Crazy talk

So a few weeks ago, I joined a group on Ravelry. It's called the Battlestar Galactica Fleet Power Battle (FPB) group and if you are on Ravelry, and any sort of a BSG/Sci Fi geek, I encourage you to check it out. If you join up, please tell them I referred you because if you do, my team gets points. In which case you might want to try to get on my team that you are giving points to. I'm on the Cylon basestar. We will be battling against the Galactica and Pegasus battlestars.

Yes, I'm a total geek.

The gist of the game is to complete smallish projects, at least one per month, of my choice that fit within the parameters of various briefings...or themes. The sample briefing was to do a project that reflected Starbuck's valor. This can be taken a whole lot of different ways and everything is open to interpretation. I am in hardcore baby knitting mode, so it would seem that most of my projects will be baby-related items.

The game lasts three months and we can apply for Viper/Raider training (for colonials it's viper training, for cylons, it's raider training...I'm a cylon). This will be a project that challenges us. We have all three months to complete the project, as opposed to one month for each briefing project. We have to write up a little submission for our training project and submit it for approval, since raider training will bring our team many more points.

I was thinking about doing a blanket for raider training. I started a mitered square blanket (the one from Mason-Dixon Knitting) a few weeks ago and have been waffling about how big to make it. I think I am going to make it small. Lovey sized...car seat/stroller sized. I was going through my queue looking at blankets I have thought about making, and there it was.

My African Adventure (Ravelry link).

For those of you not on Ravelry, you can see photos and read about it here: clicky link.

I told you it was crazy talk. Yes, we are waiting to bring home a baby and I think I am going to finish this in three months starting May 25th. Knit Night really will become my salvation.

Now, I know that this blanket is not for everyone, but when I first saw it last year, I fell in love. Serious love. Crazy talk love. I think it is totally awesome. Thing is, it isn't so much a pattern as a list of notes and suggestions. The designer is named Horst Schultz and he's an artist-type who taught a class on this in South Africa at some point. His students put together pieces and he went home to Germany or wherever, put them all together, and then sent them the blanket back. The "pattern" is basically project notes and patterns for the different pieces, with suggestions on how to put it all together. His blanket has all kinds of random colors in it. I am partial to the one in that link above. The reds are calling to me. I have seen some done/started in very bright contrasting colors and others in blues/teals/greens. But the reds are calling to me.

I'll need lots of colors of yarn...I'd like at least 8-10 for interest and variation. I don't plan to make mine bed-sized. I'm thinking 4-6 of the "blocks"...each "block" consisting of 9 shells. I've also seen a version where the blanket was constructed in panels, and I like it, but not as much as the version in "blocks".

Yes, I'm a little crazy. I love this design so much, though, that I am super excited now that I have committed to it in my head. I've been researching yarn all day. I want to do it in DK weight...it needs to be washable, and I prefer wool because there are a lot of ends to weave in and I always feel that goes better with wool than with cotton or acrylic. I settled on using Mission Falls 136, a superwash DK weight merino. Nobody around here seems to sell it, but they have it at Hill Country Weavers and I need to drive down there again soon to get our police clearances apostilled. So I'll be able to stop in and choose colors in person, which is nice. It's hard to do that over a computer. I do wish it was a less expensive yarn, but this isn't something I want to skimp on...you don't spend three months knitting an heirloom with yarn you don't like.

I tried hard to find a Knit Picks yarn that would work, but the only DK superwash wool they have just isn't in the right colors and there is one other yarn that might be okay color-wise, but it isn't machine washable and I really don't want this to a be a hand-wash item. I really wish KP had more color selection on their lines and less different types of yarns.

I intend for this to be N's as she grows up. Her special blanket. I hope she ends up loving the pattern as much as I do. I will name mine Our Russian Adventure, since I am sure a great deal of it will get knit in mid-air.