What is special about Glad Heart?
Besides being garter stitch squishy, and having two sizes of cute hearts?
Glad Heart is knit bottom up in one piece. The ribbed border on the heart is pushed around by increases and decreases, including:
- Assia Brill’s T-increase and p T-increase.
- My new Knit Bowl increase and Rib Bowl increase that mirror the multiple slipped stitch decrease.
- All four of the lifted increase family. I filmed a video about working lifted increases on top of lifted increases without puckering the rows.
- (k1, yo k1) in one stitch.
- The usual k2tog, ssk, p2tog ssp and their triple stitch kin.
All of these increases and decreases were chosen for their decorative qualities. Since both sides of a blanket come to hand, I wanted it as reversible as I could get it. I didn’t manage identical, but both sides are so tidy! But not so tidy that I got lost because I couldn’t tell if I was on a RS or WS row: the stockinette of the heart was knit on a RS and purled on a WS, so I kept track. I did need to put a sticky note on my chart though.
Before blocking, Glad Heart doesn’t look square on the needles and the heart balloons out. But after blocking, all that is fixed like a magic trick. Well, you know, a magic trick where you pull on your knitting a bit, but still…
Yarns for Glad Heart
870 (1160, 1880, 2790, 3865) yards 795 (1060, 720, 550, 3535) meters worsted yarn.
- Sample shown in 4 (6, 9, 13, 18) skeins of Valley yarns Haydenville Red number 13 [60 percent superwash Merino Wool 40 percent Acrylic Microfiber; 220 yards, 201 meters per 100 g skein]
- 4 (6, 9, 13, 18) skeins Cascade 220 Superwash merino [100 percent Superwash Merino Wool; 220 yards, 201 meters per 100 g skein]
- 5 (6, 9, 14, 19) skeins Malabrigo Rios [100 percent merino Wool; 210 yds, 192 m per 3.53 ounce, 100 g]
- 4 (6, 9, 13, 18) skeins Rowan Purl Wool Superwash worsted [100 percent Wool, 219 yds, 200m per 100 g skein]
- 8 (11, 18, 26, 36) Skeins Swish Worsted by Knit Picks 100 percent Merino Superwash; 110 yds, 100 m per 50 g skein]
The charity of Glad Heart
Glad Heart is a triple pun: is is decorated with a heart, it’s published on Valentine’s Day, and it’s to benefit the new cardio/thoracic unit at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya. I was listening to Dr White speak in my church about the new unit on Valentine’s weekend two years ago, and thought of the Merry Heart facecloth. Several of my designer friends suggested other applications. My Mom suggested that I name it, and the other patterns in this series, after hearts in the Bible, so this one is Glad Heart after Proverbs 23: 15 – 16 ”My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed; my inmost being will rejoice” NIV
For each blanket pattern sold, I will donate $5.00 for equipment for the building, Account #35270
I hope knitting this blanket makes your heart glad.
