Hello! Things are a lot perkier since my last post and I put it down to the lovely Rowan Cotton which I got hold of last week.
Despite now being out two nights a week running doing a new course (and thus eating in to valuable crochet-tv time), I have been whizzing round my giant granny square blanket because I am so excited to show you the F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S. colours. Look!
The darker green is a bit grassier, and the citrus green a bit more citrussy than the photo, but I still think they're fab. Really optimistic-making.
And then I had a revelation. These colours are EXACTLY the same as some fabric that I got from Laurie Wisbrun. Some fabric that has such mind bendingly wonderful patterns and colours that it makes me want to do somersaults.
I never in a million years ever thought a fabric would make me feel like that!
It comes from Laurie's Urban Jungle range, and there's bad news and good news.The bad news is she's discontinuing this colourway (and also one in lovely reds and oranges) the day after tomorrow. Terrible terrible news! But the good news is if you order some now, you too can do somersaults (and even cartwheels if you're feeling less gravitationally challenged than I do these days). So go here now, immediately, and purchase!
I am so greedy with this fabric that I ordered a stack of fat quarters (yes, I know I have no money but some things just have to be done, you know?) to make a patchwork quilt. And I even got some Kona Cottons to match, because greedy me saw an offer at Blueberry Buckle for them for $4.50 a yard. But you have to be even quicker if you want those - today is the last day. You'll need to request a custom order to get the price reduction but that's not exactly hard, is it?
By the way, just to reassure you, no-one is asking, telling or paying me to push these sellers. I just want to turn you into a greedy fabric hoarder like myself, mwha hahahaha....
Anyway, back to the blanket.
Oops.
Bad, bad, devious Rowan have changed the recipe for this yarn. Back in the day when Rowan magazines cost £3.45 and had dates like 1988 printed on the back of them (and possibly before you were even born), my mother knitted me this...
I still have it somewhere. I even, very occasionallly, still wear it.
In those heady days, the yarn was called Wool and Cotton, and was 50% superfine Botany and 50% cotton. And there was quite a bit left over, especially in the cream colourway, so that was what I started my blanket with. Now we're in the futuristic Naughties, and they're changed the recipe, it's Merino instead of the Botany, and it does make a difference; the yarn is a bit chunkier. When did I discover this? Why, when I was knotting the cream (old yarn) to the green (new yarn), of course! What were you thinking? I looked at the ball band in the shop? Pah!
Well, perhaps I should have done because if you compare the details, the new (improved?) version knits up on slightly bigger needles and has 4 fewer stitches per 4" than the old version. Something to bear in mind if I ever knit from that Rowan Knitting Book no. 5 (if it manages not to completely fall apart, that is). I did wonder if I should keep going but I thought the best way to find out if there was a noticeable difference was to crochet a bit and see how it felt, and I think, all in all, it feels ok. I don't think you'd realise the difference if you didn't know. So I shall keep at it, well, until I run out of yarn again (so not long now) and then it will sit in my Pending bag until I can get to another Rowan stockist (light bulb moment: perhaps I can get it for less money on Ebay...).
I didn't take any photos of the whole width of the blanket because the light isn't brilliant today but it's about 26" wide (unblocked) so with another round of blue and some simple edging would probably go to 28". My current plan is to stop there with the square but continue in stripes on either end (possibly adding a yellow and another blue, although it's really hard to tell from Rowan's on-line shade card which to go for) to make it a rectangular cot blanket. What do you think? The problem with continuing with the square is that I would have to get it to single bed size for it to make any kind of sense, and I don't think I have the finances for that. Or possibly the patience.
Here's to a perky Thursday!
[added 24-06-10] Stop press! I've just discovered that Rowan's Amy Butler Belle DK yarn is 50% organc wool and 50% organic cotton (although there's no indication as to what kind of wool it is) so perhaps that will work if I can't find additional colours in the Wool Cotton range...
