And Another Two Bite the Dust

Stocking Stitch
Noro "Kureyon" Yarn (100% Wool)
4.5mm needles
I thought this self-striping yarn would be stripey-er and that this square would turn out very interesting and arty. I guess it's still kind of interesting, though less stripey than anticipated. I knit a small band vertically and then picked up stitches along the side and continued knitting to make a square.

Sand Wind Cable Pattern
Briggs & Little "Heritage" Yarn (100% Wool)
44 sts on 5mm needles
I love this cable pattern -- I think it looks like waves or sand dunes or something very organic and lovely.

Katelyn's First Square

From Katelyn:

"I am very excited to announce that I have completed my first square. Don't worry Kathy, I think I've changed the standards a little bit. You will notice that a put a little pattern in it. As much I would like to say that that was intentional- it had more to do with the fact that I got confused with what were knits and what were purls. But my second square is looking funky and nice and tight. Now that I've got this ball rolling (no pun intended) I think we'll definitely be able to meet our goal!"

I'll add here that Katelyn used Crystal Palace "Kaya" yarn (100% wool) in a stocking stitch (with a few rows of purl stitches) over 30(ish) sts on 6.5mm needles.

The Knit Goes On...

Mom emailed me this week to let me know that she has finished her eighth square. I've also completed another two:

Braided Cable
Briggs & Little "Heritage" in purple (100% wool)
46 sts on 4.5mm needles

This cable pattern is one I've used in hats before, and I quite like it. The two braids beside each other, winding towards and away from each other, makes me think of that quote: "True love does not consist in gazing into each other's eyes, but looking forward in the same direction." I wish I knew who said that because I really like it.

Stocking Stitch
King Cole "Waves" (acrylic & wool)
23 sts on 7mm needles

I fell in love with this yarn twice: once when I saw it in the store, and again while I was knitting with it. The colours are a bit softer than they appear here. I have big plans to knit with this yarn again sometime -- hopefully making something for myself!

Katelyn has also started knitting and has finished at least one square, but I'll see if she wants to say anything about it before I post it.

Kathy's Post

From Kathy:

"Yikes! Okay, these posted squares are nothing but beautiful, which is totally intimidating to the non-knitter I am. Eventually I did finish my first square, after starting help from Jean on the phone, then had to pull in my 84 year old Auntie to help cast off and reshape. Now, I have to admit that my squares (2 so far) are not TOTALLY perfect, much less the artistic creations I am seeing on the website! Hopefully there will be others out there contributing, so my squares, while made with love, won't look as lost in all the art!"

More Progress!

Mom just let me know she has almost finished her seventh square for the quilt. What a knitting machine! Way to rock it, Mom!

At this rate, we'll be able to give them a lovely, big quilt. Can't wait to see how they all work together!

Jean's Update

Here's an update from Jean:

"I've got 6 done, Tory did 3 while she and I were together for her recovery and I know my friend Donna D. from across the lake has crocheted 2 and my girlfriend Kathy has at least started hers....she phoned in a panic as it kept growing ...I had to tell her that what starts as 8" when you cast on does not stay as 8". Her 60 stitches should have been more like 30.

So that's the progress report from this end. Am really enjoying it."

#4 Done!

Mom has finished her second square, using the same yarn as the first. She says:

"I have done my second square for the quilt. I am doing a popcorn stitch. 4 stitches of seed stitch and then several popcorn stitches which nicely come in groups of 4 and then 4 more seed stitches. It works beautifully with my 32 stitch square."

Two more down

Here are two squares I've managed to finish for the quilt:


Large Woven Cable stitch (from Cables & Arans), done in 100% wool from Nova Scotia. 40 sts on 4.5mm needles.


Seed stitch/knit/purl combo to make a sunset picture, done in Louet "Bonnie" Yarn (wool/silk blend). 37 sts on 5.5mm needles. I had a hard time getting a pic to accurately reflect the square, but this one wasn't too bad, so I chose to post it.

First Square Done!

Mom emailed me to let me know that she's finished her fist square for the wedding blanket. She used a wool/acrylic blend in a medium blue colour, and knit a cable pattern on 5.5mm needles. So at least one is done!

Please email me once any other blocks are done and I'll post the progress up here. I think ideally we're looking for about 88 blocks for a quilt of 64" x 88". Feel free to send pictures of your blocks as well -- then we can see what everyone is doing!

Welcome!

This blog is a place for anyone who's helping to make Kyle and Courtney's wedding blanket to offer ideas, share pictures and patterns, tell stories, and get information.

The Background:

Given that Kyle and Courtney are going to Prince George, and that they will need to be warm there, and that Courtney loves yarn, I thought we might make a collective knitted/crocheted blanket as part of a wedding gift. If we each make a number of squares out of whatever yarn we'd like, we can then piece them all together like a quilt. Then each of us will have contributed towards the blanket but no-one is saddled with making the whole thing. And my sense is that they'd be cool with an eclectic mix of yarns and styles, which means that we could just choose stuff we think they'd like and go from there. Plus I think the handmade element would go a long way with them. And when Jeffy and I got married, his aunt crocheted us an afghan which we have used non-stop, and still gets put on beds to add extra warmth or gets cuddled under on lazy days around here. (Not that there are many of those any more. But still. It was a great gift.) The original email I sent out about this idea got lots of positive response, and we decided to go ahead with it! And so did you, if you're reading this.

The Nitty-Gritty:

* This blanket is a SuperSecretSurprise for Kyle and Courtney which will hopefully be done for their wedding in May.
* Anyone is welcome to participate.
* Squares for the blanket should be 8".
* Squares can be knitted or crocheted in any pattern, so long as they're 8".
* Any yarn can be used, though I think it would be best to avoid very fine or very chunky weights.
* My suggestion would be to choose yarns that have at least some wool content for the warmth factor.
* Squares should be done by Wed, May 20th so they can be pieced together before the wedding.

If you know of anyone who'd be interested in contributing, please pass this blog site along. If you want to contribute to the blog, you can email stuff (photos, stories, patterns, accomplishments, etc) to cherylATparsons-sheldrakeDOTcom and I will post it on your behalf. This blog will also be a place to keep track of who's participating, and will serve as a kind of diary for Kyle and Courtney to read once they've received their blanket.

I'm very excited about this project! Feedback is always welcome. Thanks so much for participating!