My Sky Blanket plans for 2016

It’s no secret that I find it hard to relax and to wind down in the evening.  My brain would run through scenarios and things I’d realise could have gone better – after the event.  

This year has seen me come out of the other side of depression, tackle my biggest phobia and start doing volunteer work, all at the same time as trying to be the best wife I can (this is where Hubbie may splutter a bit) and face the challenges that our two wonderful children with varying degrees of autism can bring.

I also headed off to the full BritMums Live event this year for the first time.  Last year I was a finalist in the blogging awards and I dashed up for the ceremony and then scurried away afterwards, wanting to get home because I wasn’t feeling confident in myself.  

This year’s BritMums saw a room taken over for knitting, crochet and sewing.  It was wonderful to take a few moments away from the busy conference rooms and rediscover knitting.  

Knitting was something was my Grandma taught me and I’d knitted quite a bit when my eldest was born, then T and D came along and disliked anything woolly.  “Too itchy and scratchy” as T now tells me.  So, the needles got put aside and I got on with our lives, childminding too but heading towards burnout and that eventual “please help me, I’m so tired and worn out” (long over due) appointment with my doctor in November 2014.

Since picking up the needles again, I’ve made scarves, a couple of sofa throws, stockings for D’s teachers and a few little woolly toys.  I’m so glad I did, it’s very calming to clickety-clack away and produce something at the end of it.  At this time of year, it’s keeping me away from the Christmas chocolate too! 

But you’re probably thinking “what does all the above have to do with a Sky Blanket and what is one?” 

Well, it’s explained here.  A Sky Blanket is a knitted or crocheted blanket with a square or a row for each day of the year.  It could sound a bit daunting but obviously keep the squares small as there will be 365 of them!

I found some ideas as to sizing here and I really like the idea of twisting two different colours of wool to represent the skies, so, for example, today would have been grey and white as it was cloudy.  The pattern suggests using moss stitch (knit 1, purl 1) and this will create a nice bobbled effect.

So, onto my wool stash, I’ve collected wools that will represent sunsets, fireworks, sparkly nighttime skies and maybe even some snow (the children would be delighted!):

  
These are the ones I’m really looking foward to using, with sequins for stars, lilacs and reds for fireworks and a soft snuggly white wool for snow:

  
I’ve had an idea to incorporate birthdays and anniversaries on the appropriate squares too, I just need to get those ordered.  As well as grey wool, I think I’ll need lots more grey! 

I’m looking forward to starting this on Friday 1st January and occasionally sharing progress, with photos here.  I did wonder if I should stick to a set time of day (maybe 3pm as that’s when I’m walking to school) but then I’d miss out on sunsets and those lovely frosty mornings, so it will be as and when I remember to look up and appreciate the wonderful colours that Nature provides.

My one (little) regret is that I haven’t mastered crochet as I love the look of the various techniques and colours intermingled into one large blanket.  Maybe that’s something for Sky Blanket 2017? But I’m not going to fret about it now – something else I’ve learned from my little journey through emotions this year.

Here’s the link if you’d like to get more details, just click and that will take you through to the lovely ladies hosting this.

I’m looking forward to it Jx 

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