Friday, July 27, 2007

Almost a complete school

Looks like I am finally reaching the end of my tessellating fish project. As of today I have 13 rows of fish...that's a total of 104 fish. Originally I had thought I would need 20 rows of fish to complete the blanket, but now I'm not sure what do do? Should I stop at 15 or keep going? I have enough yarn. The blanket is on top of our queen sized bed. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance :)

I really love how they all fit so nicely together. The braided crochet seaming works great!
Click on the photo for a close-up.

I'm using Knitting Arrow's pattern. The original tessellating fish (with the bobble eye and smile) pattern came from an Knitter's Magazine issue 51 (Summer 1998) which is difficult to find. I have since learned that the pattern has been reproduced in Babies & Toddlers: A Knitter's Dozen. This pattern is written as a chart. So if you like knitting with charts I would recommend giving this book a try. Personally though I am very pleased with the way my blanket has come together so nicely. I'm even thinking that my next one will be made with odds and end of cotton. I think it would make a beautiful beach towel.

Today my youngest and I had to do an errand, so we checked out Joann's and Michaels in North Attleboro. I usually frequent the Joann's in Milford because it's close, but I just have to say that the Joann's in North Attleboro is just fabulous and is definitely worth the trip. It's a super big store. The yarn department has all the new Bernat yarns including the organic cottons and wools. This is the best display of yarn I've seen recently. My son got the modeling supplies that he wanted, but I scored in the clearance bin 7 more skeins of Modea Cartwheel in the blue/greys (haize) for 97 cents each. This usually goes for $5.99 a skein. It really felts well. I used the same yarn in my felted tote . I was happy :)

Then we checked out Michaels...they had a clearance bin there, too. Here I scored five skeins of the big Sugar and Cream. Two white and two natural (14 oz. each) and one variegated patio pinks (12 oz.). They were only $2.00 each. I sure wish I had been there when they had more colors. Isn't that a great deal? I figure that after I knit all the cloths and towels I want...I'll have plenty yarn for a cotton fish blanket or towel. You can't have too much yarn...can you?

Well, guess I'll leave you with that thought! Happy knitting :)

23 comments:

  1. You're blanket is amazing!! You have come a long way! What are you planning on using it for? I guess that is what would determine if you want to make it bigger....
    Sounds like you made some great yarn finds today! Don't you love finding bargains on yarn that you love to use? Happy Knitting!!

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  2. Oh my, I'm just in awe of your blanket. It looks to be a really good size as it is if you want to display it folded at the foot of the bed or some other way. I think I would use it as a display piece in a guest bedroom. However you decide; it's just beautiful!

    No, of course you cannot have too much yarn!! Good for you getting those great prices on the wool and cotton yarns. Great bargains!

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  3. ooooh! the blanket is great! i agree with the other commenters that the size should be mainly determined by what the blanket will be used for.

    yay! clearance yarns! to me, there is something wrong about not taking advantages of great deals like that (whether or not you "need" the yarn)! : )

    p.s. i saw the bernat organics at our joanns and i thought the bamboo one was so amazingly soft!

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  4. The blanket is just amazing - and I can't believe how fast you've done it! Good for you finding some good buys!

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  5. I would get going as long as you like doing it. The bigger the blanket the better, in my opinion. It looks great by the way, so neat with the crochet connection, would have never thought it would. Great idea to make a beach towel! And there's never to much yarn in the house! ;o)

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  6. You so can never have too much yarn. And sale yarn so totally is a stash no brainer!!

    I love the blanket so much. I would say that if you're making the blanket for your Queen bed, you won't want to go much further than the 15 rows. It is slightly short for the bed so I think if you went up to like 20 rows it would look extra rectangular. But if you're using it for just a regular snuggle on the sofa kind of throw, you could get away with 15 as well, it looks like it would be a perfect size.

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  7. Love your fishy blanket and thanks for the link on Crochet Braiding.
    I have a few fish I made swimming around the old stash somewhere. Must go dig, err.. fish them out!

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  8. wow, the blanket looks wonderful! I love the stripey fish. What a great idea to do a cotton one! :)

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  9. What a beautiful blanket! I'm glad you got such great deals, especially on the cotton. A friend of mine knitted a blanket out of sugar n' cream cotton, and it's the heaviest, warmest afghan I've ever seen. Plus, it has the most beautiful "rustic" look, because it's not as soft as regular yarn.

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  10. I'm so impressed! I like how you joined as you went, that gives you a really good idea where you are as you go.

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  11. I love how this blanket is turning out.. it's gorgeous!! I've admired the pattern for awhile, but haven't got around to starting it yet. Your project is so inspiring.. I might just have to cast on!

    Thanks for the sweet comments on my blog about my dishcloths.

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  12. WOW! That is one fabulous fish blanket. I'm totally impressed. You should be so proud of yourself.

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  13. The beach towel idea is perfect for the pattern! Very nice. The black seaming give a little bit of stained glass effect.

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  14. Wow, your fish throw is amazing! I can't imagine knitting that many of the same thing.
    My knitting blog is new and I'm enjoying surfing other knitting blogs.
    :-)

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  15. Welcome home!
    The fish blanket looks just great! I think it's a great size but like someone else said, if you're not tired of working on it, why not keep going?

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  16. WOW!!! Your blanket is really coming together nicely! And what a pleasant surprise your son's little errand turned out to be.

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  17. Your school of fish are beautiful. I really may have to make one of those, maybe baby sized with left over sock yarn. I don't think I am up to one the size you are making. What great deals on your yarn.
    Happy knitting

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  18. I LOVE that blanket! I don't know if I would have the energy to do one for my boys... but it's beautiful. You may have given me an idea to use up my cotton stash... I was thinking a MD log cabin, but I'm afraid there are too many orphan skeins.... although I don't know... I'm so fickle! Love the black outline too! wish I could crochet!

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  19. Wow! I love the fish blankey! Got to try some of those little critters!

    Ang

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  20. I love looking at this blanket. The braided crochet seaming is such a perfect join for that school of fish! Yeay for clearance bins!

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  21. Thank you for posting photos of your beautiful blanket. I have linked my blog that gives directions for making the fish to your blog because it gives the history of the pattern.

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  22. I forgot to give you my blog address: http://tilla2-irisknits.blogspot.com/2006/02/tessellating-fish-knitting-pattern.html

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Thank you all for your comments! I really appreciate them. I usually don't follow up with an email, but if you do have a question please make sure you include a way to reach you within your comment so I may answer your question. Thanks and happy knitting :)

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