I bought this pattern at my LYS–Unwind–just a couple weeks ago and I had to start it right away, even though I don’t really have any plans for it. I just love the idea of creating a square blanket in plain ol’ stockinette.
This blanket is an example of my favorite kind of project: it’s (relatively) easy to knit and yet the finished product looks elegant and complicated. It was perhaps a little tricky at the beginning to juggle the dpn’s and get into the “swing” of the pattern, but once you get going, it’s quite easy. This is a perfect “sit in front of the TV” project.
This is “Purl Dreams” in a slightly less complete state:
The only difficulty I had was deciding how to join one skein to the next. Since the piece is seamless and knitted as one piece in the round (or, I guess, technically, in the square), there are no edges or seams to hide the loose ends in. I used a variation of the “Russian Join” so the joins would be very secure and stand up to all the wear and tear it’s bound to be subjected to by an active toddler. My final photos were taken pre-blocking, but it’s still difficult to tell (especially on the front side) where one skein ends and the other begins.
Although the pattern called for ivory, I chose a pretty mauve/pink with a chocolate brown border because those are such popular colors right now for girls. I would gladly do this pattern again, however I would probably arrange to do all my joins in the diagonal furrows of the yarn-over increases. I think that would hide them better and probably create a smoother final product.
Overall, though, I think this is adorable and I can’t wait to do more patterns like this square shape–next time with stripes?
The Lyf So Short 