knitting : Reclamation Blanket

Reclaiming some remnants of my former life at a yarn shop.

Reclaiming the original meaning of a rainbow - a divine Promise, not human pride.

Reclaiming the joy I found once in knitting.

When my local yarn shop closed, one of the things I inherited was a plethora of small-yardage color samples.  I didn't know what I would possibly do with them.  Fair isle came up several times; that would have been lovely but I didn't want the planning, especially when the yardage was inconsistent.  So I put it in a bag. 

Skip to 2017, I was working on this Koigu Oriental Jacket (below) and the construction struck me as something that would work well with the bits of yarn.

For this blanket, every square starts with a new color and when that runs out, I finish it with black.  For the black, I started with half a skein of Cascade Heritage Silk in solid black.  I wish I had sought out more of it to do the whole blanket.  I found some blackish sock yarns, which turned out not to be quite as solid.  However, this blanket has errors and late-made decisions, colors "out of order," and so on.  Some of the yarns are joined in the middle of the row!  It's a low-stress, loose-rule project, and my family will enjoy using it.  It's considerably less planned than most of my other projects.  Sometimes I need that.  It traveled well to knitting get-togethers in a big bag that zips.

Reclamation Blanket instructions

Yardage: unknown quantities of sock / fingering weight.  I’d guess about 1200 yds black (control color) and 1200 - 1400 yds of color "scraps". 

Needles:  US 3; straights work just fine, there will never be more than 43 sts on the needle

Guage: no idea! 

Finished size: about 52" x 55"

BLOCK Instruction

With color A yarn, CO 43 sts.  Work in garter stitch as follows: 

Row 1 WS: sl 1, k19, cdd, k20.

R2 RS:  sl 1, k to end.

R3: k one less than previous WS row to middle, cdd, k to end.

Repeat the last two rows until yarn A is gone. 

Join black yarn (or whatever your control color is) and begin working in Stockinette stitch as follows:

WS:  sl 1, p to center three sts, cdd, p to end.

RS:  knit.

Continue until 5 sts remain.

Next RS: sl 1, cdd, k1.

WS:  cdd.

Break yarn and pull through last stitch.

BLANKET Construction:

Row 1: Make 1 block per BLOCK instructions.

For 2^nd and following blocks: to join next square with left CO edge of new block attached to work, CO 22 sts and with RS facing, pick up 21 along edge of last block.  Work Block.  Repeat until desired there are the desired number of blocks for width of blanket. Example is 14.    

Row 2, 1^st block:  to join next square with left edge of new block attached to work, CO 22 sts and pick up 21 along edge of last block. Work Block.
For interior blocks (2^nd and following in the row): for left facing blocks, pick up 21 sts from edge of block just worked.  Pick up 1 st from block diagonal from the block being cast on.  Pick up 21 sts from row below block being cast on.

Row 3:  1^st block:  to join next square with right edge of new block attached to work, pick up 21 sts along edge of last block, then CO 22 sts using knitted cast on or backward loop method.  Work Block. 

For interior blocks:  for right facing blocks, pick up sts from row below, then corner st, then from last block worked.

I started with 14 blocks in the first row, and worked an additional 12 rows of 14, for a total of 182 blocks.  When I finished the second row, I wove in the ends for the first row, and so on.  I always recommend blocking, and it will make a difference in the size and texture of this blanket!  To block, lay on bed or other flat surface and give a little tug along the edges; allow to dry.  I did not block this severely, or use any pins to make it square; low stress.  I may add a black crochet edge. 

Variations:  a few blocks are striped where my yarn broke; a few blocks are completely garter stitch, a few blocks have much more yardage of the color, a few blocks have no black at all!  One block is backward.  Why does that pink and blue block stand out so much?  Who cares!  You could make one and decide it's not for you, that you love it, or make some tweaks.  Whatever; knitting is good therapy and should be fun!  Enjoy.  

Abbreviations:
CDD - center double decrease
CO - cast on
k - knit
p - purl
RS - right side
sts - stitches
WS - wrong side