While Miz Kittling Knits: Karen Pirie

 

Now that I want to knit afghans to donate to the Arizona Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, I seem to have a waiting list filled with other deserving recipients. Isn't that always the way? I'm knitting one that was requested by Denis, there are three that I want to make for the veterans, one for the woman who comes to the house to cut our hair, and one for her mother who's in a nursing home. Tucker also told me how much the residents of the nursing home loved handmade things, that they would sit in their wheelchairs and continuously stroke the afghans lying across their laps. Yikes! I could get more knitting done if I cut back on my reading, but you know that's not going to happen. Hmm...

I'd better stop yapping and show you the latest afghan to come off my busy needles so I can get back to stitching. 

This newest afghan is from my go-to book, Leisure Arts' Big Book of Quick Knit Afghans. The pattern is called "Congenial", and it calls for US size 17 circular needles and two strands of yarn. From experience, I've learned that these afghans knitted with large needles and using double strands of yarn can pull out of shape and create what Denis refers to as "toe holes" where your little piggies can stick out and get cold. As a result, I decided to monkey around with this pattern a bit. Using the needles the pattern called for, I used three strands of yarn instead of two: one strand of Red Heart's 100% acrylic in "Bright Yellow", and two strands of Cascade Yarn's 100% acrylic Cartwheel in a colorway called "Sioux Falls". (Interesting name, eh?)

I love how it turned out. The colors blend so well, and they remind me of sunflowers. Truth be told, although I always make afghans longer than what the pattern calls for, I went to town on this one. I guess I was enjoying myself too much! Let me show you what I mean.

I didn't realize that I'd actually made a blanket until Denis put it on the bed in the guest room to show me. Speaking of Denis, he's already had several nice, warm sleeps under this afghan, so it's been tested out before being laundered and given to its intended recipient. (Something tells me Denis is going to insist on "test snoozing" all future afghans.)

What was one of the programs I watched while making this beauty? 

Based on Val McDermid's series (which I really enjoy and am woefully behind on), here's the synopsis to the first season of Karen Pirie:

"Karen is a refreshingly normal and charmingly unfashionable young woman. While she is not slick or a maverick cop, her quick mouth and ingenuity make her an impressive investigator. Following her promotion to Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit, Karen is tasked with reopening the investigation into a murder that has been the subject of a provocative true crime podcast. When teenage barmaid Rosie Duff was stabbed to death in 1995, suspicion fell on the three drunken students who discovered her body. But despite police suspicion, the boys were never charged. Nearly 25 years on, DS Karen Pirie is determined to uncover what happened that fateful night. Do the men know more than they previously revealed? When Karen uncovers flaws in the initial investigation, she finds herself in conflict with the very officers who led the original hunt for the killer."

 

I enjoyed the Scottish scenery, and I enjoyed the adaptation of the book. Lauren Lyle is a good choice for portraying Karen Pirie. (One of the last scenes of the season closer had me cheering loudly from my recliner. The only reason why I didn't stand to cheer is because I didn't want to drop any stitches on this afghan.) With any luck, this will enjoy a long run with many seasons, and I'm looking forward to watching (and stitching my way through) all of them.