Yggdrasil Afghan

So, remember how I said I was going to give you a preview of this project?  Well, you're in luck today because I finished it over the weekend.  Yup, it's allll done, all 2184 yards of it (that's 1.25 miles!).  I will probably deliver it to the lucky mommy-to-be on Thursday.  So Vicki, if you're reading this, please avert your eyes until later this week!

I'd had this pattern in my queue for a while, but never had a good occasion to knit it before now.  What better occasion than a new baby with whom to share a "tree of life" pattern?  Here is the completed blanket:

(Sorry for the crummy picture.  The finished blanket is about 58" square, so it was tough to get a good angle for a picture, plus fight naughty kitty off it)

Here is a better image of the center square:

This one is truer to the right color, too.  The "tree" section was probably the most difficult because I had to be sure of where I left off in the chart, making certain that all the rows line up properly.  But the effort is worth it--the end result was inspired by the Norse myth of Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life, complete with tree, Celtic braid, and leaf border (larger picture).

The free download of the pattern by Linda Jacobs is available here for those ambitious enough to try it.  It's not especially hard, but requires some advanced techniques like cables, reading charts, grafting, picking up stitches, and working in the round.  It has a pretty cool construction--you start from the very center of the tree pattern, working in the round from the inside out.  Doable, but not great for "tv knitting."

By the end, I was starting to moan that it was taking too long (~6 weeks--hey, that's a lot for me!) and taking up too much space on the couch when I was working on it, but given that it required 2184 yards and is 58" square, that's not surprising.  And I didn't even knit the largest size!  I could have made it 74" square, but I thought ~5' was a good size for a toddler to grow into and treasure later in life. 

My favorite part is that I used Knit Picks simply cotton, which is a deliciously soft completely organic undyed cotton.  It's machine washable and there no artificial ingredients whatsoever--perfect for a little yogini!  I don't think the entirely organic product is available anymore.  They do still have the organic cotton, but the dye for the heathers is artificial.  Still machine washable and wondrously soft, though.

So congratulations to Vicki!  I hope you and Little Violet get many years of love and joy out of this blankie!

Cheers,

-Allie