My Year in Yarn

Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you're having a lovely day. In case you're wondering, no, I'm not writing this on Christmas Day; I wrote it a few days ago and then saved it to publish today.

So, who's ready for a new challenge for 2019? Well, me obviously. As well as working on a woven temperature blanket throughout the year, I'm also going to work on a knitted and crocheted record of everything I make.

This is the sort of thing I've got in mind - a series of patchwork blocks, each one made up of squares and rectangles representing all the projects I've worked on that month. I'll use the yarn that I'm using in the actual project so this will be a cheap thing to make. The squares and rectangles will be either knitted or crocheted, depending on the project they represent, and each month's set of blocks will be surrounded with a knitted on border. By the end of the year I'll have a small blanket.

If you'd like to join me on this mad journey I've published a pattern for it today which is available free on Ravelry. Actually, it's not so much a pattern as a guide for designing your own patchwork diary. The shapes can be knitted or crocheted and I give you patterns for two versions of each. None of them need you to work out your tension. 

Magic Knitted Squares and Rectangles

Crochet Squares and Rectangles Worked in the Round

I also made a mini design board to help me decide how to arrange my shapes. You can find out how to make and use one of these in the pattern.

Of course you don't have to make a blanket and you don't have to divide your blocks up by months either. You could knit or crochet a record of everything you make for a baby in their first year. Or perhaps make a patchwork of all the charity knitting you do. The possibilities are endless and each person's work will be unique.

As well as the yarn diary you could also keep a scrapbook to go with it. This could include photos of the finished projects, yarn samples or more information about the people you're making things for. In years to come, the finished piece, together with the scrapbook could become a treasured heirloom for future generations.

If you'd like to join me in this adventure, I shall be talking about my progress here and also on my Frankie's Knitted Stuff group on ravelry so do come along and say hello. I think this could be a lot of fun. There won't be any actual knitting or crochet until February so you have a whole month to think about it (and perhaps choose a pretty scrapbook).

So, for now, Merry Christmas - may it be filled with yarn.