Things to Cuddle

I recently finished up two fairly cuddly knitting projects.

The first is another Lilly Owl blanket, using Lori Emmitt's pattern.

This is slightly larger than my first Lilly owl blanket, and I tweaked the pattern a bit more. I thought the owls would stand out more if there was an additional purl row at the top and bottom, so I changed the first and last row of the seed stitch blocks to be purl rows. Truth be told, it didn't really make much of a difference, and it was rather confusing to keep straight, so I'll abandon that design element. But, I did pay attention to how the seed stitch blocks blended with the garter stitch edging, and made sure that I didn't have knits and purls side-by-side with the edges - and that looks much better than on my first blanket.

Now that I've worked out these details, I've ordered enough yarn to make a regular-sized baby blanket, and will cast on as soon as that yarn comes in. Stay tuned!

I also finished another elephant, using Ysolda Teague's Elijah pattern. The yarn is Misti Alpaca Pima Cotton & Silk Hand Paint, in the color Confetti. I was calling this elephant Confetti, but I'm told by the soon-to-be recipient that her name will be Ellie.

I did not knit this beagle! I usually dump our laundry on the bed, to fold it, and if I don't get to it right away, Bonnie loves to make herself a nest. Apparently she is equally happy nesting in the basket itself.

Our cuddly beagle has developed another quirk. When we first adopted her, she practically never barked - we think we may have heard her bark five times in the first year we had her. After Homer died, she started barking occasionally, if she was outside and wanted to come in before we went to check on her. She would occasionally bark at lunchtime, if she thought I needed to stop working and give her some attention - one sharp, indignant, "look at me" bark.

Then we came home from Mackinac Island, and she is a changed animal. During the day, she behaves as usual, sleeping on her bed in my office, or on the couch. But at night, she apparently thinks that we are not giving her the attention she needs. She barks, watches us, and barks some more.

We are trying to give her the attention she craves, without rewarding this barking. Wish us luck on this one!

Cute Little Things

I just finished this small Lilly Blanket, which I will donate to our local hospital. My friend recommended the yarn, Dream in Color Classy. It is a merino superwash, and easy to care for. The deep, saturated colors (this skein is Shiny Moss) are stunning, and it knits up into a beautiful blanket. I washed this in the machine, and it came out with a soft, comfortable drape.

The pattern is Lori Emmitt's Sleepy Owl Blanket. After knitting most of one row of blocks, I decided that the owl cable pulled in too much, distorting the seed stitch squares and making the blanket too wonky for my taste. I frogged it and started over, this time increasing two stitches at the base of each cable, and then decreasing those stitches at the top. That did the trick, and the squares behave nicely now.

I don't know if I ever explained what "Lilly Blankets" are. A friend of a friend lost her baby shortly after his birth, and she now collects these small blankets (she calls them Angel Blankets), and donates them to the local hospital. Parents who experience this tender loss then have something they can take home with them, to comfort them and remind them of their missing family member.

Lilly was my grand-niece, who herself was in this world for only a short time. When I knit these little blankets, each stitch is in her memory.

And now for something totally different, but totally cute:

This young friend was having the best time. He stood on this chair, happily stamping one foot, looking back each time to make sure we were still watching. Such simple, innocent pleasure!