Lizard Ridge in the Sun

The minute the skies drop their leaden grey and everywhere is bursting with green, I am seized by the urge to declutter and wash everything in reach. This urge never lasts very long, so I move quickly before it fizzles out. These throws live in the busiest room in the house so were the first things to be thrown in the machine. Yes, I know they should be hand washed and carefully blocked. They were the first few times but now I know they will survive a cold wool wash in the machine using ecover's wool product. Careful matching of seams and pegging means they stay in shape and dry very quickly. The finishing touch is a thorough going over with my battery operated debobbler.

Laura Aylar's Lizard Ridge blanket appeared in Knitty fall 2006 and was based on a pattern by Barbara G Walker. I don't know anybody who didn't fall in love with her design, however, most were put off by the cost of buying so much Kureyon. When I visited Japan the following summer, the pound was very strong so I spent just under three pounds a ball. I also managed to track down twenty different colourways.

After the heat and humidity of a Japanese summer I always feel it is autumn when we return to London in August so I started knitting this project right away. I set myself the goal of one block a day and it flew off the needles. Knitting with Noro is wildly exciting as I can't wait to see which colour appears next. I had intended to sew up the blocks as I went along but quickly realised that the vast range of colours meant a more pleasing result would be gained at the end. For several days the blocks lay arrange on the lounge floor. People would drift in, swap a few around until I took the plunge. As I'd steamed each block into shape, the sewing together with mattress stitch was not too painful just time consuming. I loved the result and it really is a blanket;large enough for a single bed.

I knit the second throw because a Noro cardigan had developed a hole. I decided to recycle the yarn and alternated it with black aran wool. Instead of knitting blocks I knit strips which eliminated a lot of the sewing but was not as heavy as trying to knit the whole blanket on a long circular needle. I used the same method for the third throw which was made using all my left over green aran and Noro.