Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Bear necessities

About nine years ago, when I finally moved out on my own, my father began rennovating the basement in their house.

In a matter of months, my old bedroom was turned into the dye studio. A small portion of the sitting area got turned into a workroom for him. And bit by bit, as time and money have allowed, he's turned the rest of it into a comfy family room - with his own decorating style. (Cabin in the woods meets country farmstead).

Last month, he finally got the floor finished and moved some furniture in.
His plan has always been that this space will be our new gathering place for holidays. And though it's month away, he's really looking forward to our first Christmas down there.

So I've started working on something very special for him to open on Christmas day.
A cozy afghan that will fit right in with his theme. (And with my "year of colour".)

I found the "Spirit Bear" square at the start of the year while looking for other colourwork projects and it got my wheels turning. The designer of the chart has a whole series of "spirit" animals. I'd originally considered a pillow or two, but then I got to thinking about a nice big blanket, as the basement can get a little chilly.

Dad's favourite colour is green, so I dug out some Regia Silk 6-Ply from the stash. I have 14 balls of it. I'd bought it ages ago for a sweater, but found it just a touch too scratchy. I've paired it with some natural Stray Cat.

I'm not sure how many squares I'll be able to make before I run out of Regia. But I have an endless supply of the Stray Cat, so I can make plain or textured squares to fill in if I need to.

It's going to fun watching this one come together over the course of the year!

10 comments:

Samantha said...

He did a beautiful job on the basement. The blanket is the perfect gift for him. :)

Anonymous said...

He is going to be over the moon when he opens that gift. You will have to take a photo for us to enjoy.

kathy b said...

I think he did a wonderful job. I love the WOOD work.
Your gift will be perfect. I love Bears and blankets.
He will be so thrilled.

Sue said...

What a great room he has created. I love the bear square, cant wait to see it as an afghan.

CelticCastOn said...

This is going to be so great!

Delusional Knitter said...

Beautiful room. Our basement was recently all torn up (due to it not being done right by the previous owners) so we have a fresh slate to work with. Around supporting studs of course. I would love a room like that, whew! Awesome colorwork, it looks great!

Unknown said...

Oh, that looks like the perfect, cozy room for Christmas celebrations. And I LOVE the blanket you are planning and making. It's going to be an awesome gift.

Araignee said...

That's a fabulous project. It seems your dad has the same taste in decor that we do. Our man cave looks just like that. Even my lady level has that same woodsy look. LLBean meets Ikea.

Rachelle said...

That's going to look amazing!

Minding My Own Stitches said...

Love this square already! And I'm pretty impressed with Dad's decorating style as well! I can just imagine a Christmas tree in there!