Inspiration
We Did It: MDK Temperature Challenge 2022
In early November of last year, I had a moment of reckoning. I realized that my semi-abandoned (let’s call it “marinating”) 2022 temperature blanket was not going to knit itself. Inspired by Cara Davis, I had gotten myself and every knitter I could find all het up about knitting or crocheting a temperature project. But life, and the distractions of a full knitting dance card, had gotten in the way. Suddenly, the calendar said November, but my temperature blanket said May.
In a bit of a panic, I cooked up a hashtag and issued a challenge to my fellow temperature blanket enthusiasts. We would swear our most solemn pinky-swear: to knit like the wind to finish our projects by the first week of 2023, with prizes and social media sharing and caring as our motivation enhancements.
Did the knitters and crocheters deliver? Boy, did they ever. In the gallery at the top of this post you’ll see a pageant of glorious temperature projects in knit and crochet, enough inspiration to get everyone fired up to knit more temperature projects in 2023. It was one of the most fun things I’ve ever witnessed in my many years hanging out on this here internet. The imagination, tenacity, and love of knitting and crochet filled my cup many times over.
Last week, as Cristina and I started to try to pick our 3 gift certificate winners, I almost gave up. There were too many, and they were too good. Every single person who finished their project is a winner. I hope you enjoy the living daylights out of your blankets and other temperature projects. I hope they start a lot of great conversations with people who can’t believe you made that beautiful thing. I even dare to hope that these projects will get people thinking about climate change—and perhaps learning to knit!
Prizes!
Heartiest congratulations to our two winners of $25 MDK Gift Cards:
Rholly in the MDK Lounge, with whom I shared a shade card and a garter-stripe shawl pattern, but whose temperatures were so different from mine.
And Lucy F, whose cbeerful log cabins made appearances throughout the year, in her Instagram feed and also in the MDK Lounge.
The Grand Prize
Hold onto your hooks, friends, because the winner of our grand prize, a $50 MDK Gift Card, is crochet!
Throughout 2022, and especially in the fourth quarter, Cristina and I sent each other many breathless DMs as we watched Sara’s gorgeous hexagon blanket take shape. Motif by motif, and as a whole, it is mesmerizing. You really feel the temperature changes—and the power of randomizing a great palette— in this one.
Note to all our winners, please email us at hello@moderndailyknitting.com, so we can set you up with your gift cards.
Congratulations to the winners, and to everyone who joined us for the exhilarating fun of finishing an ambitious project. We can do big things, and not just in knitting and crochet.
For an even fuller picture of this great adventure, here are a couple of great hashtags to visit on Instagram: #mdktemperatureblanket and #mdktemperaturechallenge2022. (Be sure to like and follow your favorite makers.)
One More Thing
So, hey there, temperature project makers, what are we doing in 2023? Are we going to ride this ride again?
STAY TUNED.
WOW!!!!!!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for s great challenge! Loved doing my blanket and seeing everyone’s projects.
Truly beautiful and amazing. I have a knitting/crocheting buddy. We decided to do a blanket for 2023. When I get behind or discouraged, I’ll look at these pretty blankets for inspiration. Thank you.
Amazing! Stunning! Beautiful work! Great job! Thank you all for sharing. Cannot wait to go hang out on Instagram with the two hash tags.
Those are fantastic! Yes, I’m doing one for 2023, but starting on 12/28/22 when my first grandchild was born. I’ll give it to her parents on her first birthday.
This is such a thoughtful idea!
Beautiful idea! What a year of loving stitches.
Those blankets are beautiful. Thank you for the gallery of pictures. Great work blanket makers!
Wonderful idea. The blanket will be more than special!
What a gorgeous feast for the eyes! Thanks for sharing!
Gorgeous blankets! Congratulations to all!
All of these are beautiful! Its tempting to join the fun. Congratulations to all, fabulous work.
Every ONE of those is spectacular! Congratulations
I had entered but without a picture. I couldn’t figure out how to post a picture. I’m fairly new at the smart phone business. Do you have a post to help me out?
At the bottom right of each reply window in the Lounge, you’ll find an icon of a photo. Click it to upload pictures from your phone. Looking forward to seeing your blanket!
Well Done!!!
Phenomenal job, everyone!! I am in awe ♥️♥️♥️
Mind. Boggled.
BEAUTIFUL!!! So tickled to see mine in the gallery!! Congratulations to the winners!! What a fun challenge!!
