KAL

Summer in the Country Blanket
A slow, relaxing knit-along with a nice group of friends

When I posted in my blog that I am working on this blanket would be willing to do a knit-along, I wondered if anyone would be into it. I have to say that the comments left and the emails sent from those of you would like to do a knit-along was touching. There is such a warm feeling of friendship amongst us all, and the idea that a group of us will be knitting this blanket together–and that the thought of taking it at a slow pace was appealing to others–reminded me of everything that I love about the online knitting community.

Take a minute to post a comment on this page to say hello and let others know you are in the KAL, and we can all pretend we are meeting up at our cottage to have a little knit, chat, and a cuppa together. Hmm, smell the aroma of the cuppa you’re having, and think of the biscuits I bring out from the kitchen with some of the peach ginger preserves and strawberry jam I made last summer. Can you smell those biscuits and picture the preserves? Do you hear the birds chirping outside, and hear the soft rustle of the wind in the trees. This is going to be lovely …

I decided to call this blanket the Summer in the Country Blanket because my inspiration for it was that I would like to make myself a 100% cotton blanket for the summer–for napping or wrapping up in as I sit on the sofa for cozy evening of watching movie with my husband.

Don’t you just love those mornings in early and late summer when the early mornings and evenings are cool? The days are still warm and bright and everything is alive, but it is cool enough not to have use an air conditioner, and to be able to cuddle up in a soft cotton blanket without getting too hot.

I chose a color from the Country Cotton yarns I used to carry (weeping because I can not longer sell it), “Misty Morning”. I named the color Misty Morning because it reminds me so much of that pretty color of mist rising up from the river or from the fields on an early summer morning.

My estimate is that we will need the equivalent of two 1-lb cones of yarn (around 1,300 yards total). My yarn is worsted weight 100% cotton, so whatever yarn you choose should be worsted weight as well.

I am using size U.S. 10 circular knitting needles in a 36″ length so there is plenty of cable to hold all of my stitches.

You should knit a swatch to test your tension; I got 4.5 stitches to the inch and I am going for a width that is about 52″ to 54″, so I cast on 241 stitches.

I am using a simple seed stitch for the border of the blanket, which will be 2.5″ all the way around. We will knit the border as a part of knitting the blanket — so there won’t be any sewing or joining afterwards.

The pattern for this blanket is evolving in my mind as I knit, so you will discover it right along with me … how does that sound?

Now you have your first few steps to complete:

A. Get your yarn
B. Get your needles on hand
C. Make yourself a cuppa coffee, tea or hot cocoa
D. Knit a swatch by casting on 12 stitches and knitting each row for about 12 rows–then measure and make sure you are getting 4.5 stitches to the inch.
E. Begin the blanket as follows:

1. When you have reached the correct guage, cast on 241 stitches.
2. Row 1: Knit
3. Row 2: *K1, P1, K1*, repeat from * to * all the way across. Turn.
4. Repeat Row 2 until piece measures 2.5″.
5. If possible, shoot a photo of your progress and post it at Flickr, on your personal blog, Ravelry, or somewhere and then come to this page to post a comment with a link to your progress shot so we can all admire each other’s work.

After I have the next section going, I will create the next page of our KAL and provide a link here so you can move on.

For Stage 2 Instructions Go Here.