S.H.I.E.L.D.!

"What does S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for, Agent Ward?"
"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division."
"And what does that mean to you?"
"It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out 'SHIELD'."

This is the first square in what will become the most epic blanket in my home.  Coming across this pattern is what got me started on this little adventure of a project, so naturally it's the one I started with.

While the SHIELD logo brings to mind several great characters -- Maria Hill, Skye, Peggy Carter, and the Head Badass himself, Nick Fury -- my absolute favorite and the inspiration for this square is Agent Phil "His-First-Name-is-Agent" Coulson.  Coulson is a great SHIELD Agent, willing to do whatever it takes and even (*literally*) give his life for the cause, and yet he still manages to see the good in people and treat his team like family.  I love his playful sense of humor -- even in the face of danger -- and his adorable, ever-present smile.  I heart this man.

As this was my first real experience with double-sided knitting (again, there's an awesome tutorial here) it did take some time to get used to dealing with two strands of yarn and keeping them straight.  Also, since you're basically alternating knits and purls, the most important thing to remember is to make sure you bring both strands forward or back.  You do eventually get into a nice rhythm, and then the only thing you have to worry about is keeping track of where you are on the color chart, and whether the row you're on is 'front' or 'back' (the chart runs from right-to-left, then left-to-right for the next row, and so on).  It was actually a lot easier than I was first expecting.

Since the square is worked from the bottom up, I was about three-quarters of the way through before my husband guessed the design...I think he's a bit disappointed in himself, considering we watch the show almost religiously.  We'll see how he does next time.  Now, I just need to decide which side I want as the "right" side for my blanket...

You end up with a nice reversible design

Original pattern can be found here.