WIP: Knitted Log Cabin Blanket

Oohh...a knitting WIP that I had completely forgotten to blog about! I'll make up for it by blogging about it now. At the beginning of last month I felt utterly compelled to knit up a blanket for some weird reason. And not just any blanket. A log cabin style blanket. I'm thinking this is due to the lack of sewing time that I've been allowed to have. I've been thinking a lot about quilts lately (must be the cool weather coming upon us), and how there are several quilts that I would love to sew up and add to my (non-existent) collection. But since I haven't been able to do much, if any, sewing and the evil troll that lives below me shows no sign of moving out, I've been left daydreaming about these quilts rather than making them.

Then I flipped through this book, which then lead to me tossing the stash and rummaging around trying to find something that I could knit up a blanket with. I didn't want to have to go and buy more yarn for this project, especially since I wanted to spend my yarn moola on yarn that would eventually turn into clothing. I went through all my stash hiding spots and discovered a big storage bag full of yarn that I had bought when I was a beginner and didn't know any better. Meaning, it was a big bag full of cheap craft store acrylic. As I've mentioned in this post, I don't think I'm a yarn snob, but after working with such lovely and/or luxurious yarns in past projects, I find that going back to the cheap stuff is extremely hard to do. Don't get me wrong, not all craft store acrylics should be treated the same, there are actually quite a few out there that are great to work with.

Anyways, in my bag of acrylics I came across a bunch of Vanna's Choice in colours that would go great together. And wouldn't you know it, they would also coordinate perfectly with the colour scheme of my son's bedroom. I wasn't quite sure how to use the colours (I only had 4), so I did some sketches and this is the one that I liked best:

Once I got the colour schematics sorted, I immediately cast on. So far this blanket has been immensely satisfying, and gives quite the accomplishment "high" that you get when you finish something. Not to mention that this simple pattern and knitting is very addictive. Each time I finish a strip, I get that rush of accomplishment before I quickly pick up stitches for the next strip. The photo at the beginning of this post is a lie. I took that photo shortly after I had started the blanket. I'm a bit further along than that now, although the blanket is nowhere near able to cover even a toddler sized bed. Mind you, I haven't been working on it steadily. My goal is to knit at least 2 rows a day, and hopefully it'll get done by the end of the year.

My plan is to use up all the yarn in the colours I'm using, which isn't much - just 3 skeins per colour, and not buy any more. So whatever size I get by the end of all this yarn is the size the blanket will be. I can't wait for this blanket to be finished! Not only am I able to practice my continental style knitting, but I get to use up the acrylic yarn that I had no idea what to do with. This blanket can help me use it up and get it out of the stash. Yay for the two-fer! With that said, I should go knit my 2 rows of the day!