This blanket was a recent knitting project….that took about a year to complete because it wasn’t my only project, just the one I worked on when I wanted to. It’s a 10-stitch blanket that uses this pattern.

In some ways it’s really easy, because you start from the center, and the rectangle grows with each row. This allows you to stop at any time, when you run out of yarn, time, or patience. Or if you just want a table cover or a cup holder, I guess! So it’s adaptable, and you can use it to fit your needs.

The pattern itself is super simple, which might turn some people off, but it’s great for working on while watching TV, and because the rows are all ten stitches long, it’s easy to always end on a finished row, if that’s the sort of person you are.

As you can likely tell by the assault of color (and this shot is darker than it appears in real life!), I didn’t use all one color yarn – I scrounged through my partial skeins from old projects (that were roughly the same yarn weight) and knitted them all together into…this. It’s ugly as sin, and I love it. Because seeing it also reminds me of all the other knitting projects I’ve worked on. The colors also feel whimsical and old, calling back to a different time and place and person as I lie under it’s warmth.

And it is warm! Most of the yarns are worsted weight (one is heavier, a few are lighter), which isn’t the thickest yarn, but this makes a cozy blanket. It’s also smallish – I can fold it in half and drape it over my lap easily while writing a blog post about a blanket. I could have made it larger, of course, but I’m happy with the size, which covers my legs still (I was also running out of extra yarn that would work and the patience to work on it).

My point? Just because your project isn’t as pretty as other projects, doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful, useful, and special in its own way.