24

Last fall I published a photo of the yarns I'd chosen for a Peace Fleece blanket for the current A4A campaign. I finished it this morning at 1:30; it was in the mail at 8 a.m. Eastern time, and I have high hopes it will squeak in under the wire on Monday.

I call this blanket 24 (apologies in advance, metric folks -- this conceit is only supported if I speak in terms of inches). It was made in 4 sections, each measuring 24 inches by 24 inches, and each based on an equation that equals 24. The first section was 4 stripes, each 6 inches wide (4 x 6); the second was 6 4-inch stripes (6 x 4); the third was 8 3-inch stripes (8 x 3); and the last was 12 2-inch stripes (12 x 2). I got into the second skein of each color, so it used a lot of yarn -- but all of it was already here in my house.


The challenge was not the knitting -- garter stitch rectangles are well within my ability -- but the colors. I tend strongly toward jewel tones and brights; these muted, tweedy, fall and winter landscape colors are unusual for me. I had them in my stash because I've sampled all of the Peace Fleece colors at one time or another.

I wish you could see how all of them glow in the sun; there is extraordinary depth to all of them, and the blanket is many times more attractive than these photos show. The bright orange is actually a rich pumpkin color with golden overtones; the gray is full of flecks of rose, gold, and blue; the very dark color is a deep deep green with blue highlights, etc.

I'd have liked to add a border, but it was easy to decide between artistic fulfillment and keeping some kid warm. And, based on the way it felt on my lap while I was sewing it up, this blanket is WARM.

I'm hoping for a cascade of pictures from all of my fellow last-minute mailers. . . can't wait to see all your good things!