WOW
Beautiful! I’ve finished knitting my rows for my 2022 blanket and I’m now doing the attached I-cord edge. I calculated what %days had each temperature range and then knitting the appropriate number of inches for each color. Next year! Heck ya! I got addicted to the daily ritual of looking up the temps each morning and writing them in my daily notebook (I also log the daily solar gain from our solar panels). For my 2022 blanket, I cast on 365 stitches (duh!). One change I’ll make for 2023 is to knit the icord edge as I go (think Stephen West shawl patterns, knit to last 3 stitches and then slip 3 wyif). Also, I used spit splice when I changed colors so no ends to weave in, that’s a life and mind saver.
I have started 2023 blanket. I have been weaving the end in as I go. Any advise on getting the spit splice to be right on the end each time? I do like that join. I cast on 200 stitches. I knit my rows during the evening news. I do like the Stephen West icord edge also. I started out with a 1″ border and I will put a border on the sides when done. Have fun with your 2023 project.
This is how I spit splice…..I knit to 10 st before the end of the row; then, wrap that yarn around the needle 10 times, and break the yarn at that spot. Then open your two ply of that yarn, open the two-ply of the new yarn for the next row, spit splice those ends; and then knit the 10 remaining stitches of that row to end of row, and you should be at your new color for the next row; or very close. Sometimes my last stitch of that row may be knit w the new color but it’s such a minor thing you don’t even notice it. And with the new method of using the applied I cord edge, you’d knit to the last 3 st and then slip 3 st wyif. Enjoy!
You can try knitting a few until the end and then unraveling, doing the spit splice. That is how I managed color changes on a striped sweater. Row and mid-row. Worked out brilliantly.
Brilliant! You have undaunted this project for me.
Gorgeous
These are absolutely stunning!!
Congrats! I’ve started two … one for me in VA and one for my son and dil in MA. It’s going to be fun to see how different they are.
Oh my! I am so impressed. The creativity! The size of some of the projects! The variety! All I can say is wow! Great job makers!
All gorgeous!
I do feel left out, though. I entered and finished before the deadline and my photo didn’t get included.
Me too
I’m in! Thank you!
My 2023 yarns for the cold temps have arrived. I’m waiting for two full weeks of 2023 then will get started.
Wow. Just Wow!
I have started (and am current on, haha!) my 2023 blanket, using Kay’s color palette and Phoenix high temperatures. It’s such a lovely daily practice each evening to log the day’s high temp and pull out the corresponding color to knit the following morning. So far, the first 7 days required color changes each day, but this morning I don’t have to join a different ball of yarn!
OH. MY. GOSH.
CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!!!! And GO YOU to everyone out there still working on theirs! And YOU BE YOU to all the people who started and decided meh this isn’t for me! WE ALL WIN! ❤️❤️❤️
After seeing #mdktemperatureblanket for 2022, I took the bait. A group of local knitting friends (and my daughter) have joined in too. Hopefully we will help motivate one another and stay on track. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone makes!
Yep, already started planning the 2023 project and it’s taking a different form.
I found this website
https://www.temperature-blanket.com/
last year and it was helpful, very helpful if you are doing a past year.
With the upgrades this year you can pick the time period, choose your palette (some yarns are listed Felted Tweed isn’t just yet, but I finagled it using another brand as a guide) and even choose a pattern to test out the colors. You can print off sheets filled in with the temperatures and color guide or use it to fill in your own numbers.
Wow, I was overwhelmed looking at this website; it’s very cool. Now I just have to figure out what composes jewel tones. Thanks for posting this.
Congratulations!!! What a fun project this has been. 2023 – here we come!
Amazing blankets, thank you for sharing!
Wow, too. They are all stunning. Sara’s hexagon really highlights the “dead of winter”. Chloe
Congrats to all who finished. Still have 9 days left. Inspired two of my close knitting friends to do a blanket for 2023.
Wow!
Great projects for 2022 everyone. I have started my 2023 blanket.
FANTASTIC!! And so inspiring! Yay Lucy – it’s been a real treat to watch her blanket progress! I’m looking forward to returning to my 1947-1958-1985-1987-1991 Temperature Blanket.
Beautiful! Well done!
Love looking at all of the projects!
I am making a temperature scarf. It’s a joy to take a moment out of each day to add just a bit. I don’t know who the recipient will be.
