Blanket envy

Yes I know I should be working on my Shaelyn or finishing up a pair of little socks for DS2 (my first foray back into sock knitting after giving myself RSI earlier in the year), but the weather has turned cooler, the leaves are flying off the trees and my thoughts are turning to blankets - specifically these little beauties:

This

and this

and this

Now I do have some Noro Silk Garden in my stash but it is one of those brown/green/grey colourways which can look a bit muddy by itself. But I do have some King Cole Riot DK which was an impulse purchase recently. It has long colour repeats - like Noro and is single plied - like Noro, but the colours are a little less subtle - at least in this colourway.

The yarn is quite splitty to knit with and some sections are fairly loosely spun, but overall I quite like the effect. And if you are looking at something of blanket proportions, the King Cole option is decidedly more economical - always a bonus.

Anyway - a day off work sick with a head cold, some time on my hands and a new ball of yarn yielded this first attempt. I haven't really worked with mitred squares before and I love how quick and simple they are. One square like this is about 10 inches across so a blanket 3x3 would make a great cot/crib/pram blanket perhaps. I'm not 100% sure about the yarn yet but my sister is a childminder and her little ones aren't too fussy - lol.