Things To Think About While Blanket-ing

Yay, let's talk about blankets!
Knitted blankets, that is.

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As previously mentioned, I've hoped on the mitered square blanket train.
Also as previously mentioned, I am knitting mine out of worsted weight yarn (Caron Simply Soft, to be specific) instead of sock yarn, and I am oh so glad for this decision.
One, because it means larger squares.
Two, because it means larger squares.
Really, that's it. While it will take a while no matter which way you do it to make a queen-sized bed blanket, I'd rather it be done in this decade!

Since I obviously don't have a complete blanket to show you yet, I did want to share some tidbits on blanket making.

First, and this may sound counter-intuitive, but is very important, decide something. Are you going to have a plan, or are you going to fly by the seat of your pants for it?
I wish I had decided this before I started mine, because I've had to plan as I went. Because I flew by the seat of my pants without thinking it through any.
Maybe that's not something you would have an issue with. Maybe you're great at deciding on the fly. I am not. That skill escapes me. Oh, I can manage alright, but I keep thinking "man, if only I'd thought of this first..." and having to try and finagle it anyway.

My original "plan" which was really no plan, was to just do all of the colors I had and just knit it all up and call it a day.
Well, I don't really have that many colors. And some I have a lot more than others. Some I have whole skeins of. Some only scraps.
Which meant that, oh no, I'd get through some squares and not have enough of that color to finish that square! And that, well, that just would not do. So I had to get some off-white, to be the fill-in color (which is working quite nicely, and something I do recommend).

Then I got about 12 squares in and said "man, this is heavy, and I have to do a whole blanket of this?!" So I decided I'll do blocks and knit them together.
So now there's not only the battle of trying to space out colors, but space out colors in their blocks as well.

I did, however, do something right from the start.
That was to log each square.
I've a Field Notes notebook just for this project (it may be overkill, but I'm okay with that).
I'm writing down the date, the squares I've done, the colors they are in, and what the yarn is from (i.e. project leftovers or was it just stash).
I also have a two-page spread just for square location-ing. My Field Notes notebook is dot grid, so I'm filling up the page with the numbers in which I'm completing the squares. You know, as you do. Er, I mean, as a micromanager does!

This is also the story of how all my crocheted blankets came to be - I started with flying by the seat of my pants, only to get a certain way in and go "wait, I need a plan!" You would think I would have learned by now, but apparently not!

Either way, it's a fun process, and while a square takes me just about an hour (which seems ridiculous!) it's nice to see them adding up. Also nice to see the blocks come together - and then be able to say that a block is done and move onto the next one!

I've got more plans to share, though, and more notes about actual blanket construction, that I will be sharing soon, so be on the lookout!

Are you a project planner or a fly by the seat of your pants-er?

~ Havok

If you liked this post, check out these other posts!

Making the Bed

New Crafts and Mind-Blowing [or, Knitting is Cool]

Palate Cleansing