Projects
Temperature Blanket: Season Change
Dear Ann,
Hey I bet you’ve been wondering how my 2022 temperature projects are going. I like to keep you in the loop.
It’s a tale of two blankets.
Bottom line: I’m having a fabulous time. I don’t fully know why it’s so fun, but it’s one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in knitting. Remember that summer I made all those dishcloths—that fun.
Blanket Number 1
Blanket number one is chugging along in a soothing daily rhythm. Sometimes I skip a few days, mostly due to Not in the Mood to Spit-Splice, or not having a minute to figure out what the high temperature was yesterday and what color that was.
But the knitting itself is easy, and somehow exciting. I don’t understand why, but it’s wonderful, so I’m going with it.
Each ridge gets me through about half of The Daily podcast, if that’s a useful frame of reference for you.
I loved this cold snap in early March, where I got to knit a bunch of rows in Maritime and Ciel, two blue shades that are so close to each other that I have to check them against my shade card every time. I also love that the wide blue stripe was followed by the two yellow ridges of Cumin and Mineral. Cumin + Mineral = Spring really is happening!
Blanket Number 2
My little log cabins have only 3 more stitches in them than those long garter ridges (507 stitches versus 504) of blanket 1, yet I’m still in January with them! What could be the reason?
The picking-up of stitches?
The ends to weave in?
The seams to sew?
Those are factors, I’m sure, but I think the main slower-downer is that with these squares I am dealing with 2 colors, representing the high and low temperature for the day. That’s 2 temperatures to record for each day, and then 2 colors to locate on the shade card and in the basket. It’s a bit of friction in the process.
It’s also because I can knit long garter ridges in low light or no light, like a critter that lives in a cave. But I like to have good light to pick up stitches for log cabin strips and for seaming, so I tend to save them for later.
Whatever the reason, I’ve got some catching up to do on blanket 2. I’m excited to see all the 2-color combos that emerge in these early spring days of cool lows and warm highs. Cumin and Ciel! Mineral and Fjord!
Sharing is Caring
I’d love to see how everyone’s temperature project is going. Pop a photo in the MDK Lounge, or on Instagram. It’s a thrill to see all the variations!
Love,
Kay
Thinking about a temperature project of your own? We’ve got a deal for you.
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Surprised there are no comments yet – your Blanket #1 is absolutely gorgeous! I would try to copy your colors-temps chart but it probably wouldn’t work – I doubt temps in NYC are close enough to Maine to yield the same result. But still. Inspiring! Thanks, Kay.
It’s all in the ranges! You’d set your ranges to have more lower temperatures but you could use the same colors.
Working away on my little log cabins at a rate of about 45 NetFlix “Hap and Leonard” minutes a square. Will post progress.
It’s so cool, very motivating!
The subtitles for Drive My Car were very amenable to working on my temperature blanket. For some reason, ahem, I had three hours’ worth of ridges to do… 🙂
I can so see where this garter blanket would be “FUN” …. and soothing. Just enough predictability to keep it easy and a color surprise to keep it interesting. Thanks for sharing.
That blanket !!! My progress is still thinking about it….maybe for 2023. Xox
Kay, are you able to predict how your yardage is going to hold up in certain colors? I’m in upstate NY and planning on copying your shade card 🙂
I thought I would run out of my “cold” colors, but it looks like I will not need a second skein of those until autumn! So far I haven’t run out of my first skein of any color, but the cold colors of January and February are at less than half a skein.
I’m doing a 2023 Temperature Blanket for Newport, Washington where we spend our summers. I have used one ball of Maritime already, and I can imagine I’ll go through another in the Fall.
This is absolutely a project I want to plan to do next year!! I love it! And I love to see how others are doing this blanket. So fun! I’m going to start choosing my yarn and colors so I’m ready to go on January 1, 2023!
Half the fun is in the planning and then the looking-at the colors all in a basket!
I’m making a temperature scarf in the round, two rows of knitting for each day, no purling, thank goodness. Using the daily low temp. Living in north Jersey, it’s still very blue, with white for snow days. I’m ready for spring lord!
I am a few miles north of NJ, and I am getting tired of all of the blues as well. Spring can’t be far behind!
Lorna, I hate it when I don’t check spelling before posting.
The temperature blanket is a great concept, but a blanket size item is a practical non-starter for me… would consider something much smaller using mini skeinettes and in stockinette or better a simple mesh pattern…
I set mine up with 30 stitches (=days of the month) but here at end of Q1 am finding I just don’t sit and knit even that little. So now am thinking I’ll pick up 7 stitches on one side and sort of log cabin for 2Q, do the same on the opposite side for Q3 and then go back to the 30 stitch side, pick up 30 stitches and continue forward when the weather cools for Q4. Finally, I’ll seam the 4 sides together and have a handy bag to store stuff in. Can’t decide if it will be interesting or an unholy mess but it’s keeping me interested!
I was dreaming of a temperature hat the other day! Musselburgh, 12 bands representing the average high temperature for the month! Maybe with fading between…
There are so many ways to do it! I love the Musselburgh idea, and how you could make the inside one season and the outside another.
I did a scarf of local high temperatures in 2016. And it WAS fun. I think the structured randomness of the colors and the easy knitting are factors. Both of these blankets will be beautiful. And they are catch-upable, which is nice.
I was thinking of making a blanket for my oldest grandson who graduates from high school June 2023 to take to college. He plans to be a meteorologist and a weather blanket seems so appropriate ! Maybe of his Senior year and start it in June of this year? My question is how sensible is Rowan Felted Tweed for a boy’s dorm living? Any thoughts?
