My SIL was gifted a beautiful baby blanket when she had my nephew. It was such an interesting design, and just looked like it would be fun to knit so I asked if she could find out if the pattern was available, and available it was. Serenity by Laura Wilson-Martos has already proven to be the most rewarding, addictive, and also at times the most frustrating pattern I've ever knit. Frustrating because every few rounds I question whether I'm doing it right, and because it's full of beautiful cables, lace and other great textures, one stitch out of place is noticeable. No 'good enough' for this one.
It's one of those character-building projects that make you slow down, count all the stitches and really be present in what you're creating. While I do love those projects that allow you to just zone out and watch about 4,000 episodes of Sex and the City before you look down and you've got a full-on sock in your hands, it's nice to know that I'm making something I'm going to be really, truly proud of.
You'd think all that counting and crossing of fingers would be tedious, but it's an incredibly addictive pattern. Knit in the round, you slowly wend your way through the row of patternwork, and then the next row you get a little rush from whipping around with all knit stitches. Suddenly, your mind is refreshed and you not only want to see how the pattern will emerge, but you also are looking forward to that next little knit row. Like a boozer at last call, you keep begging for just one more round.
I have had to stop, close my eyes and take a deep breath more than a few times, and I ripped it back to the start three times before I figured out how to make it all work in the beginning. However, once you get to a certain point, the pattern starts to lend itself to you, and you can see immediately when you've made a mistake. Hopefully, I don't have to see that too many times!
While it's knit in the round, when you bind off you do so incredibly loosely so that you can block it, and you end up with a square blanket with slightly scalloped edges, as in the photo above, which is by the designer herself.
I had to take a little break tonight because one round was just not working out right, so I thought I'd take my self-imposed time-out to share this new project
2 comments:
So beautiful! I am definitely putting in on my list to knit this winter!
What a gorgeous blanket! I love the natural-color of the yarn and it's such an interesting pattern. Can't wait to see the finished product and I'm glad you're enjoying its fruition.
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