Knitting a Blanket

Those of you who know me personally know that I am never without a craft of some sort to keep my hands busy.  Sometimes you only get to see little bits and pieces before the project gets too big for me to just carry around.  You should also know that when I go thrift shopping, I also have a tendency to pick up random items because they are pretty and I want to make something out of whatever it is I just put into the cart.

This is how I started the knitted blanket.  I thought the yarns were pretty together, I already had some in stock, but for the longest time I couldn't figure out exactly what should be made of it.  I had tried a sweater, a vest, a hat, a scarf; but each of these projects got ripped out time and again because it just wasn't right.  Finally it hit me! A blanket would be perfect.  So I experimented with some swatches, got the right set of knitting needles, and stopped.

I had no idea how to knit a blanket.  I had no pattern in my mind, just a vague idea of a finished project.  One night, while I was out with my boyfriend and his friends who were all playing Magic the Gathering, I started to just fiddle around with the yarn and some different techniques I had read of in some 1980's knitting magazines.  Eventually I made something I was pleased with and just kept going.  The alternating rows of yarn came later, and partly as a consequence of the center square.

Currently, the blanket is just shy of a four foot square.  I don't know what size it will be when I am done. My goal is to simply use up all of the yarn - that's when the blanket will be "done".

Until then, may your stitches be straight and may your thread never tangle.