two and a half pounds

After I got home a week ago Friday, I stayed up until 12:30 am and finally finished this blanket for the latest Youth Campaign at afghans for Afghans. The deadline was February 14th, and after my dear husband dropped me off at the cookie a. workshop, he went to the post office and mailed the package.

The finished blanket measured 40x45 inches and weighed two and a half pounds!

It all started in December when I volunteered to make a blanket square for a generous soul on ravelry who was collecting them to make blankets for donation. I started the square, which should have taken all of two evenings to complete, set it aside and proptly was sidetracked by The Holidays.

I didn't find the square again until after New Year's, went rummaging for yarn, and decided to keep going and just make a whole blanket myself.

As with all log cabin designs, the first few blocks are a breeze. I knocked one out a night. As the rows got longer, each block took several evenings. The weight of the project was starting to wear on my arms, and I could feel my tendonitis flare up. I went to alternating knitting on this and other projects, plus rest nights.

Meanwhile the deadline kept creeping up faster and faster, until finally I needed to stay up past my bedtime and finish it. I had woven in ends as I went along, which was a blessing in the final minutes as I was getting a bit bleary-eyed.

The thought of being able to help even one child stay warm kept me going the whole time.


I used up about 1850 yards of stash yarn, about half of it was Lamb's Pride Bulky, half of it from a batch of yarn I had gotten a few years back at Rhinebeck for which I just never found the right project. It was a handdyed dk weight yarn that I held double. Then there were some odds and ends too.

leftovers - enough for mittens?

I tucked a bar of chocolate into the package for the volunteers who so lovingly pack everything up for the long journey to Afghanistan. Ann Rubin sent me an email to let me know that everything arrived safely and on time, after my anxious inquiry.

Now they are gearing up for part 2 of this campaign, and I'm thinking I might just have to make some mittens for it.