FO Friday: Girasole

FO Friday: Girasole

This project took me almost four months to complete. Unlike some knitters, I knit wool through the summer. I once made my Hemlock Ring Blanket, another Jared Flood pattern, in early summer too. I can bare heat pretty well. I live in Canada so the summers are not unbearable for wool knitting until this year! I started in May, but I put it on hold for a month to knit something else. I almost didn’t knit in July, the dryest and hottest July in my hometown’s history. Most of the work was done in August and early Sept.

Girasole

I wanted to knit Eco 8014 with this. I really love the Eco wool, but I could not afford to make this project with that yarn. Come last Boxing Day, the Fishermen’s Wool was on sale (and I also had a coupon) making the price of it about a third of what the Eco would have been. Even though I wanted to do this originally in the Oatmeal, there was only the other colours available. The Fishermen’s Wool is a fine affordable yarn, but it has a lot of knots. I think I averaged 2-3 per skein. Sometimes, I would get lazy and not cut them out, but usually I’d cut and felt together again.

Girasole

Blocking: I’ve been so lazy with my lace blocking of late. I didn’t even bother to pin this one. I did my usual which is soaked it in Eucalan and spun it in the washing machine. Then, I put it on a clothes rack (like the ones you buy for indoor hanging), but put it outside in the setting sun. Afterwards, I just laid it on my bedroom floor and walked on it. The edging looks the most floppy and unblocked, but the center is very lacey. It also came out bigger than in the pattern which is good. It’s definitely a nice size for a double bed, but I sleep on a twin/single. I am already using it as it’s a great extra layering blanket on these autumnal nights.

Girasole

Girasole, started May 19th, 2012, Bound off September 9th 2012. Ravelry Project Page
Pattern: Girasole by Jared Flood from Brooklyn Tweed Ravelry Pattern Page
Size: roughly 84″/220cm in diameter which is larger than the pattern’s projected 72″ diameter
Yarn: Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool – 4.12 skeins in Natural. Four whole skeins and 27grams from a fifth one. Thank goodness, I bought more when it went on sale again in February.
Needles: HiyaHiya #10.5/6.5mm 120cm/60″ bamboob circulars with an additional bamboo 100cm/40cm circular of the same size to finish the edging.
Modifications: None, really. I used techknitter’s circular CO, which is my preferred circular cast-on. Video for that here. As an added tip, for the double YOs: I knit 1, purled 1 into the first YO and then knit 1 into the second.
Tools/Notions: Used lifelines a few times and stitch markers always for lace.
Cost of Project: For the four skeins, $28 but with the fifth, an additional $7. I bought these needles specifically for the project when I bought the pattern in 2010. I think the needles were $10.
Would I knit it again? Doubtful. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, but the longer it took to knit, the more it became this big chore to finish. The reason that I wanted to do this so bad was because I loved my experience with the other blanket. This one was OK. I’d totally do another lace blanket again, but perhaps not this one.

Have a good weekend! For more FOs, go to Tami’s Amis.

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