Beyond Knitting
Team Blanket: How We Can Knit Blankets Together
Dear everybody,
Wow! It is heartening to hear from so many of you about making a blanket for Tia Coleman. Thank you, everybody, for your generous hearts and readiness to knit a square for Tia.
Yarn has gone out to the folks who will be making squares for Tia, so we think the blanket will come together quickly.
What strikes us now is how many of you instantly volunteered to knit squares. We’ve been thinking about how we can help channel all this goodwill (not to mention knitting talent!) toward the making of other blankets.
A Proposal: Team Blanket
Basically, we’d like to encourage anybody who would like to help knit a blanket. In our experience, knitting squares for a group-knit blanket is one of the greatest joys of knitting. We want you to have this experience.
What Kay and I can’t handle is receiving a thousand squares and turning them into blankets. (We did this in 2004 and it was huge fun, but Kay needed to buy new real estate to house the incoming packages.)
We’re asking for knitters to volunteer to be Team Blanket leaders.
Here’s the thing. Making a group blanket isn’t the hardest thing in the world, but it definitely requires a leader who is committed to making it all come together.
What It Takes to Be a Team Blanket Leader
Getting a blanket figured out, a recipient identified, communicating with square-knitters, the logistics of mailing squares, the sewing up of the squares, the delivery of the blanket—all these steps require a cool head, good organization, commitment to seeing it through. And maybe a teeny bit of friendly nudging to get to the finish line. (Pro tip: you may end up knitting extra squares to get the thing to turn out right.) (This is not a problem; you like to knit, right?)
Think middle school basketball coach. Think kindly person who loves making cool things happen.
So: if you are feeling like a Team Blanket leader, email us at helloATmoderndailyknittingDOTcom. Let us know what you have in mind for your blanket: recipient, pattern, yarn weight, number of knitters required, time frame. All these are up to each leader.
The financial component is that you’ll need to cover the cost of shipping the finished blanket to the recipient. The time component is however long it takes to oversee the making of squares and sewing up of the blanket. Pro tip: sewing up squares makes an excellent opportunity for a party. When a group sews up a blanket, it is a) superfun and b) fast.
How It Will Work
We envision this blanket-making venture as a series of topics in the MDK Lounge, our online forum where knitters can communicate easily with each other and the Team Blanket leader.
- Each blanket project will have its own thread for conversation, counsel, and sharing of photos. Seeing blankets come together is another of the great joys of knitting.
- Knitters who want to knit squares can volunteer for the blanket or blankets they want to work on.
- Team Blanket leaders can recruit friends, knitting groups, guilds, total and complete strangers from the bus stop—whoever you like.
- If you like, we will give you the pattern for the Mitered Crosses Blanket to distribute to your knitters for free.
- Knitters will provide their own yarn for their squares, as well as postage to send the squares to the Team Blanket leader. If a leader wants to take on sending yarn to knitters, at their own expense, have at it. But in our experience, blankets can be very beautiful even with a varied bunch of yarns.
- This blanket-making effort can continue as long as Team Blanket leaders want to lead, as long as knitters want to knit.
Updates from Us
We hope to see some beautiful blankets emerge from all your good hearts. Email us at helloATmoderndailyknittingDOTcom if you’re up for being a Team Blanket leader. We’ll contact you with more details and our Time-tested Tips for Excellent Group-Knit BlanketsTM.
And if you’re game to knit a square for one of these blankets, watch this space. We’ll let you know when the Lounge has some Team Blanket opportunities for you.
We’ll be watching all this very closely, and will be knitting squares ourselves.
Love,
Ann and Kay
Brilliant! There are so many great groups doing similar – Knitting for Peace, Welcome Blanket Project – but for these you need to donate a completed project. The synergy of working with a team is an exciting prospect and an amazing opportunity to contribute kindness by doing what we love.
I was going to suggest the same groups! A friend and I created a Welcome Blanket together last year; this year I made one on my own. I’ve recently heard about Knitting for Peace and knitted my first Pocket Peace Pal (a 7″ simple doll) last night. Visit their website to find out how you can participate.
Love, love this! ❤️
You are incredible!!! I am part of a knitting group where many of the knitters are aging and have made enough charity hats and mittens. I still want everyone to come out and be part of the group. Your blanket is a great idea and the pattern is certainly classy and would encourage everyone to just”just do one square”. We have LOTS of yarn to use and I would very much appreciate the pattern. I can’t wait to present the idea and picture to the group…we might encourage others to join! We have previously donated our lap blankets to senior homes.
