True, I have not blogged for quite a while. At least not here in my own space. And yes, maybe constantly producing content for others (which I do for a living) has blocked me from blogging. Being constantly “creative” made me feel a lot less creative. If you understand the feeling, let me know.
Anyhow, here I am because I want to share a long-time project with you that is now finished. The progress was well documented over almost five years on Instagram. Wow, five years, the time passes really quicker, the older you get 😂
It all started with yarn leftovers.
I admit I have a lot of them – and for multiple reasons, sustainability was one of them, another one was losing control over my stash – I decided to start a blanket. Since my colour choices are usually in the same colour range, I thought it might get a “quieter” blanket … but well, in the end, I got off track a bit. You will see.
Another reason: I started working on it in 2017 when, after separation, I move back to my old beloved flat with my kids – and my own space got really important to me. I love my room, it has morning sun, a window door to the balcony that you can open up. Breezy and airy. Of room of one’s own. Haven’t truly had that for a while. Yes, and I thought a crazy huge bedspread totally would make sense.
So I knit the first squares – and rows.
My Memory Blanket Square recipe
Cast on 33 with 3.00 mm needles
Knit one row
Row 1: K 15 sts, pm, cdd, knit 15 sts (two sts decreased)
Row 2: k all sts
Row 3: k to 1 st before cdd, cdd, k to end
Repeat rows 2 and 3 to the end, you will have one stitch left.
Tip: I did not bind the last stitch off but used a locking stitch marker to keep it live for the next square to come.
For the rest – check out tutorials like this own on Youtube.
Double-check when you start a new square
Make sure that the middle rib is always in the same direction. I missed it a few times, maybe watching TV. Can you spot it?
Well, I embrace imperfection.
Whenever I finished a sock, I added a few squares:
In the beginning, the memory blanket was a takeaway project that sat nicely in my project bag. It got bigger and was no longer a project to take away, but I could already use it as a blanket while working on it.
Eventually, I ran out of sock yarn, so I knit socks like these first.
So I also incorporated other yarn weights: DK with tighter gauge, lace with an extra thread. It works, you have to play around with needle sizes, knit tighter, and maybe also fewer stitches. Also, my original colour scheme got out of hand.
Memory Blanket In the making over the years
I rolled the blanket to take photos, I tried it on my bed to see how long I would have to knit – and to take photos …
Still not big enough:
Fun fact: you can also see the Peace Lilly growing …
And finally, I decided: Enough! I have to face the boss’s level. Because all the time I knitted the piece, I watched TV, listened to audiobooks, chatted to friends – I was secretly pondering THE EDGING. What colour should it be? Some neutral grey or beige? Should I knit or crochet and how?
In the end, I used a pink yarn that was a rather big leftover from an unravelled scarf. I just don’t wear pink in winter but I have it on my wall. And I would use a simple i-cord.
You can see how I made the i-cord in my Instagram reel – click here!
And now this is the blanket in all its glory on my bed.
Now that it is finished, I kind of miss knitting it. But, strangely enough, I have so much leftover yarn again, that I might start another one …
