Mitered Squares Blanket - for the last time

Joan took pictures of her new Mitered Squares Blanket in her room. Her photo shows more of the blanket than mine did.

It's a done-deal... the Mitered Squares Blanket

It's a lot bigger than it looks in the picture. But it is done, and Joan has taken possession of it. Meanwhile, I have to finish a few washcloths for Sarah to take with her to school, finish a pair of socks for Mom, cast on for Joan's Ribby Cardi, and begin work on the next blanket.

The Babette Blanket for Marley has been put on hold for now. I overheard David telling someone about what he had in mind for *his* blanket. I told him I was only making blankets for the girls, and he said that wasn't fair, and that blankets for each child are now a family tradition!

David chose a pattern, but first I had Tom choose a pattern. Tom's still in college, so I guess this technically counts as his "college blanket" as it has for Jacy, Sarah, and Joan.

I kind of like knitting blankets, so I'm not disappointed to find that I'm expected to knit (or crochet) a few more.

We have a plan

All the blocks for the Mitered Squares Blanket are seamed. I threw them on the living room floor, arranged and re-arranged, and got Joan's approval for the final plan.

Now I'm going to pin the blocks together to form strips, and seam some more!

Squares into blocks

Joan and I moved squares around trying various combinations. After several tries we came up with a plan she liked. Now I'll seam and after I have the blocks completed, we'll decide in what order they'll be for the finished product.

Last of the mitered squares

Now all 80 squares are completed for Joan's Mitered Squares Blanket. As soon as she's willing, we'll throw the squares on the floor and play with color combinations again, then I'll begin seaming squares together. That will take time, but will be pretty boring, so I think it will do as a movie-watching activity in the evenings.

Only ten more to go

Now I have seventy mitered squares completed and I fervently hope I can finish the last ten this week. Joan has decided that I can use leftover yarn for the four edges - each edge to be a different color.

The temperature high is supposed to be only 89F and the humidity is very low, so knitting with wool should be fun today!

Sixty mitered squares

Only 20 more squares to go! I think I have enough yarn in the various colors to get 20 more color combinations. Unless Joan wants a striped border for the edges, I'll have to buy one more - maybe two more - skeins in one color.

I'm so glad to be nearing the finish. It's very hot today (98F/37C) with a heat index of 110F/43C. If I can find a cool corner this evening I hope to knit at least two more squares. Unfortunately, the heat is such that even while sitting in the shade on the beach at the lake wool just clings to the needles - and to the knitter. Until this heat breaks (and I pray that it does soon!) I think I'll have to return to knitting cotton dishcloths.

Ten more

Ten more mitered squares are blocked and ready. The color combinations are getting weirder. I may not have bought enough colors, but at this point I hate to even consider buying more yarn for anything other than the border. We'll see how this knits out...

This is what half-way looks like

Here are 40 squares for the Mitered Squares Blanket. Forty more to knit, but I am encouraged that I'm this far and it's not yet June! Unless I lose steam, this blanket should be finished well before January.

40 Mitered Squares

We continue to have rain and cloudy days, but the squares for the Mitered Square Blanket are bright and cheerful. Forty squares are now knit and blocked - I'm halfway done!

Well, halfway done with knitting the squares, that is. Doubtless joining the squares together and knitting a border around the entire blanket will take time. And yarn.

Woo-hoo! 32!

Not yet half way on the Mitered Squares Blanket, but I'm working on it. Joan and I made a list of color combinations and I'm marking each one off as I knit it. I hope not to repeat any combinations. We might have to make exceptions for favorite color pairs, though.

Mitered Squares are everywhere

Yes, I am blocking each square with a hot iron and steam after I finish knitting it. However, I'm not weaving in the yarn ends. I think I'll use them to reinforce the seams so I don't have to worry about the squares coming apart from a lot of use.

Mitered squares there...

Still knitting away on the Mitered Squares Blanket. I have 20 squares so I'm 25% done! I took a break from it last weekend, but I'll be back to it this week.

Mitered squares here...

Honestly, I think we have enough colors of yarn to make each square a different color combination.

That bright yellow is causing me some concern. The picture doesn't show it, but it is not a delicate yellow, nor is it a cheery yellow. It's a very violent yellow, somewhere in the area of mustard and finding the right accompanying color to tone it down is taking some time. Navy blue helped it, and we're thinking brown or gray might work, too.

(This may be Penny's fault. She was with me when I bought that yellow yarn. I suppose she was too well-mannered to ask me, "Why on earth are you buying that screaming, obnoxious shade of yellow?" Clearly I was not asking myself the right questions.)

More mitered squares

I've made 8 squares and have a ninth on the needles. The Mitered Squares Blanket pattern calls for 80 squares. This will ensure a busy summer.

Mitered Squares Blanket - the fun has begun

I can already tell that this blanket is going to be fun - at least until I get to the part where I have to attach all the individual squares to one another and put the border on it.

But color combinations? Fun, fun, fun! And working with wool in warm weather won't be bad because the squares are about the size of a dishcloth: portable and not likely to make one sweat while knitting.

The next blanket

I might finish Sarah's blanket next week. (Penny's coming this weekend, so I'm not even going to attempt to finish it while she's here - why waste a friend's visit on an ongoing project?)

So already my thoughts are turning to the next big knitting project: Joan's blanket. Joan wants the Mitered Squares Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting.