The Knitting Way: Finished Objects: Disco Doesn't Suck (and neither do ripples)

Ta-Dah! The Disco Blanket!

This pattern is from Lucy of Attic24; it is the Granny Stripe. I debuted this blanket on my previous segue post. It began as an effort to learn this crochet. What followed became a way to use up stash yarn. What became is an explosion of color! I tried, dear reader, I tried to stick to my resolve on only using stash yarn, but every so often (every few rows or so), a color that would combine beautifully, fabulously with the one just laid down would pop into my head. That color would not leave. I knew that color was available somewhere. It all started because the color I knew I wanted was wool and this was to be an all acrylic, washable all-season blanket. Looking at that wool skein in my hand that was the perfect color, and knowing that I would no longer have a very practical, machine washable blanket drove me to it! I could see it in that wool, that perfect color, but wrong fiber skein.

Well, once you've caved and made a trip to the store and opened your wallet to the possibilities of color, further trips are absolutely justified. I mean at that point it is no longer a completely stash driven blanket, right? And I really didn't have my heart set on a "stash+one" blanket, so what the heck...when the mood/color struck, I was more than willing to make the drive again. I did put a border around it of several rows of granny stripe, followed by a lovely scalloped edging.

So here's the story you've been waiting for: The man and I made a trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to see my favorite uncle and aunt and pick up a 1937 Chevy Sedan. This was to be a quick trip. Neither of us wanted to take time from work. The mission of the trip was simple, to pick up a truck and spend a very little bit of time with my aunt and uncle. We enjoyed a very carefree drive up, splitting the trip with a night in a hotel. Upon our arrival the following morning, we had coffee and conversation with my relatives and then the menfolk set out to corral the Chevy. That left my aunt and I some lovely womenfolk time to play catch-up and take a stroll to Mummu's. The men didn't return. We discussed dinner plans. The men didn't return. Rather than worry, we assumed that the menfolk were discussing the finery of machinery, as we had discussed the finery of woolen knits. Still the men didn't return. When the finally returned, they informed us of a problem. The truck we had borrowed to haul this Chevy back with had broken down.

You already know that my man is handy and he is also especially handy with vehicles. He spent many many hours on the cold ground outside in the November cold of the Upper Peninsula. He was under-dressed. He was now chilled to the bone. We returned to the room and he took a hot shower, but still could not get the chill from his body. At that point I took over and wrapped The Disco Blanket around him. The same blanket he would roll his eyes at whenever I laid it out for inspection. He made small fun-making comments of it.

And then, enveloped in the warmth that is a hand-knit, albeit acrylic yarn blanket, the chill left him. He forgot the sections of 70s colored yarn, he forgot the projective yarn vomit of color. He was warm.

Who said disco sucks?

The previous winter I had tried my hand at the Neat Ripple Blanket by Lucy of Attic24. I needed to produce a blanket for grandbaby boy two and loved the ripple pattern. On the first blanket I had used one skein of yarn (actually multiple skeins, but all the same color). I wanted to make a true, random color placement ripple this time.

This is the result. This beautiful little grandbaby boy loves blankets and now has a hand-knit blanket of his own. He cuddles in it with his Jacob-Kitty.

Thinking maybe I should post of picture of just the blanket as that little guy is so gosh-darn cute, it's hard to look away from his loveliness and check out the actual knit object.