Finally it is finished! I am so very happy to have it done. And so very happy that Dear One loves it. He has had it on his lap almost every time I go into his "room"/"man cave"/tv room. That really pleases me.
The blanket was designed by Arella Seaton. You can see her beautiful version on Ravelry. I was very fortunate to be chosen as one of her test knitters. I was not as fast as I should have been and took five weeks longer than the test knitting period to complete it, but it is now done, and in use!
The version I made, with Bartlettyarns two-ply wool in three different colors, almost completely covers the top of our king size mattress. It was actually supposed to be about 72" by 72" but that is only if you use the yarn called for and meet the gauge projected.
May I say I am so happy with the way the blanket came out. Arella designed a beautiful blanket, wrote up a good, clear, easy-to-follow pattern, and gave good support when requested by test knitters. If I was asked again, I would knit one of her designs. I would not use this extra heavy yarn, though. One Saturday I spent more than eight hours knitting in an effort for finish before the end of the month. I was unable to knit for almost a week after that. Live and learn. The last of the knitting I did only in no more than one-hour segments. Even today, working with fingering weight yarn on US 3 needles, I am only working one hour at a time to get my body back into shape. (I also found that 90-minute swims aggravated the situation, so those are out the window for a while. Will I learn? Maybe. Pain is rather a strong teacher!)
