

Anonymous said...

Love the blanket! Hopefully I will be making a blanket for my own baby soon. If I do, I might use that pattern. I'm a long time luker and I recently started a blog so now I feel that I can comment.
Your cat has a sweet face!

LaBean said...

The blanket is delightful. I tried making a pinwheel blanket and never finished it..

Scout wire! Great name for it. Seeing a pet traverse that ledge would make my heart skip a beat, too.

Jes said...

Wow, it seems like you flew through that blanket. It's great.

I love that the father is so into learning to knit. It's nice to see =)

I can't believe Scout was going outside the balcony bars. I would have totally freaked out!

OLPP said...

The story is almost as excellent as the blanket! It's so pretty! Very nicely done.

roxy =^o^= said...

Two paws up, Laura ;)

Meredith said...

Very nice, and so great that it got an enthusiastic reception! And hey, now your blog matches the blanket!

Anonymous said...

If my memory serves me correctly, that blanket came out even better than the last one you did. That's great that it got such an enthusiastic reception! I'm still waiting for even an acknowledgment of my most recent baby knit. Not that I'm bitter.

I always thought Scout looked particularly bookish. I wouldn't have pegged her as such a daredevil, though. Good thinking with the Scout wire. I've known more than one cat to plummet from just such a spot.