The Pinwheel Blankie

Ah-h-h-h-, The Pinwheel Blankie was such a fun project that I feel like casting on for another one already. It was so much like knitting yoga (unlike the Lacy Ribbon Skirt) that I half expected to fall asleep and wake up with my hands still knitting rhythmically. Talk about the chi flowing! I made it in 8 days. The knitting just flew by as the segments became larger. Like Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi shawl, the design is very organic. A mathematician could probably tell us why the design is so pleasing to the eye. Perhaps the whorls follow the Golden Mean. From a knitter's perspective, it is easy, quick, fun, and satisfying. I will be sending this blanket off to Iowa soon. The baby is of unknown gender (although they know it is either a boy or a girl, thanks to the marvels of modern medicine) hence the buttercup color. This is my new favorite baby gift, after the pumpkin hats, of course.

I was very pleased with the seed stitch border I chose. I then cast off in i-cord.

To cast off in i-cord: Knit 2, slip one, knit one, psso. Slip the 3 remaining stitches back onto left needle. Repeat 500 times.

That's right. I had over 500 stitches on the needle by the time I reached the width I wanted, which is about 32" in diameter. A little less than 3 feet in diameter seemed to be a good size to me. Those young mamas have enough weight to carry with those mammoth arm-breaking baby carriers so I wanted it to be big enough but not too big.

I started a 4th skein of yarn just before I started the seed stitch border, thinking that would be a generous estimate. I was sweating it out at the end when I realized the i-cord was sucking up the yarn. There was just a little bit left in the skein. I believe the i-cord border is the icing on the cake, don't you?