I have done this, more than once, and it’s been a lot of fun. Three words of advice: gauge, gauge, and gauge. Fitting a 7- or 12-inch square in with all of the 10-inch (as specified) squares is a challenge you don’t need!
I had this experience while captaining a baby blanket project. You can block a square bigger, but you can’t block it smaller! I re-knit that one to make it work.
So you never told us. Which blanket are you making!?
Thank you again! I’ll be watching for groups that need people. (Not quite ready to lead yet).
I’d also love to be part of a team!! Maybe a Pacific Northwest area group, if someone with excellent leadership & organizational experience would step up to lead 🙂 then I’m in!! Also, great tip about “gauge, gauge, gauge” lol
I’m in Eugene, and signing up to be a Team Leader for a blanket for Bags of Love (http://bagsofloveinc.org
I’d like to be in team Pacific NW! This sounds like an amazing project.
Could I set one up for the UK? It’s a brilliant idea
I’m in the UK too, count me in Julia. Thank you Kay and Ann for starting this, I just knew you would!
Let’s do it!
I’m in the UK and I’d love to join in!
Yes, of course!
Warm Up America is also here in DFW if a local group ‘springs up’.
Team blanket knitting = high point in a crafting life
At least one of the Team Blanket leaders should consider a raffle or an auction for a Particularly Beautiful specimen of blanket. Knitting is wonderful. Everyone doing their part is heartening. But raising some $ for the effort is directly practical. Wasn’t there a goegeous Noro blanket sewn up & raffled for A for A in the early 2000’s?
Yes we did a raffle at least once, and an auction (eBay) twice that I can recall, with squares from you in both blankets, I think! The raffle winner wanted to see the blanket it so she could enjoy it, but she wanted it to make even more money so she gave it back to me and we auctioned it on eBay to raise more money! Good times. Will always remember Joan’s brilliant generosity.
❤️❤️ bises
We’re doing this already! My workplace started a knitting group this summer and one thing we wanted to do is include a teaching component (I mean, we always teach to others ad hoc, but this would be organized). We’re going to teach how to knit a garter square, then sew them all into a blanket that will go to an immigrant welcome group in town.
But I wonder if there might me slightly more advanced knitters who might like to tackle a mitred crosses blanket… hmmm.
Fantastic!
I would love to knit a square or 2 a leader can email me info of pattern and colors. And yarn used.
I am on knitting hiatus due to repetitive stress injury to shoulder – from knitting!!!!!
Would love to join in when I can start knitting again in 6 weeks. Fortunately can start knitting again for VKL in SF.
BTW, PRP (platelet rich plasma- using your own) is a simple and very effective treatment for this injury.
I’d love to jump in and knit a square. I’m in CT, USA. Please put me where you have an opening.
I crochet …what do u need
My knitting group are already knitting squares to make lap blankets for the local nursing home
I’m too hot to think of the answers to all of the leader questions, but will work on that. Thinking of something for the people who have lost their homes in the fires in CA.
Oh Stephanie, that is such a good idea!! So many have lost so much. It’s just devastating
I’m already doing circular knitting of Chemo Caps for Knots of Love… but would be more than willing to knit some flat squares under a team leader. Western PA if that means anything…
What a great and wonderful idea !
I loom knit but I would be very willing to lend a hand. If there’s a group in s.c. count me in.
I learned to knit on a similar project. In second grade at Catholic school, it was decided that each child would knit a square and then one parent (somehow my Mother volunteered) would put all the squares together for an afgan and give it to the priest performing our First Communion in the Spring. We were given sample yarn to learn on in class in December with parents coming in a couple of times a week to teach the kids. Then over winter break we were told to pick out our own yarn and make one square each (there were about 50 kids between three classes). I remember my Mom joining all the squares with black yarn. A crazy mix of colors it was!!! My love of knitting started here. And the concept that a small act can turn into something larger if we all try. I would be happy to knit squares again!
Just finished watching a CBS Sunday Morning piece on the current unrest and “incivility” in our country which left me feeling a bit sad and disheartened. Reading Ann’s original Tia Coleman post as well as this one and seeing the outpouring of love and volunteerism has been a balm to my heart. Leave it to the knitters/crafters to restore a person’s faith in mankind. I would be honored to knit squares for any Team Blanket leader who would have me. And thank you, Ann and Kay, for giving us a small way to give back by doing something we love.
Square-maker here! It’s just summer hit here in southern AZ, but that won’t slow down the knitters! Watching this space as directed!
I would like to participate in this endeavor by making squares. Do I need to sign up somewhere?
I requested to participate when the post initially came out. Have I been assigned to a team?? Lynn