I am beyond impressed! Beautiful work, everyone. I started a temperature blanket a few years ago, then abandoned it. Someday, I will do one!
Thank you for the inspiration! I bought the yarn last year and started noting temps and then became distracted or possibly rather daunted and stopped. There were so many possibilities, I couldn’t make up my mind which style blanket to do. And then it seemed so large! But I love the blanket based on the Color Explosion blanket from Marls Field Guide and I’d like to try that. Thanks to MDK Lounge, its knitter gave me lots of good info. 23 is my lucky number so maybe I was fated to wait and make this big project for 2023 instead! Also, that pillow looks wonderful and quite do-able and maybe I will try that for the year of my wedding!
Congratulations to the winners. All of the blankets seen here are gorgeous. But, um, er, where’s Kay’s?
I bow to your wow, knitters and crocheters!
I love all the blankets!! I started a Temperature Blanket for 2023. I’m knitting a k2, p2 for each row. So far so good.
Just started my Temperature Blanket and have 4 of my knitting students ready to start theirs.
I posted my temperature scarf too (on Jan. 5). If I didn’t do it the right way (always possible!) I hope you’ll let me know. Thanks for the challenge – it was fun to have motivation to finish!
These are all breathtaking … all works of art! I adore Lucy’s log cabin squares.
So many beautiful blankets and scarves! Congratulations to all of you! And I’ll just put my oar in here to say, if a blanket is too daunting, a scarf is an option. Plus a scarf gets worn when you’re out and about. And trust me on this, a good temperature scarf gets noticed.
Anybody ever do a precipitation blanket? It’s of much more interest to me, even though high temps where I live have ranged from 40ish to 110ish over the past year.
Just started a 2023 tubular temperature scarf. No ends to mess with! I applaud everyone’s perseverance!
Wow! These are all so impressive. I really like the Color Explosion version. Did the maker marl the high and low temps?
Hi Carolyn, I made the Color Explosion version. I did marl the high and low temps! With a few extra squares to make the dimensions work out, where I marled the average monthly temp with a white.
I was so inspired by the 2022 blanket knitters, I decided to jump on the 2023 blanket. One week in and I am loving it!
I’ve started my 2023 Temperature blanket, thanks to your inspirational post last Nov
I thought abut doing 2- high daily temperature blankets (one for 1920 and 2020) as a sort of visual aid. Decided that was too much and settled on one for 2023. I repurposed an MDK Rowan tweed pillow kit and added other colors of the same tone. My colors are more ‘earthy’ or muted so am thinking of adding a black edge….maybe I-cord, maybe crochet. Cast on 250 stitches, using one color for above 100 and one color for below 30 with 4 degree ranges in between, knitting 1 ridge (2 rows) per day.
Amazing work, very inspiring!
Beautiful entries for the Temperature Blankets -ingenious!
Congratulations to everyone who finished their Temperature blankets. They are all beautiful. A special shout out to my friend Lucy F for winning one of the gift certificates.
Each blanket is so beautiful and unique, such as a snowflake or finger print! Love them all.
Such a great idea. I just started one this month. Could see where it could get boring half way thru the year. I usually have several WIPS in process. The different temperature blankets and scarfs are beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful – I’m working on a mood wrap this year inspired by these blankets – I’m tracking my mood daily and knitting a wrap using 7 different colors based on my mood for the day
Would like to share my 2022 temperature blanket
So beautiful! Finished 2022 scarf/cowl with a little repair to do before sharing pix. Readying new scarf of low temp for 2023 using same colors – looking forward to seeing the comparisons. Agree with others who have enjoyed checking the temps each day. Congrats to the winners for their amazing creations!
The grand prize winner’s crochet blanket is stunning! I really need to relearn crochet and knit down some of this stash! My dream is to do a temperature blanket for the year I was born (1955). I downloaded the temps from that year, just have to pick the colors.
All beautiful works of art. I am curious as to the edging on Lucy F’s. I read using the spit splice but that would work for 100% wool. Superwash? Did she weave each end individually or as she went using the Fair Isle method?
They are all lovely. Thank you for the photos.
Wow! So many beautiful projects!
Love these temperature blankets. Coolest ever! How many skeins would one need for an afghan? Also, I’m making this for a friend who’s sick; how long do you think it takes to knit this in afghan or blanket sizes? Thanks so much.