DONATE TODAY: https://givebutter.com/knitforfood22/jennkeeler
Like what you see? Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/jennlikesyarn
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennlikesyarn/
Please visit http://www.jennlikesyarn.com/youtube-inquiries
Music: DriftMaster by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
Those of you who remember my last attempt at creating a temperature blanket might find yourself asking, “Why? Why do this to yourself again?”
Because clearly I hate myself.
This time, however, I have a plan that might make me hate myself - and my blanket - a little less.
But first, the reason I started making another temperature blanket was because I saw this video from Toni at TL Yarn Crafts about her 2021 endeavor. She had gotten behind and spent a few hours - yes, only a few hours - catching up; I was floored because there always comes a day where you get behind on these blankets and it can feel overwhelming - but she did it in an afternoon!
Well, that’s because she’s a genius who crocheted linen stitch squares instead of making a gigantic blanket 300 stitches across, which means it’s easy to catch up with your blanket in one sitting. In fact, I’m not even bothering to work on them during the month. Instead, I’m sitting down at the end of each 30-day cycle and making a whole square, then putting it away for another month.
It also helps that I’m not following the calendar year; I’m following our first married year. My first square starts on October 23rd (our wedding day) and ends on November 22nd. Each square will be 33 total rounds and follow the same formula: start on the 23rd of a month and end on the 22nd of the next month, using rounds of white as a border for however many days are missing at the end.
With any luck, that should mean I’m ready to sew these puppies together and crochet a border on our one-year anniversary.
Let’s be honest, though: I’m going to get all the blocks done and not make a border or weave in ends until at least next January. My life blows up every October with the WestKnits MKAL I always say I’m not going to do, on top of making Christmas gifts.
But still, this is probably the closest I’ll ever get to finishing a temperature blanket within the same year and I’m excited about it.
How about you? Are taking on this task in 2022, or have you decided to keep your marbles and stay far away?
Watching: The Righteous Gemstones
Loving: Power Zone training on my Peloton
Like what you see? Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/jennlikesyarn
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennlikesyarn/
Or visit my blog: http://www.jennlikesyarn.com
Please visit http://www.jennlikesyarn.com/youtube-inquiries
Music: DriftMaster by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
I really can’t stop finishing projects, which would be great for busting my stash if I could stop buying more yarn (seriously, these indie dyers need to stop being so amazing at their jobs).
One of those amazing dyers is my girl Lauren from lolodidit. If you subscribe to Knitability (a Bakery Bears publication that I’m the editor of, NBD), then you’ll have read my interview with her last year, which was absolutely enchanting. I’ve been a big fan for years and used to drop entire (okay, maybe 30%) paychecks on her colorways, going so far as to make chunky hats for everyone I know with her bulky yarns one Christmas.
Anyway - and I promise these thoughts are connected - I was on the fence about joining 2021’s WestKnits MKAL, which is a Mystery Knit-A-Long where we get a “clue” (ie: new pattern section) every week for four weeks - and we have no idea what the finished product will look like. I never complete these shawls within the month because that’s usually right around when I start my Christmas knitting. Plus, this time around, I also did this little thing called “getting married” that required a bit of a time investment. So… I straight-up was going to skip this round and worry about it in the spring if it looked cool.
Until I saw Lauren’s kits. Oh. My. Stars. I knew I was in trouble even before I clicked the link in her email announcing the kits and might as well have just thrown money at my screen. But I mean… look at it and tell me it wasn’t worth it, right?
Also, I’m just saying, there are still Shawlography kits available on her website. Yup. Just saying.
Well, I finished the first section and a significant chunk of section two before the wedding, then picked it up here and there on our honeymoon because 18 hours in a car and endless hanging out at breweries will do that to you. But I didn’t finish it until earlier this week and honestly, that’s such a feat for me. I usually shove these things away come November to focus on other things and don’t pick them up again until it’s almost time for the next MKAL, but this time, I finished it within a quarter. I’m a superhero.
…if you ignore the fact some people finish each section in like a day, but whatever.
I really really really love this thing, despite having doubts. As Stephen West says in literally every tutorial video, “Just. Trust.” And I’m glad I did cuz those loops were throwing me for a - wait for it - loop and I wasn’t sure where this was headed.
I’m not sure what it is about WestKnits shawls specifically, but I’m a moth to a flame whenever a new one is released. In fact, I have another kit from Teal Torch Knits sitting around waiting for my job to stop asking me to do the jobbing and have time to knit all the things. They can feel tedious at some points, especially when you’re toward the end and a single row takes 45 minutes to knit across because there are 2,000 stitches on your needles… but oh, boy. Once those million-and-one ends are woven in and you go to take a picture, these shawls might as well be works of art and I can’t wait to sport mine for the rest of winter.
It turns out that 2022 (or, at least, January of 2022) is destined for productivity, as evidenced by the fact I’ve got FOs rolling off my needles like chocolates from a conveyor belt.
My latest finished object is this Moon Catcher hat designed by Trysten from Dragon Hoard Yarn and sold as a kit. I bought it so I could a) wear it during our trip to Vermont over Valentine’s Day and b) knit it on the six-hour car ride, but I couldn’t wait to cast it on and, instead, wound up finishing the ribbing while we enjoyed drinks at a local brewery on Friday night. The rest of the pattern moved just as quickly and before I knew it, I was snapping the pompom on top and setting up a photoshoot before work today.
While I can’t speak highly enough of this pattern (and maybe that’s because I’ve been on a cabling kick lately), I legit can’t stop DROOLING over the yarn. It was so dreamy to knit with and I absolutely need to add more to my stash… without letting Scott see it because I think he’s ready to scream at my recent stash enhancements. Our bartender on Friday even loved the yarn so much that I talked up DHY and sent her to the website to buy her own.
I chose the Feyre Darling colorway because… reasons. ACOTAR has been one of my favorite book series for a few years now, and I’d already purchased Trysten’s Rhysand-themed Knit and Sip box for February, so I felt like I needed something for Feyre, too. I also loved the peachy-pink undertone and wanted something neutral so I could sport the hat with pretty much any coat. Suffice it to say, this hat spoke to me on many levels.
If you want to make your own, more kits are available in a rainbow of colorways, but make sure to grab them quickly because they sell out fast.
Pattern: Moon Catcher
Yarn: Adventure Aran by Dragon Hoard Yarn
Colorway: Feyre Darling
