DIY exchange - spring 2007

this is the diy exchange cloth i received. i think it was knitted by kay. matches my independence day basket.

finished pink blanket ready to go

in the box, just needs the washing instructions sheet and the little baggie of yarn stapled to the sheet. oh, and yes, the ribbons have butterflies on them. i opted not to run the ribbon thru the eyelets at the top for safety.

finished pink blanket

i started in january making this pink lace blanket for my dog pirets' specialist veterinarian. it went well until i had to start the yellow one. both are for july babies so that was a lot to bite off. knitting lace is not the easiest thing in the world when you have obsessant dogs and a parrot around as the interruptions require that you count and count and recount. wow, thanks to all of you who have sent me stitch markers. they have ALL been used at some point. at the beginning of february, pirets got severely ill spending almost a week in the hospital and 2 months of special needs. his vet never failed him - thru morning sickness and hormonal changes, she remained true to him. but in june, this blanket turned into a love/hate relationship. i was so close to it being finished and i loved it's pattern but i had knitted mostly on only it and the yellow blanket and i was about blanketed out. ahhhh, but with knitters, we persist in creating our magic with 2 sticks and some string and the blanket is now a lovely gift i can't wait to give to pirets' veterinarian. mostly it's been a ball and i can think of no other person so deserving of this kind of work of love. i have about 180 hours into this blanket as i knitted the entire 2 months that pirets was sick focusing on him and the blanket. i truly hope dr. laura loves it. oh, and you can't see much of it, but the quilt the blanket is on is "bumpie's quilt" made expecially for bump by a good friend. it was blue for my favorite color, had butterflies in one of the fabrics, is quilted around the edge with hearts for his valentine's birthday, in the center with star's for my name, and has a large piecwork butterfly on on the back made with the fabric with the butterflies in it. she also made a pillow. i'll try to get everyone a picture of it but it's obvious this lady knew me. it's also made with cotton batten so it will pucker when washed. but back to the blanket, the pattern is purchaseable "diamonds for rhiannon", sirdar snuggly dk yarn, # 6's. 27 1/2 x 29 1/2 and i did purchase a liner for the blanket.