Taimh Riut
A center-out lap blanket with Old Shale lace, perfect for snuggling up with your sweetheart
"M'anam-sa a' deanamh taimh riut/ a' lorg sith am measg an stoirm" --"Dan", Catriona NicGumaraid bho Re Na H-Oidche "My soul makes its home with you/ seeking peace amid the storm” -- "Song" by Catriona Montgomery from The Length of the Night As knitters we often express love in our knitting, and I've always believed that when two people fall in love and embark on a life together, they need a blanket. Something to wrap up tight in on a cold night. I named this pattern after the beautiful Scottish Gaelic poem quoted above which expresses more beautifully what it is to find the person you want to make a home better than I ever could. The old shale pattern reflects the waves crashing in a storm from the poem. This blanket is made from hard-wearing native wool, spun at a local mill. It's beautiful and functional and will last through a lifetime of not very careful use and abuse. It is an object to be lived in and with, like love itself. It is made from the center-out and so the size is ultimately up to you. Make it until you're happy with the size or you run out of yarns. The gauge is also flexible. Use your favorite yarn and adjust the needle size to one that creates the density you like.
Particulars
Gauge (not crucial, at all. I mean I really wouldn't even bother if I were you but it would feel lazy of me as a designer if I didn't include it): 14 sts/ 20rows per 4"/10cm Finished Measurements: 52"/ 132 cm on all four sides
Materials
Yarn: New Lanak Chunky (100% Scottish Wool; 132 yards/121 meters per 100 gr skein) 11 skeins, or more or less depending on size desired (approx 6 for baby blanket and 15 for bedspread), shown in Bramble 1 set of US size 10.5/ 6.5 mm double-pointed needles 1 US size 10.5/ 6.5 mm 36" circular needle, and a 45 or 60" cable may also be desired towards the end of knitting as the blanket expands 9 stitch markers, one of which is quite distinctive from the others
Pattern
Cast on and Increase
This blanket is cast-on from the middle and worked out to desired size. Use your dpn's to cast on four stitches, then knit one round, placing your different stitch marker at the start of the round. You can use any cast-on, such as the disappearing loop cast-on (http://techknitting.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/casting-on-from-middle-disappearing.html) or Emily Ocker's circular cast-on (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vkpqdea-6o) but the method I use is a bit more cheater-y and haphazard, for all that it completely disappears in the knitting and is very secure. Lay 4 of your dpn's into a small square (three in a triangle is fine too), then run the end of the yarn through the center. Hold this end while you work. Wrap the working yarn around each needle in turn. Just a simple wrap. If you are using three needles, wrap two next to each other, rather than say the first and last. Flip it over so the end of the yarn is sticking up from the center of your work (so it will be on the wrong side) Then, knit the loop in a round, pulling tight as you go. This feels very insecure and will take a few increase rounds before you aren't constantly worrying about needle slipping off.
Now, immediately begin working the increase chart. This chart is repeated four times in each round. The cast-on stitches are now the center stitch in the chart. Place a stitch marker between each row on the chart. Every round is charted. You will want to move your stitch markers (see next section) on the last row of the chart. Knit O yo no stitch k2tog purl
Powered bywww.chart-minder.com
Continuing after first increase
Now that you have finished the first chart it is time to move and place the rest of your stitch markers, then continue in the main pattern. On the last row of the increase chart move your stitch markers so that there is one on either side of the center stitch on the pattern. This should mean 18 stitches are moved outside the stitch markers. Now there is only one stitch in between the stitch markers and 18 or 36 outside them. You can now start the main pattern Inside the stitch markers repeat the increase chart. Outside them knit in an Old Shale stitch pattern. The increase chart and main body should be aligned so you are purling all across everyfourthround Old Shale:
Row 1 &2: knit
Row 3: k2tog three time, \*yo k1\* six times, K2tog three times Row 4:Purl Once you finish the next increase chart, repeat the movement of the stitch markers and continue in this way. Work the increase chart a total of four times (or until desired size), then work until you have completed the ninth row of the next chart then bind-off
Picot bind-off
This is a simple and beautiful bind-off that finishes this blanket neatly but decoratively. It uses more yarn than a single round. I used about 2/3 of a skein to finish the blanket at this size, so if you are making to a different size be sure you have enough yarn . Cast on 2 stitches Move those stitches back on to the left needle Bind off four stitches Repeat until no stitches are left. Weave in ends, wash, and block. If you lack a large unused space in your house I found it can be successfully blocked on a wall with thumbtacks, but you need a lot of tacks and ideally to have put it through a spin only cycle in your washer to remove most of the water and weight
