FO – the blanket that was a doily

Some pictures, finally! The blanket is now comfy on my lap, warming me, not only from the outside, but from the inside too. It makes me happy. It makes me smile. If it was food, I’d say it’s soul-food. I rarely feel such pleasure when finishing something. This blanket was an idea I had six years ago. Back then there was another lacy blanket very popular. I can’t recall it’s name, though I would recognise it the minute I see it. It took the idea of a classic table doily and using the thickest warmest yarn it was turned into a beautiful cover up for those cold evenings you spend on a sofa, cuddled up.

And I loved that idea, only the blanket itself wasn’t that appealing. So I searched. I came across the marvellous patterns of Herbert Niebling. One in particular spoke to me. The Eichenlaub. The oak, a tree of wisdom and strength.

So I went to buy some yarn. I wanted something that would “wear” well with time, not be too prone to pilling. The 100 merino from the Hamburger Wollfabrik was the perfect match. I made my Sylvi cardigan from it and that wears just great, hardly any pilling even after several years of heavy wear. And the colour selection they have – oh you have a hard time, there are tons of shades of yellow, and blue and grey, not just 50 *wink

It was a long knit, sometimes nerve-wracking, some rounds were what felt like a million stitches.

And then it was done. Finalised. Finished. Ende. The end. Fini. One wash’n’block and finding the perfect background for great pictures. (is it just me or are other people also trying to avoid ‘great’ lately? everything can be great – well this blanket truly is.)

On Friday my new chair finally arrived (I’ve been waiting for it for 11 weeks and with this my living room make over is finally done. Oh I love this place now. The chair and the blanket have become my favourite place in no time.

But let’s face the music and dance, the details:

started: June 2011

finished: November 20 2016

yarn: Hamburger Wollfabrik Merino extrafein 9fädig/9ply

pattern: Eichenlaub by Herbert Niebling

(rav links)

needles: 5mm

modifications: only made 6 of the 8 repeats the pattern calls for and actually wonder how 8 repeats can lay flat. I remember I started with 8 and found the fabric I got after the first couple of rounds almost hyperbolic, so I switched. I skipped about 100 rounds at the end, so basically I made the smaller version the pattern comes with. And still the diameter is 1.60 meters.

I needed to “prolong” the pattern for about 15 or so rounds, as the last set of leaves is not finished completely before the original binds off. This wasn’t too hard as when I reached these rounds I already started to know and understand the pattern by heart somehow.

And I made a 2×2 moss stitch for a border.

cuddly hugs

Diana