Blankets!!

I am so excited and thrilled to announce that I finished my Noro Cable Comfort Throw...almost two years in the making. I am really excited about the way this turned out. I used 13 balls of the Noro Transitions (so this is a very valuable blanket!), soaked the finished product in Eucalan and then laid out to dry. The Eucalan bath softened up the yarn considerably, and also relaxed the stitches so that the final dimensions were almost 60 x 60 inches. The throw drapes beautifully and is super-warm due to the content of the yarn, which includes a mix of fibers such as wool, silk, cashmere, mohair, camel, angora and alpaca. My family seems to love it, which is a great relief. I think I am going to stick to my plan to make the Lady Eleanor stole out of the remaining 7 skeins of Transitions. I think it will be luscious.
My family did put up quite the protest when I was ready to use the throw to replace a big old Lion Brand Chevron-style afghan I had made several years ago (pre-Ravelry, I think, so I didn't have any pictures). I had used a variety of Lion Brand yarns in this blanket, including chenille--which turned out to be disastrous. The chenille started worming a few years ago and there were huge loops hanging out everywhere on this throw. My husband and kids didn't care--they love this blanket (much more than the fancy Colinette AbFab Throw that I made around the same time). So...once the Noro blanket was finished and in place on our couch, I spent about 4 hours yesterday cutting the chenille loops and weaving the ends in to blanket with a crochet hook. Once done, I washed the blanket and put it in the dryer with the hope that the chenille would tighten up. It looks much better--here's the "after" shot (forgot to take a "before") but I still see some ends (see below) and I have a feeling that with time, the worming will happen again. But at least I can live with this blanket now without feeling disgusted, and my family can enjoy ALL of the blankets we have available. The weather is turning pretty cold, so it's nice for us all to have homemade throws to cuddle with in the family room.
I have beautiful shades of Manos for the Four Seasons Throw--I think I'll work on that over the holidays!
I'm making good progress with the Sunrise Circle Jacket--almost done the second front/sleeve combination, then just the back, which is the smallest piece, remains. The sleeves may be too long--it is very hard to estimate size on this unusually constructed garment--so I may get to practice ripping up from the cast-on edge if I want to make them the perfect, shorter length. I want to finish all the pieces, pin them together and try the whole sweater on before making this decision.
The argyle vest is also coming along. Not enough done to know if it fits, but the intarsia is looking pretty good so far! More to come on that.

Blankets!!

I am so excited and thrilled to announce that I finished my Noro Cable Comfort Throw...almost two years in the making. I am really excited about the way this turned out. I used 13 balls of the Noro Transitions (so this is a very valuable blanket!), soaked the finished product in Eucalan and then laid out to dry. The Eucalan bath softened up the yarn considerably, and also relaxed the stitches so that the final dimensions were almost 60 x 60 inches. The throw drapes beautifully and is super-warm due to the content of the yarn, which includes a mix of fibers such as wool, silk, cashmere, mohair, camel, angora and alpaca. My family seems to love it, which is a great relief. I think I am going to stick to my plan to make the Lady Eleanor stole out of the remaining 7 skeins of Transitions. I think it will be luscious.
My family did put up quite the protest when I was ready to use the throw to replace a big old Lion Brand Chevron-style afghan I had made several years ago (pre-Ravelry, I think, so I didn't have any pictures). I had used a variety of Lion Brand yarns in this blanket, including chenille--which turned out to be disastrous. The chenille started worming a few years ago and there were huge loops hanging out everywhere on this throw. My husband and kids didn't care--they love this blanket (much more than the fancy Colinette AbFab Throw that I made around the same time). So...once the Noro blanket was finished and in place on our couch, I spent about 4 hours yesterday cutting the chenille loops and weaving the ends in to blanket with a crochet hook. Once done, I washed the blanket and put it in the dryer with the hope that the chenille would tighten up. It looks much better--here's the "after" shot (forgot to take a "before") but I still see some ends (see below) and I have a feeling that with time, the worming will happen again. But at least I can live with this blanket now without feeling disgusted, and my family can enjoy ALL of the blankets we have available. The weather is turning pretty cold, so it's nice for us all to have homemade throws to cuddle with in the family room.
I have beautiful shades of Manos for the Four Seasons Throw--I think I'll work on that over the holidays!
I'm making good progress with the Sunrise Circle Jacket--almost done the second front/sleeve combination, then just the back, which is the smallest piece, remains. The sleeves may be too long--it is very hard to estimate size on this unusually constructed garment--so I may get to practice ripping up from the cast-on edge if I want to make them the perfect, shorter length. I want to finish all the pieces, pin them together and try the whole sweater on before making this decision.
The argyle vest is also coming along. Not enough done to know if it fits, but the intarsia is looking pretty good so far! More to come on that.