I’m currently almost done with a weather blanket for my son’s final year of college. I’m knitting four wide strips that will be sewn together: high and low temps of his college town and high and low temps of our town (because even though he’s there and I’m here, our love connects us). Because he’s a college guy about to get a job somewhere with some apartment, I chose extremely washable yarn in solid no-nonsense colors (he doesn’t like heathering or muted colors): knitpicks Mighty Stitch. It still looks great and interesting, and if the cat barfs on it it can be washed in the laundromat a million times.
What a super gift idea for your grandson!
Rowan Felted Tweed is NOT machine washable, it will felt and shrink. However, it is sturdy stuff and rarely if ever needs laundering. I haven’t washed any of my FT blankets/shawls from Field Guide No. 13 or 16 yet, they do not get dirty unless you actually spill something on them. So I think it depends on whether this grandson will heed an instruction not to wash it!
I went into this thinking it would be a lot of fun but it’s even better than I ever imagined. Think going to a Bruce Springsteen concert and being the girl he pulls up on stage kind of fun! I have a triangle shawl going that represents May 12, 2021 to May 11, 2022 representing my niece’s first year of marriage. They got married at City Hall on May 12 but are having the big wedding on May 13th of this year so I want to give it to her at the rehearsal dinner on the 12th. I didn’t start until January so I have been cranking away on it. I’m up to March 25th so should be completely up to date by tomorrow at the latest. Then just one row a day. I was totally stressing myself out about having enough of all the colors but then I realized that the weather app on my phone gives me a prediction for two weeks out. Obviously, not exact, but it gives me an idea of what might be coming up. Very helpful!
I want to see this! Photos or it didn’t happen! (This applies to the shawl and also any dancing with Bruce Springsteen.)
Yours is beautiful, but I am about to give up or skip the whole month of March IDK. I have a LOT of lovely yarn, though.
You are starting to convince me….
I love a challenge Mary Lou.
What beautiful work so far. Love the colors. It sounds like you are making the blanket twice the size—504 stitches vs. 252,m. Is that right?
Each ridge is 2 rows, so 504 stitches. I’m just following the pattern in terms of the size.
Okay…misunderstood. I get it now!
Wow! Just saw your temperature blanket. I am doing one as well for daughter and son-in-law using similar colours to yours. My palette is only 10 colours and 380 stitches wide (king-size in my calculations.) I have 3 shades per 10 degrees Celsius since I live in southern British Columbia. I might get into cumin by the end of the month. Lots of Ciel and Vaseline Green throughout March. I’m inserting 4 ridges of black between months as well. Looking at the project, each month tells a story. I’m also planning on inserting extra rows for birthdays and anniversaries.
I keep thinking that I need to start some more portable knitting, but I CAN’T STOP!! I had a knitting date yesterday, so just looked ahead a few rows and threw those colors into a smaller basket (rather than toting my medium-sized storage box into a coffee shop). I forgot Cumin, so OOPS, gotta run… That, along with last night’s knitting to Yellowstone, leaves me with fewer than 150 rows to finish my husband’s panel for our historical everyone’s first-year hi/lo day/night family temperature blanket! I am DYING to move on!!
When you photograph them on the floor they make me want a rug version!
I have actually broken into the pinks! It’s been a super warm March in the Bay Area. And I’m a month ahead on my historical blanket. It’s honestly the best nighttime tv knitting I’ve come across.
So jealous of your pinks! In Massachusetts and it looks like vaseline green/cumin/mineral for at least the next two weeks.
We’re getting close to Pink Season here, I hope! Plenty of daffodils and the tulips are starting to come up.
New to this world – what a good idea!!
Like a critter that lives in a cave. Lol. It just snowed here so I feel like a critter that lives in a cave.
Oh my goodness! This SO makes me want to knit a temperature “something”. Maybe a scarf, cowl, or hat! It seems like a lot of fun!!!!
They both look good, and the idea of making one is very tempting. Which one does Olive like best?
I am doing a marl with high and low temps combined. I am doing a wide scarf/shawl in single crochet which is really a fast way to simulate linen stitch. I love the way the colors blend and play together.
Olive has an esthetics of proximity, whatever is lying around is her favorite.
My Michigan temperature blanket just got a dose of Savannah/St Simons Island warmth for the past 10 days since I use the temperature of where I am when I wake up:) Nice to see the warm orange/red tones.
I bet!
Forgive me if this has already been mentioned. My obsession with the Temperature Blanket has just begun. There is no way I am going to hold out until January 2023 so I have decided to start on my birthday this October and do the year from October 2022 to October 2023. I am planning to do a ridge in lime green (my favorite color) for each of the family birthdays, regardless of temperature that day. I just have one question: Can you please tell me what needles you’re using? I’m planning to gather everything needed little by little over the spring and summer. Thanks!
I don’t know what needles she used, but I’m using a US 6 based upon the suggestion for felted tweed here: https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/shop/felted-tweed/. I also would like to know what she used since I just started.
I just discovered temperature blankets. I love the colors on your blanket #1. Do you have a chart with the yarn you used? Also, did you use a pattern? Thanks so much. I’m picking up knitting again after a few years of doing needlepoint.
Kay posted the color chart here: https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/2022/01/06/garter-stripe-temperature-blanket-2022/. I just started as well with limited colors from that chart. Good luck!