An Afghan for a Graduation


Climbing into leggings and my favorite sweatshirt, I brewed hot chocolate in my red mug and tucked toes into cozy slippers. It's been a go go go kind of week, (and it's not going to slow down any time soon) but I had such a meditative Sabbath weekend that I feel as if I can tackle any mountain of papers, presentations, and take home finals.

classic dark grey knitted hourglass throw | by Lovely and Enough

The temperature dropped this weekend, and out of no where I felt like knitting. Now, I knew that I didn't knit in the summer and that I was more productive on the hat-and-blanket scale when days turned cold, but I didn't realize it was such a gut feeling. All of the sudden, I longed to snuggle into a chair and while away hours with Netlfix and bamboo needles. Good news for me: there was a project awaiting the return of my intrepid fingers that had been stranded the other side of summer. My sister's long-awaited afghan. I say long-awaited because I began working on it five months before her high school graduation, and she is now a sophomore in college. Better late than never, it arrived in her open arms over Thanksgiving.

classic dark grey knitted hourglass throw | by Lovely and Enough

classic dark grey knitted hourglass throw | by Lovely and Enough

I worked from Brooklyn Tweed's Hourglass Throw pattern, and I am thrilled with the results. In soft dark grey heathered yarn, it is a timeless pattern and style that will be an heirloom for future generations. Now if only I had the patience and time to make another for myself!

Have you pulled out any knitting projects as holidays loom?

classic dark grey knitted hourglass throw | by Lovely and Enough

Knitting Dates

This past weekend was full of lovely knitting dates. Susie and I hung out Friday night--me knitting i-cord around my afghan, her a thick and quick scarf. It was a cozy evening with the lights low, peering through the blinds at people with more exciting lifestyles. Fast forward through writing a paper, a treasure trove estate sale, a dance rehearsal, a baking adventure, and a pancake dinner party to the next lovely knitting date. Susie and I watched What to Expect When You're Expecting. The plot was alright, not as funny as the preview led me to believe but made completely worth it by the swoon-worthy Chace Crawford. And to top off the evening, I finished my afghan! All screaming and applause was held off until every last loose end was woven in, but then excitement broke loose! I began this afghan in January, intending for it to be twin-size and finished by May. The project, however, gained a mind of its own, becoming king-sized and extending itself into my summer and fall. I have been snuggling under since it was large enough to cover my lap, but now with the knitting needles finally unattached, I can burrow without fear of losing a stitch or an eye. The saga of my first afghan has finished, just in time for me to begin another :)




knit cable

fisherman's knot

lattice
The afghan was crocheted, except for the cables and the i-cord edge. The body of the blanket is a basket stitch. The green panels are crocheted in a lattice stitch. And the outer aqua panels are a fisherman's knot stitch that I borrowed from a child's sweater pattern. Between the panels, I crocheted and reverse crocheted several raised ribs to add definition. I welcome any questions.