Lap Blanket

Ever since I saw the Pixie Dust Lap Blanket on Purlbee.com, I've wanted to make one for myself.  Unfortunately, I could not find any yarn store in Vancouver that stock Knit Collage's Pixie Dust yarn; I also could not justify spending the money on this very luxurious yarn.  I started hunting for a substitute yarn a while ago, and I finally found the Malabrigo Gruesa in Art of Yarn when I was in Kelowna.  I could not believe how difficult it was to find a think and thin yarn, but there it was the Gruesa sitting in a basket right next to me as I walked into the yarn store.  I did not know how many skeins I would need for the project, so I went for seven skeins which was the number of skeins of Pixie Dust required in the original project.

I casted on 75 stitches and knitted the 1x1 rib pattern with a 9 mm needle, but I thought the blanket felt a little too dense, so I took the blanket apart and knitted it again with a 10 mm needle.  This time around I casted on 79 stitches instead because I wanted the blanket to be slightly wider.  This was very fast to knit up and it was perfect for those hours that I spent in front of the TV catching up on The West Wing.

I finished knitting the blanket in about a week.  The finished blanket measures 25" wide and 36" long when not stretched.  The stitches are not crazy tight but I can see going for a larger size needle if I were to make this again.  I am very pleased with my yarn choice; it was very ideal for this project; the blanket is warn and heavy, and it is very plush.  The Pixie Dust would probably be as nice, but the shimmer in Pixie Dust would not match my home decor as nicely as the Gruesa.  My cats absolutely love the blanket.  There were a few times that my cats gave me the stare when I had the blanket on my lap, and they looked so happy when I gave up the blanket and let them sit on it instead.