Lizard Ridge Complete!

It is finally finished! I completed the edging this weekend. It feels so good to have this project complete. I think it is the largest most involved knitting project I've done (and completed) to date. I'm very happy with the final results.

When I started this project last year, I assumed that it would take a long time to finish. It did take awhile to finish, but I've had other projects languish on my needles for a much longer time period. So I am pleasantly surprised and satisfied with the working time for this project.

The seams turned out okay. It is the main skill I hope to improve on with later projects. This is the first project I've finished that required seaming and wasn't felted. You can see in the photo above a few places where the purple Cascade I used for the seaming shows.

I had also never knit a short row before this project. After 24 afghan squares made up of short rows, I am now confident I can knit short rows in other projects. Other than getting the hang of that, the pattern was really simple. In fact after a square or two, you don't really have to look at the pattern at all.

I deviated from the pattern only with the border portion. I decided that a crocheted edge wasn't going to work for me for a couple of reasons. One - I don't crochet and two - it is a knitted blanket and it seems like it should have a knitted edge. So I added a 3 stitch applied i-cord border around the outside edge. I was able to get that done in one day and it took a lot less yarn than I ever thought it would. I used a turquoise color Cascade 220. I still have over half of the skein left.

I love the idea of knitting blankets and afghans and I love Noro Kureyon. Although I must say, I do think this is the only blanket I'll knit out of Kureyon. I did wash all the squares before seaming and they did get a little softer, but it still doesn't seam like something you want to cozy up with next to bare skin.

I've decide not to line the backside of the blanket either. Somehow that just doesn't seem the right thing to do. So I've found a nice place to display the blanket. I can enjoy looking at it and if you have tougher skin than me, you'll always be welcome to wrap up with it.

Project Info
Pattern: Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor from Knitty.com
Yarn: Noro Kureyon - 24 different colors (I do have leftovers from each skein)
Cascade 220 for seaming and edging
Needles: addi TURBO -US# 8 (5.0mm)
Finished Dimensions: 42" wide / 63" long
Pattern Modifications: I didn't add a crocheted border, instead I used a 3 stitch applied i-cord edging; I used US #9 needles for the edging
Start Date: November 11, 2006
Finish Date: June 17, 2007