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64 Crayons: the story ofa blanket
Near as I can tell, I started this blanket on January 2, 2009. I had been at The Purple Purl for some knitting, and picked up 4 skeins of Kureyon with the intention of knitting a scarf. Somehow, I got it in my mind to cast on about a foot of stitches and work in rib. And as I knit, I knew it was going to be some kind of throw blanket.
I knew I had about a gazillion balls of Kureyon in my stash back in Calgary. And so I kept knitting.
And suddenly I had two panels. And then three.
And then I got distracted by something else. Work, or life, or another design… who can remember three years back?
More often than not, when I put a design project aside for weeks, or months (or longer), it’s destined to be forever relegated to the frog pond.
About a year later, when our house got infested with… gasp… clothes moths, the blanket-in-progress had a few cocoons on it too. I was horrified.
While the rest of my stash was alternately frozen (see above) and microwaved, the blanket actually went into the washing machine on delicate. I was relying on years of felting and fulling experience, and the endless frustration (and endless cycles of HOT) that it takes to get Kureyon to significantly felt.
And I knew too, it was the only hope. (Sandra didn’t trust that a good hand-washing would solve the problem.)
Well worth the risk, the blanket piece came out perfectly soft and completely moth-free. And eventually, I started knitting new panels again, in bits and pieces, when I found a new colourway I wanted to buy, or when I stumbled across some Noro in my stash.
It became the perfect travel project. I brought small panels to work for getting a few rows in during our weekly status updates. But then, of course, once I fell into the delight of watching the colours change, I couldn’t put it down.
So I finished it. At last. Over 3 years after the initial cast on.
And you know what?
It’s perfect.
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February 28th, 2012 at 11:01 am
It’s GORGEOUS!!!!! How awesome that you were able to save it!
February 28th, 2012 at 11:16 am
Gorgeous!
February 28th, 2012 at 11:19 am
I love this blanket and its name so much! Even better with the story.
Hope you are settling in okay in CHI, and that your mom is responding well to treatment.
February 28th, 2012 at 11:42 am
Oh holy wow, that is blanket perfection right there. And to think, about the same time I cast on for a Noro striped scarf and mine is only 8 inches. Your dedication paid off, big time.
February 28th, 2012 at 12:06 pm
It is beyond perfect! And what a story. I am in love.
February 28th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
GAH! That it was almost eaten by moths just makes the finished blankie even more beautiful….thanks so much for sharing the story and the pictures! XoxoX
February 28th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
That is stunning.
February 28th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
Beautiful!
February 28th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
That is so pretty! I only need about 18 more skeins of Kureyon and probably 10 years to make it.
February 28th, 2012 at 4:56 pm
Congratulations! A job well done. What a beautiful blanket.
February 28th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Ah, that blanket is completely gorgeous!!
February 28th, 2012 at 6:10 pm
gorgeous!!
February 28th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Love the blanket and the name you chose for the pattern. I am going to start collecting Kureyon! This is a great project to work on when the hockey play-offs begin.
February 28th, 2012 at 9:58 pm
Amazing and beautiful!!
February 29th, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Gahh! What a story! I’m glad it ended well, and beautifully too.
February 29th, 2012 at 3:43 pm
Love it!!! The blanket is beautiful and just perfect for those winter months when we all crave color!
I’m curious, what size is it? Do you know how many skeins it took to finish it? I’m very inspired to make one, something like this would be perfect on my beige couch…
February 29th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
That is beautiful!
March 2nd, 2012 at 4:58 pm
OMG–it’s gorgeous! Such a perfect display of color and something that can go on and on. I love how you made different widths (at least it looks like that). I love color–I can never decide on just one. What an inspiration! Thanks.
March 4th, 2012 at 6:37 pm
I love the blanket! I love the way you made it up – the vertical stripes of the different colored seams really bring it all together. How did you make the seams – it looks like applied i-cord. I want to make this. I can really see it on my couch and it would make a perfect blankie
March 4th, 2012 at 6:42 pm
Oops, not paying attention, just realized you have it posted as a pattern. Just bought it. I can’t wait to get started though I think it will definitely be a longish-term project. Thanks!
March 9th, 2012 at 11:42 am
Thank you for sharing your story about how to save a blanket. It is just beautiful and I love how it looks post washing. Gorgeous!