FO | Valere Summer Rainbow

My knitting is so often out of sync with both trends and weather, I'm as surprised as you to find I've finished this summery version of Valere while it's actually summer. And the timing couldn't be better.

Mornings and evenings have been delightfully cool, and this blanket is the perfect weight to throw over bare legs or drape around bare shoulders (yep, I've been known to do that) to ward off the chill. The fact that it's made with soft Cotton Fleece adds to its summery feel.

The last time you saw this, the borders were curling and the usual lumps and bumps found in works in progress were highly visible. Blocking worked its magic, so the borders lay flat, the stitches have relaxed and the bumps have disappeared.

This version features five fresh shades plus four colors from the Vivid version, and it's interesting to see how differently the repeated colors (Lapis, Cherry Moon, Mint, Tropical Coral) appear against a cream rather than black background. From bottom to top (in the order worked), the colors are:

• Left strip: Lapis, Hawaiian Sky, Provincial Rose
• Center strip: Sugar Plum, Light Jade, Tropical Coral
• Right strip: Cherry Moon, Mint Condition, Buttercream

There are other differences as well. Somehow, I managed to cast on with the wrong needle size (that's what happens when most of your knitting occurs late at night after a full work day), and by the time I realized my error, I'd completed one full strip. 

Rather than frog and restart, I decided to continue as I'd begun and work a deeper border to offset the slightly smaller dimensions. The end result is actually wider than the first Valere and only one inch shorter, so it was a good solution. (For the record, all the banners are the same size, they just appear to be different due to the camera angle.)

Valere Summer Rainbow Afghan

Pattern: Coming soon!
Yarn: Cotton Fleece (Brown Sheep)
Needles: US 7 (5 mm), US 8 (5.5 mm)
Size: Small / baby
Dimensions: 27 x 35 ins
Yardage: ~630 yards

Playing with fiber and color is such fun, I'm sorely tempted to cast on another to experiment with different combinations. I keep picturing this design worked in various shades of gray, or striped banners against a solid background, or solid banners in a light shade worked with a darker one for the background, or red banners set against a white border and framed in blue, or ... You get the picture.

For now, those color experiments will have to wait. Eager to see how Herlacyn Heatwave plays out, I am (at least for today) motivated to stay focused. We'll see just how long that lasts.

Looking for the pattern? It's been released, and you can click here to buy it now!

Want to learn more about this design? Click here to see the pattern release post.

Seeking ideas for a rainbow project? Check out 7 Cheerful Rainbow Color Combos.