Revolution

I'm back home from Baby Shower Weekend and I'm happy to report that the knitting went over big. And I can finally tell you all about it!



Pattern: Revolution by Woolly Thoughts
Yarn: Filatura Zara in Red, Yellow, Medium Blue, & Fresh Green (2 skeins each-8 total)
Source: Yarnela
Needles: Size 4 Knitpicks Options
Dimensions before blocking: 29.5 inches across
Final Dimensions (after wet blocking): 35 inches across
Modifications: None, really. I just did an icord bind off instead of a regular one.

First off, let me start with the pattern. I really like the people over at Woolly Thoughts. They sell the pdf versions of Revolution (along with most of their other gorgeous afghan patterns) and they go above and beyond with all they provide in that little pdf. The whole blanket is row after row of garter stitch, so it's fairly mindless, but it's in little rectangular chunks, so I really felt like I got something done each night.

My issue with the blanket is the picked up stitches. Even after trying it a million different ways and researching like crazy to find new methods, I never found a method of picking up the stitches that looked neat enough for my taste. Because of the round design, the picked up stitches pull against the existing pieces a little more than they normally would and I just didn't like how that looked. My family said I was being too perfectionistic about it, but you know how it is. When you see something that you don't like, it's all you see.



I had never done an icord bind off before and I LOVE it. It creates such a nice smooth edge and it's super easy. I used the instructions from the Knitting Answer Book (a little gem my friend Apa got me for my birthday) and they were great.

Blocking did help a lot on this guy. It was super lumpy and wouldn't lay flat at all at first, but wet blocking had it laying flat as a pancake. Unfortunately, it got kinda rippley after it was folded up for the gift giving. I couldn't get it to lay flat again for the pictures, but I'm over it. I'm sure the baby won't be smoothing it flat to the ground every 5 seconds like I have been.



I'd like to tell you that you've seen the last of baby knits for a while, but I doubt that is true. Just looking at Cola's belly gets me pretty motivated to get knitting. And I have at least 3 more babies that deserve something special (get ready, Kara!) In the meantime, though, I am psyched to get started on my Ohio hoodie. Swatching will begin this week!