09-22-2016

I cast on 215 stitches around 240 stitches (I'll get an exact count at some point), but it was basically enough to cover my lap with some extra on either side.

14 garter ridges (28 rows) for Aquarius plus the three stripes (6 total rows) used most of a skein of Vintage, so for the remaining colors I’m knitting 11 garter ridges (22 rows) between stripe sections.

02-06-2017

Updated to add all the colors to my stash so leftovers will show up in the search. Please note all yardages are approximate. I didn’t weigh the skeins when I received them--calculations are based on leftover weight and the avg weight for a skein of Tosh Vintage--and I suspect that the June/July/August skeins (Cancer, Leo, and Virgo, respectively) were all short weight/yardage initially, as my gauge didn’t change while I was knitting this and I had noticeably less yarn leftover after those blocks.

I subbed two colors out, which considering how picky I am about color I think was quite restrained of me. I skipped Libra, which so closely resembled Gemini and was an unattractive color to boot, and used a onesie skein I found at JBW (supposed to be Lolita, but much nicer than the real Lolita IMO) in a rich purple on the red end of the spectrum. I also skipped Capricorn, which was just an all-around awful color and didn’t resemble any of the other colors in the blanket--too many different greens, tonally incompatible with the other colors, too variegated and, as my friend described it, “insipid.” I thought the blanket was missing a rich yellow, and initially tried to use a completely different yarn (Hazel Knits in Cadence, in the color Midas--lovely, but not right for this blanket). Luckily for me my new LYS, Gossamer, had a lovely, very golden yellow skein of Candlewick on hand, which completely suited the other colors and fulfilled my vision¹ of what the blanket needed. Also, it resembled the yellows in this and this and this image of Capricorn.

Color order:

1. Aquarius
2. Pisces
3. Aries
4. Taurus
5. Gemini
6. Cancer
7. Leo
8. Virgo
9. Lolita (Onesie)--sub for Libra
10. Scorpio
11. Sagittarius
12. Candlewick--sub for Capricorn

03-05-2017

DONE.

Finished measurements while blocking: 175 cm long by 140 cm wide (68 inches, or 5.67 feet, long, by 55 inches, or 4.5 feet, wide), approximately. It is VERY stretchy and has a lot of drape--I’d knit a sweater using US 7 or maybe even a US 6 for garter stitch with this yarn.

To wash and block: one 15 gallon bucket full of cold cold cold water, with a measuring cup of salt dissolved into it. Added blanket, squeezed and agitated until it relaxed, let it soak for 10 minutes. Spun out extra water in our AMAZING washing machine. Then into a warm 15 gallon bath of Eucalan (about one half a measuring cup, a mix of lavender and unscented because it’s what I had) for 45 minutes.² Another spin, and currently laid out on our guest bed. Daylight photos in sunshine hopefully tomorrow!

03-10-2017

New photo notes: I’m the brunette and I’m 5’ 8” tall, and my stepdad is the baldy and he’s 5’ 19” (yes, that’s 6’ 7” for the conversion challenged). So as you can see, not a small blanket.

I totally indulged in a ton of photos for this project because it’s the biggest thing (size, amount of yarn, time investment) I’ve ever finished.