Mason Dixon KAL

I got as far as completing four of my Rat Rugs before setting the project aside so I can get back to others of my WIPs. Only I really didn't.

Instead, I scavenged much of my Sugar 'n Cream yarn stash, and began work on a Log Cabin Blanket.

I'm no stranger to the Log Cabin technique. About 3 years ago, long before I knew there were so many knitblogs out there (it's only about a year ago I began reading blogs at all), I experimented with it out of boredom.

Log Cabin - the Early Tries

Remember, I hadn't discovered knit blogs, and surely had never heard of Kay and Ann and Mason-Dixon Knitting yet! I was bored and playing with yarns from stash, putting them together almost randomly, not caring about the difference between thick and chunky or thin and wispy. In the end, I knew the differences would fairly well even out.

What was I planning to do with these? I wasn't sure, though I had some vague notion that the small one would become a pillow, and the big one, a bedspread. Who knows - maybe that will still happen one day!

Fast forward to 2006, and Mason-Dixon Knitting. Oh, yes - and in the interim, I had actually completed a Queen-size blanket for my bed from acrylic yarn, and I love it! I have plans to knit more. And then, as I said, along came MDK.

My favorite purchased blankets have always been woven from cotton. Why not knit one? I have all these cones and balls of cotton yarn around...

Today's Log Cabin - the Embryonic Blanket

I picked out a few harmonious colors in a bright, cheerful mix. Pink, orange, green - a mix of solids and variegateds. (The colors are a bit brighter than they show here - indoor lighting, etc.) Cast on 20 stitches for my center square, and off I went!

Right now, this is about 16 1/2 inches on a side. The goal is to make a Queen-size blanket for use on my bed. Bedding resources on the Internet told me that means 90 inches by 90 inches - handily, that's a square!

I calculated my weight after doing a couple rounds on this, and in the end, that Queen-size blanket is going to weight about 9.25 pounds. Heavy, but not unreasonable for a blanket. It will officially be the heaviest thing I've ever knit, though. The acrylic Queen-size blanket only weighs in between 5 and 6 pounds.

Does Sable Like It?

The rats, of course, have expressed an opinion. They've already proven they're fond of cotton yarn, and all their own knitted home decor is made from Sugar 'n Cream. Here, we see Sable trying to claim this blanket for herself - even while it's still being knit!

# posted by Jen @ 1:54 PM