28 December 2015

Keep warm this winter

Ocean Currents Blanket by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
We've come to the last blogpost in the "Knitting Ahead" series! It seems a long while since we took a walk in the green woods of New Hampshire and felt the first chill of autumn coming. That was back in August but we have now reached the end of the year and the snow is lying thickly over all the ground outside.

So the last idea in this series is to have two projects going at the same time – one smaller one and one larger project. I proposed this in my last blogpost and there you will find a suggestion for a textural beanie to keep you warm when you venture outside.

But it's a great idea to have a larger project to work on at the same time. Large projects are perfect for this time of the year. You can add an extra log onto the fire, curl up with the cat beside you and just knit all through the afternoon if you like. It's a wonderfully quiet time. The holidays are over and you can sit and take your ease with an audiobook playing along if the mood takes you – your knitting will grow steadily as the story unfolds.

So here's a pattern that will give you many happy hours of knitting and also help make some real inroads into your yarn stash, the Ocean Currents Blanket. What's great about this blanket is that it's designed to use any kind of yarn you have to hand. If the yarns have a similar weight and composition and you think you can make the colours work, then feel free to use them!
Ocean Currents Blanket by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
I have always loved American pieced quilts – they just have a charm and a character all of their own. You can find quilts from early settlers where many different materials have been incorporated: old shirts, dresses, left‐over scraps etc. So this blanket emulates this idea and is made more beautiful by using a variety of yarns and colours.

I chose to use a range of complementary blue yarns, but you could work a multi‐coloured version for a lively look, or choose a series of natural yarns instead. Let your bedroom decor dictate your starting point and see what yarns you have to suit.

​The blanket here started with some left‐over hand‐spun yarns from the Ocean Currents Rug, but then I added in all kinds of other wool yarns that were languishing in my yarn basket and teamed these with some new Cascade Yarns "Cascade 220".
Ocean Currents Blanket by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
There are different dyelots in there too, just for good measure. Have you noticed that you can often get really good bargains at the local yarn stores if you just want a ball or two of a different dyelot? Well, here's you chance to raid those sale bins! The slight change of tone or colour will just add to the charm of the final piece.

The pattern includes three different sizes for a Single/Twin bed, a Double/Queen size and a King‐sized blanket.To read more details about the Ocean Currents Blanket, please click here. The pattern is available for instant download from the site.

Thank you for all the great messages about this series – I am glad that you enjoyed the blogposts and the twelve new patterns! If you'd like to go back to the start of the series and read them in sequence, then please click here to see the first blogpost, and then follow the links at the bottom of each page until you get back here.

I'll be back in the New Year. I hope you all have a wonderful start to the New Year, 2016!

Until then – Keep warm and Happy Knitting!

Moira
Reversible Knitting Stitches book by Moira Ravenscroft & Anna Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs

Last Blogpost: So now what?
"Knitting Ahead" Series Introduction: Autumn is coming!
​Next Up:
 Roc-ing into 2016

Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches
My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com
Keywords: Series/Knitting Ahead, Patterns/Blankets,
#knittingahead, knitting ahead, autumn, winter, blanket, blankets, patchwork blanket, quilt, striped blanket, using different dyelots,

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