Going in Circles Again

I knitted a circular blanket for my 1½ year old grandson Isaiah. I completed it just the night before his family was to arrive at our house for an early mid-December Christmas celebration. It is the third one of these blankets I have made in the past three years. This pattern, made on 10½ size needles with two strands of Loops & Threads® Snuggly Wuggly™ yarn is relatively easy. The twelve sector design in garter stitch works up into a roughly 50" diameter circle with a lovely drape. The story of how I came to start knitting these blankets is told in my December 26, 2013 post, complete with a poem that tells the historic significance of this traditional blanket as related to my son 30+ years ago.

What gives interest to the simple garter stitch blanket, in addition to its round shape, is the choice of yarn color. The previous two blankets were for my granddaughters Vivian and Lillian. They were each made from variegated yarn and are described in my blog posts for December 26, 2013, and March 21, 2016. Since each row varies in number of stitches, the mottled effect is not repetitious. But I saw no variegated yarn options I liked for a boy. I ventured instead to combine two solid colors - a bright lime green and a lively turquoise. Yes, in the following closeup view of the stitches I did fail to pick up one of the two strands of yarn. But I spotted the error early enough, within the wedge, that I was able to remedy the half-dropped stitch without ripping down, using a crochet hook and a bit of manipulative hooking. Knitting is much more forgiving than crocheting in that aspect.

At first I was not too sure about the tweedy look of the two different colors. I thought it was too subtle. But I hung in there and as I knitted a larger sample, the subtlety actually gave way to a soft variation on a larger scale that I liked. By the time I had completed one wedge and begun the second I had made up my mind that I did indeed like the solid lime and turquoise combination.

The yarn selections I made for each of the three blankets are shown next, followed by how they work up.

Isaiah must have approved because when I phoned my daughter and asked her to send me a picture of him with the blanket, she told me he was asleep under it. If I could wait until the next day she would have better lighting. I said send the picture anyway. What better endorsement is there than a vision of peaceful sleep?

I have given the instructions for these blankets in my other posts but I am repeating them here for convenience.The idea is to knit partway across a row toward the center of the circle, then all the way back on the next row toward the outside. On the next row toward the center, knit two more stitches, then reverse back again and knit all the way to the outer edge.

Cast on 70.
Knit 2 (toward center), TURN, knit back over those 2 (toward outer edge).
Knit 4 (toward center), TURN, knit back over those 4 (toward outer edge).
Knit 6(toward center), TURN, knit back over those 6 (toward outer edge).
Can you see a wedge developing?
Continue this way. Two short rows of 8, then 10, then 12, then 14, etc. up to 70.
Once you've knitted across 70 stitches, turned, and knitted back you've finished the first wedge.
Do 12 wedges and you have finished your blanket. Just sew your last row to your first cast on row.

Ok. It is now the light of day and here is another view of the blanket ... and my grandson, of course. He looks so cozy there I am considering making another, a bit larger and in different color combo for my own use in our family room. Hmmm... maybe in 2017...