Blankets and throws

Many people have been worrying out loud about the cost of heating their homes this winter. We know there will be an increase in blanket, throw and afghan knitting this fall, in fact we've already seen signs of that. Most folks are wanting to knit something simple and warm, and in many cases, portable.

There are quite a few knitting patterns for afghans that are made in pieces. A brand new afghan booklet for fall - Manos del Uruguay Geometry - is a prime example. When Barb and I went to the TNNA show this past June, we saw all of these afghans knit up, and it was one of the things I was MOST excited about. We waited ALL summer to get the books, though I did manage to get a pre-copy of one of the patterns, so I could get started on a shop sample. This is the Adventure Throw, straight from the pattern booklet, done in shades of blues, teals and greens.I chose to use 12 less similar colors of the Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica, and it's going to be NICE!!!

I started knitting my Adventure Throw in the middle of the summer. Since it's really for the shop, I am actually only knitting half of the throw - it's enough to give folks an idea of what it will look like when it's twice as big. I'm on square 5 of 6 (the whole throw has 12). Here there are this morning, unblocked.

Then I blocked them - huge difference, isn't there? The pattern says to sew the pieces together and then to block the whole throw. Remember, in any pattern, you need to count on your own knowledge and expertise. The pieces of this throw alternate... half of them are in stockinette and garter, and the other half are in garter and some yarn-overs. Even though I am doing them all on size 9 Addi Turbo Knitting Needles, the pieces with the yarn-overs end up a bit bigger than the ones in garter/stockinette. So I chose to block them all to the same size BEFORE seaming them. Again, my choice, and I believe, a good one.

Here they are drying. They already look so much better!

In truth, I like the pieces in garter/stockinette better. If I were to do this afghan again, I would probably eliminate the ones with yarn-overs, and just do these in different colors. That's the great thing about the Manos del Uruguay Geometry pattern booklet. You can mix and match all of the different octagons and squares and come up with one all your own!

Suzie is doing just that. She's started working on the Moonstone (my favorite in this book!)and she's using Berroco Ultra Alpaca and Mountain Colors River Twist. She may decide to throw in some other yarns too. I can't wait to see it!