My first blog post about this project was on 19th December 2008! This has been a marathon project out of all proportion with the actual finished project. There are 17 blog posts linked to this project on Ravelry (well with this one there will be 18). I am of course referring to the monster that is the KAL Blanket. I started this project as part of the group A Year in A Blanket on Ravelry. The group is still there, but there seems to be very little activity on the discussion board, which is hardly surprising, as it was started around the time I started my blanket. I had very grand plans for this blanket, which gradually grew smaller and smaller as the project dragged on and on. I finally got a blanket sized thing and sewed a backing on it and declared it finished. So here we go, the big unveil - ta-day!
I finally got the gorgeous flannel from The Bramble Patch attached to the blanket, though it isn't very straight.
But I don't care. It is a great blanket and I am keeping it for myself and therefore I declare it fit for purpose. It is the perfect size to cover me whilst I lie on the sofa and feel cold or ill. It has a lovely weight to it, so it stays put on my legs as I move around. I don't get hot and sweaty as it has a large cotton content. The yarn is Elle Elite and is comprised of 50% wool and 50% cotton and I really love it. (In fact, I have a large quantity of this yarn left and intend to make myself something nice to wear in it). The flannel is 100% cotton and gets softer every time I touch it.
I can cope with the wonkiness and the mismatched squares because it keeps me warm, without being hot, and I can run my fingers of the centre panel and it's bobbly cabled texture.
I can see my history of knitting in this project. In each block you can see improvement.
I love this blanket and all its frustrations and annoyances and it makes me nostalgic for the knitter I was when I started this project. I was so ambition and created a complicated design showing off all the skills I had learnt, cables, bobbles, intarsia, swiss darning, etc. I wouldn't begin to knit something like this now. I would consider it too fussy and disconnected. I would create something more tied together. This blanket stands as a testament to my learning curve.
I whipstitched the flannel on to the blanket using the same brown yarn that I used on the knitted block and edging panels. It disappears into the front and forms a feature on the back.
At some point I intend to sew the flannel to the blanket using quilting cotton and stitching in the ditch on the inside edge of the brown knitted panels and blocks. I think this will help keep the blanket together and straighten up the edges a bit more. I don't know when I'll get round to doing that, as I said, it is already fit for purpose and it isn't going anywhere. Maybe when it is cold and unpleasant in the Winter, I will be more inclined to add this final touch. But until then - I declare this blanket DONE!
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