52 Weeks of Blanket Bliss

If you follow me on Instagram than you will know that in 2016 I started a “Cozy Memory” or “Sock Yarn” blanket. I called it my Sunday Blanket because I would knit one square each Sunday morning while my husband and I watched Sunday Morning On CBS and enjoyed a cup of coffee. Well…then came the holidays and I had some gifts I wanted to knit for Christmas so I laid the blanket aside and used my Sunday morning knitting time to work on those. Now that the holidays are over I want to get back to knitting my blanket.

But…

One of the things I didn’t like about my Sunday Blanket was the edge. I thought it looked a little…well…ragged. (I’m a very neat and orderly person.) I also didn’t like the construction of my blocks. There are many methods to making this blanket and the one I chose created squares that aren’t perfectly square and when attaching squares together you are left with a hole where the point of the square meets the other squares. (If that makes sense.) Of course you fix this when you weave in your ends but still…it bothered me. Anyway, it was ok but I wasn’t all that happy with it.

The thing about this blanket is…I want it to be a blanket that I can layout in my living room and everyone that comes over will want to cuddle under it. I want my kids to come home for the weekend and put on a good movie and curl up on the couch under this blanket. I want my family to ask me about the yarns and where they came from, how/why I chose them. I would say I want this blanket to be an “heirloom” but when I think of heirlooms I think of things that are put away and never used. I want this blanket to be used…a lot.

So I decided to start this project over. Don’t worry…the yarns from my previous blanket won’t be going to waste. I plan on ripping those squares out and re-using the yarn in my new blanket.

I want to add a border to this blanket so I’m using a provisional cast on for the squares along the edge and then I’ll add an i-cord border later. I also want the edge to be zig-zag so I will be offsetting my squares.

How will I choose the yarn for my squares? Well…randomly. In my Sunday Blanket I chose which color would go next by what squares were around it. This time I’m going to keep all the mini skeins that I will use in a basket and just randomly pull one out. Whichever one I pull out of the basket will be the next one I knit up. As simple as that – I’m not over thinking this thing.

But I had to start somewhere, so I knit my first square with yarn #1 from my Norah George Dinky Skein Advent – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

I really love the yarns I received in this Advent and it was so fun opening one everyday during December. I almost passed up on this but I’m so glad I didn’t and decided to gift it to myself. But you can find out more about the yarns I received on my Instagram.

And here’s the first square…

I’m using fingering weight yarn for my blanket but you can use any weight you like just as long as you’re consistent throughout your whole blanket.

So…to create my square I cast on 41 stitches using a provisional cast on. There are a few ways to do this and you can choose your favorite method. My favorite is using a crocheted chain.

I then knit the first row, knitting into the back of the last stitch. Then I turned my work and slipped my first stitch purlwise with the yarn in front, moved the yarn to the back and knit 19 stitches to the center 3 stitches, slipped 2 stitches together as if to knit, knit the next stitch and then passed the 2 slipped stitches over. I then knit to the last stitch and knit the last stitch through the back. Next, I turned my work, slipped the first stitch purlwise with the yarn in the front, moved my yarn to the back and knit across to the center stitch, purled the center stitch, knit to the last stitch and knit the last stitch through the back.

I kept repeating these same two rows until I had 3 stitches left on my needles. I then slipped 2 stitches together as if to knit, knit the next stitch and passed the 2 slipped stitches over. I then cut my yarn and passed it through the last remaining stitch to form a knot.

I like this square much more than my previous method. It’s very square and I got a really nice edge that will make picking up stitches later very easy.

This will be on on going project of course but I’ll keep you updated on my progress. I’m only one square in right now.

These blankets are very popular and I know a lot of knitters are making them. Are you? Maybe you haven’t started yet but would like too. I’d love to hear about your blanket. Leave a comment below and let me know about your plans for making one.