My First Blanket

My first knitting project was a blanket.  When a friend told me I wouldn't be able to make a whole blanket on a pair of straight needles (because it would be too much fabric to fit on the needles), I decided to make squares and then sew them together.  

I didn't really have a design plan when I started.  All I knew was garter stitch, so that was how I did the first four squares.  I then learned how to do stockinette stitch, so I did a few squares of that.  I got a book for Christmas that taught me seed stitch, moss stitch, and basketweave stitch.  By this time I had expanded my color palette and had squares in eight different colors.

I had started my first square in April 2007.  I worked on squares for several months, but then wanted to try some other things.  I worked on my blanket off and on for the next year and a half.  In June of 2008 I got engaged and decided to finish the blanket as a wedding surprise for my fiance, who had seen me working on it the whole time we had been dating.  (He probably thought I would never finish it.)  The wedding was planned for June 2009, and I wanted to finish making squares by mid-May so I would have time to sew them together. 

I found a book at the library that had stitch patterns from several different countries.  I used designs that were Scottish, Irish, Swedish, French, and Arabic.  I also added a few more colors, for a total of 11 different yarns.  I decided I needed to complete a square every two weeks in order to finish on time.  However, as my knitting improved and I got faster, I was knitting a square every week.  I learned how to use a cable needle and did cable designs for the last two squares.  My last square I knit in two days.  It used cableing and two different yarn colors.

 I finished my squares on schedule and spent a week sewing them together.  It had 36 squares and fit a queen size bed perfectly.  I also wanted to knit a trim around the edge, but I decided that would have to wait until after the wedding because I also wanted to knit my wedding garter.  My fiance was surprised to see the finished blanket, and my first fall of marriage was spent knitting the trim.

I love my blanket because it reminds me of my journey as a new knitter.  I learned so much in those first two years of knitting, and it is all reflected in my blanket.