Christmas Blanket and Questions 32 to 42.

[ningloreth]

I've decided to make a Christmas blanket (though the jury's still out on which particular Christmas we're talking about).

Last year, at about this time, I saw a lovely pattern on Pinterest:

Comments

[hobbituk]

That blanket is awesome! I would never start anything like that though, because I know it would all end up stuffed in a bag in the loft with about 6 completed squares...

[ningloreth]

It's gorgeous, isn't it? All year, I've been thinking about making it! And that's my worry, too, but at the moment I'm enjoying seeing the squares 'emerge'.

[curiouswombat]

That blanket will be fabulous - well done you for tackling it!

I absolutely love the spooky gift gloves - I don't know whether this new road is one where we are likly to get children this hop-tu-naa - but I think I know two young people who would appreciate them so I think I might copy you :)

Because consonants 'mutate' when in close proximity to other sounds. In English this happens when the language is spoken, in Sindarin it's grammatical... Tell me about it - Manx does it grammatically too and I never got the hang of it when I tried to learn more than the small amount I know

[ningloreth]

After making so many teddies, I'm fearless!

I thought they looked like mice, too -- some more so than others -- and I did consider giving them a tail, but they were meant to be teddies... I think Manx teddies is a brilliant solution. And I did have a go at making some little trousers, but I lost patience. Let me know how many stitches you use!

Ah... Yes, it says in the Sindarin course I have that lenition is a feature of the Celtic languages.

[curiouswombat]

I have just tried the trousers - the first pair were too long, and now have turn-ups! So I would say two pieces each 12 stitches by 10 rows per pair, double knit, 4mm needles.

[ningloreth]

They look great! I'll try making some for my teddy.

[thismaz]

*cheers your blanket plans* It will look fabulous and I am so impressed by the squares you have done (being as how I am struggling to knit ordinary squares in one stitch with none dropped.)

I love sprouts. Fried sprouts sounds very good.

[ningloreth]

The main problem I have with using the two colours is that the wool gets tangled. I'd love to know how the experts deal with that!

I love sprouts, too. This recipe has garlic and capers in it & even people who say they don't like sprouts seem to like it.

[thismaz]

Oh, would you share the recipe? I have a jar of capers that I bought for something or other and am unsure what else to do with.

[ningloreth]

This is the recipe I use, which I found online. I think The Flying Pig does them a bit differently because theirs come out really black!

Pan Fried Brussels Sprouts

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1/4 white onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) package trimmed Brussels sprouts
salt and ground black pepper to taste
capers

Heat the olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until the oil shimmers. Soften the onions. Add the Brussels sprouts and cook without stirring until the undersides of the sprouts turn golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic. Stir to turn sprouts over, and cook the other sides until golden brown, another 5 to 7 minutes. Add the capers. Season with salt & black pepper.

I cut the sprouts in half or in three slices, depending on size.

The capers add a really 'savoury' taste.

[nebride]

Your hammy was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute! The Teds look adorable in their Halloween costumes. They really get in the spirit (uh... no pun intended.) *grins*

[ningloreth]

Hello! How are you?

He was lovely, wasn't he? He was never particularly tame, but he would come to me & we got on well together.

The Teds throw themselves into everything whole-heartedly :-)

Blamket

[sagaluthien]

Great idea, to make a blanket, you can't get enough…
A question though (as I'm lazy and not read through all you wrote); How have you plan to put them together? Will you have any backside?
Asking as I noticed they Squares roles. Have you consider to knit them double? With double I mean you get the coulors reverse on back and front. If the star is White on a red background, the back side is a red star on a White background.

If you go to this page; http://lattesandllamas.com/?v=f003c44deab6 you will see how they make a lot of Squares. Every year they have a new blanket going on with about one Square a week and often with inspiration from films, games and so on. They had it as a geek a long.

I so plan to do something like it one day/year.

Re: Blamket

[ningloreth]

Thank you , that's a great website -- I will certainly have a go at their double-sided knitting tutorial.

What I plan to do with the blanket -- since I've already finished the 7th square! -- is block the squares and stitch them all together, and then back the whole thing with a piece of cream fleece.