Blankie Progress

Knitters working on my year long blanket pattern Frankie's Blankie are now a quarter of the way through this project. Twelve squares have been knitted and sewn together (although some are still waiting for their visit from the sewing-up fairy who seems to have quite a lot on her plate at the moment). The squares are a mixture of plain ones using all sorts of textured stitches and coloured ones, worked in a variety of slip stitch patterns.

I have been completely amazed by how popular this blanket has proved to be. When I was designing it last year, I wondered whether people might think it a bit dull - just 48 blocks, one after the other - but I needn't have worried. Lots of people are knitting it and they seem to be enjoying discovering new stitch patterns.

The best thing though is the community that has developed on my ravelry group. There's a special thread there for chat about the blanket and, as I write this, it has 2823 posts. Knitters from all over the world meet there every day to compare notes about their progress and help each other. It's like a very friendly, international knitting group. Mind you, we don't just talk about the blanket. Our conversation has ranged from families to chickens, by way of rubbish collections, the weather and just about anything else you can think of. I'm already thinking that I'll have to do something next year to keep this community going. Not another 50 pattern project though.

Anyway, I thought it would be nice to share photos of some of the blankets being knitted. One of the lovely things has been to see how people have taken my basic pattern and made it their own, either with different yarn or different colours. It makes me want to knit another one, using some of their ideas. I'll start thought with a few blankets in the Stylecraft Batik DK that I used for my blanket.

Debbie, from England

These are Debbie's squares for the first month. As you can see, each set of four blocks is sewn together, with the coloured squares being turned on their sides. It looks more interesting if the lines of pattern don't all run the same way and it also helps to even up the squares which can end up slightly different sizes. Debbie's made a particularly good job of her sewing up - I don't think my 'month blocks' were that square.

Mari-Elaine, from England

Mari-Elaine is also using the Batik for her blanket. Here you can see all the squares for the first three months sewn together. That's one row of the blanket done; there will be three more below it by the end of the  year.

Amity is using cream Batik for her main yarn and then replacing all the colours with one multi-coloured yarn. She's chosen another Stylecraft Batik yarn called Elements and is using the Sulfur colourway.

Amity, from England

As you can see, she also has a furry helper when it comes to blocking her knitting. Every time I see one of Amity's blocks, I'm struck again by how well that variegated yarn works. Here's a closer look at her squares for February.

Of course, lots of knitters have chosen their own yarn for knitting the blanket. A lot of fun was had choosing yarn and then deciding on the colours. Ruth is knitting her Treasure Buster Blanket in 100% wool, using yarns from Drops and Kammgarn.

Ruth, from Germany

I think this one looks particularly fresh and bright; I'm looking forward to seeing it grow.

How about this one for a different look?

Sue, from the United States

Don't those squares look great with grey as the main colour? This one's very popular on my group. Sue is using various shades of Plymouth Yarn's Encore Worsted; I had to resist the temptation to start another blanket when I first saw this combination.

Anysia is using a very popular yarn for her blanket, Red Heart Super Saver in solid colours.

Anysia, from the United States

This is another fresh looking blanket in the making. It's interesting how much clearer those slip stitch patterns are when worked with one contrast colour, rather than a mixture.

Maggie's blanket makes me think of sunny days and long, cool drinks ...

Maggie, from England

She's using Caron Simply Soft yarn, mostly from her stash. This is a yarn I'm not familiar with but I think I shall have to give it a try; it comes in a huge range of colours.

Lots of people are dipping into their stash for this project, resulting in some beautiful colour combinations and blankets that will be unique. Here are just a few examples ...

Laurel, from Wales

Isn't this gorgeous? Grey again, it works so well to set off all the other colours. Why does this one make me think of ice-cream? I don't think I've ever knowingly eaten a grey ice-cream.

Jenny, from Australia

Another pretty set of colours from Jenny - also, why didn't I think of taking photos of long strips of knitting like that? It's got to be easier than balancing on steps which is what I normally end up doing.

There are also some knitters who are using completely different yarn. Corien has chosen a thinner 100% wool yarn from Wol met Verve so her blanket will be smaller than mine.

Corien, from the Netherlands

It's going to be beautiful when it's finished. 

There's one blanket that's going to take longer than the others to complete but that's for a very good reason. Lou is using only handspun yarn - how impressive is that?

Lou, from the United States

Don't those blocking pins look good? That's one of the many things I've discovered from the chat amongst the Blanketeers (thanks to Isabel for that name). They're called Knit Blockers and are made by Knit Pro. I think I shall have to invest in a set.

Of course, some people can't be content to make just one blanket. Paula is knitting two at once (and keeping up with everyone else). One is in solid colours and the other uses a variegated yarn and then different colours for the single colour squares.

Paula, from Australia 

I really like this one with the pastel colours. Wouldn't it be a beautiful blanket for a baby? I think using different colours for the 'plain' squares works very well.

I hope you've enjoyed this look at some of the lovely blankets being knitted this year. If it's made you want to join in, it's not too late. You can download all the patterns so far by following the links on my Frankie's Blankie page and then come and introduce yourself on my group (2824 posts now). There's no pressure to finish your blanket in a set time so  you can just enjoy the journey. If you want to use the same yarn as me, you can order it from Wool Warehouse who are super quick at sending out orders. Quote FRANKIE10 at the checkout for a 10% discount.

Here's to the next three months of Frankie's Blankie, I'll report back on progress then.