Lap Blankets

I can finally show you my biggest Christmas gifting project! (Note - that means the last recipient only just got theirs today, but that's besides the point.) You got a sneak peak earlier. I actually made two of these, one for my Dad and my step-mom, and one for my aunt and uncle.



First, major credit goes to brooklyntweed for coming up with this pattern. Please stop reading this now and go look at his blog. He makes the most amazing, jaw-dropping stuff. Really, go, you can come right back.



It's actually a doily pattern, knitted in the round, but when done in bulky yarn it turns out blanket-sized. Brilliant, seriously.



And shall we discuss blocking? These guys are between 4 and 5 feet across, and needed a decent stretching to allow the lace to open up. Enter homasote. Homasote boards are these giant slabs of recycled paper used for ceiling tiles and soundproofing. I had to get the nice Home Depot guys to cut the board into thirds so it could fit in my car. Upholster with a bit of muslin, arrange on the floor, and they're ideal for sticking pins into. They also hide nicely behind a door when not in use. And so much cheaper than commercial blocking boards!



The yarn for the brown one came from KnitPicks. This was my first time ordering yarn online, an idea I was wary of at first. Now I'm no expert, but they certainly have my seal of approval. Except that they called this color "taupe." That was clearly an oversight on someone's part, and I have since renamed it "latte."



Maybe next fall I'll break down and make one for myself. I love the idea of something afghan-y to curl up with on the couch. Or maybe my quilt will do the trick, when I get there. And the list of projects grows longer!