FO: Godzilla Ridge

Giant lizard, yes?

A few months ago, I started a giant version of the tremendous Lizard Ridge blanket, using Noro Hitsuji – the giant version of the Kureyon yarn that the Lizard Ridge design uses.  I called it “Godzilla Ridge” because my sci-fi fan hubby informs me that Godzilla is a giant lizard.  (If you don’t know the LiIzard Ridge pattern, I insist you go visit the page now and drool. It’s a masterpiece – a brilliant use for a sometimes challenging variegated yarn.)

I finished the Godzilla version this past weekend, and I am absolutely thrilled. It’s turned out better even than I had hoped.

 

I love it!

Finished size: an absolutely amazing 41 x 68 inches. What’s amazing about this is it’s just about the same size as the original blanket, the one I worked with 24 balls of Kureyon. It’s a good size for a small bed, or a big couch. Plenty of room for two people or one person and a big dog to cuddle under.

To give you a sense of how the Godzilla version compares to the standard version, here’s a detail shot of the two of them side by side.

Little and large.

New on top of original one, to compare size.

The details: I used 6 balls of Noro Hitsuji in color #4, and a long 8mm (US 11) circular needle.  Gauge after blocking is 9 sts/12 rows in 4 ins in st st.

The original blanket is worked on a pattern of 14 sts + 1. The full size one-color version is worked on 183 sts; the squares version created from 24 blocks worked on 43 sts. I cast on the equivalent of 2 squares worth of stitches – 83  (6 x 14 + 1). I worked the pattern as written, alternating two balls of yarn, until I’d just about run out. This gave me 12 repeats of the stripe pattern, which is the equivalent of three squares in length.

Quick, easy and gorgeous!

If I can get a full-size blanket by casting on two squares worth of stitches in width, and working the equivalent of three squares in length…. I had an idea for a further variation:  There are 14 colorways of the Hitsuji, all gorgeous and fabulous in their own way. You could work the squares as written, on 43 stitches, and create a 6-square (2 across, 3 down) blanket from 6 different colorways, in a nod to the original squares version.

(Note, if you choose to do this, another knitter told me that she ran a little short of yarn when she worked a 43-stitch square with the Hitsuji – skip the very first row of the pattern, thereby starting the first repeat with Row 2 rather than 1, but work 1-12 for the rest of the square.)

Note that I haven’t yet put a border on the blanket – my original has an applied i-cord border which I’m very happy with – I don’t know that the new one needs it.