Oddball Charity Blanket Knit-Along

Our Blanket is COMPLETE!

2011-07-18T15:19:00.004-05:00

Woo Hoo! Alert the media! Our blanket is finally finished. :)

It took several years, and several knitters to make our lovely blanket. We should all be proud of the work we have done.

I read the entire journal as I was knitting, and looked at all the sections that were knitted. Such a beautiful experience, seeing the words and handiwork of each of the sweet people who participated in our project.

This was our very first Oddball Blanket, and I started it on February 23rd, 2007.

It then travelled all over the United States to grow a few inches at a time. Each knitter added their own special touch, along with lots of love:

That last photo shows how it looked when it finally came back to me after all it's travels. I still had quite a bit of work to do to finish it up. A couple sections of the blanket had been worked in a design that was too tight for the blanket, so it was drawing in the sides. So I had to remove those sections, and re-connect the blanket using kitchener stitch. Next, I added a few more sections to get the blanket large enough. Next was the huge task of weaving in all the loose ends. It was a lot of work, but I finally got it done.

Now, our blanket is complete, and ready to give to charity. We've decided to give it to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. It is the poorest spot in the USA. The average life expectancy for residents is only 47 for males and early 50s for women. The unemployment rate is 90% and the teen suicide rate is four times the national average. Basics such as running water, heat and food are scarce for many residents let alone jobs and health care.

I've heard that they really appreciate handmade blankets, so I feel like they are the perfect recipient for our creation!

The Blanket is Back at Shandeh's House

2008-04-16T20:10:00.004-05:00

After spending about a month at Cottage Yarn, our blanket grew a tiny bit. We also received 3 skeins of yarn donated from the shop! So, we will use that yarn to work on adding more length to our blanket.

Lestrella (a local member of the Knitting Help Forum) has offered to help knit some, so I'll be getting together with her soon to pass it over.

The Oddball Blanket is at Cottage Yarn!

2008-03-14T00:27:00.004-05:00

Our 1st Oddball Blanket is very near completion. Shandeh laid the blanket out on a queen size bed, and realized that we need about 12 more inches to make it full-size.

Since the blanket is so large, it's just too expensive to mail to another knitter. So, she has taken the blanket to her favorite local yarn shop, Cottage Yarn, in Mint Hill, North Carolina. There, visitors can see the blanket, read the journal, and knit a few rows. They can even write a few words in the journal!

So, if you happen to be in North Carolina, go by Cottage Yarn to see our beautiful blanket, before it is given to charity!

(Pardon the quality of these photos - they were taken with my little Sony Clie PDA.)

Getting Final Touches Added!

2008-02-03T00:40:00.000-05:00

Our 1st Oddball Blanket has had quite an adventure over the past year. It began in Shandeh's house on February 25th, 2007.

And has grown to a beautiful blanket, handknit by 25 knitters!

We are now finishing up the blanket, weaving in the ends, adding a few more rows of knitting, and adding a border.

Won't it be wonderful to see it complete?

We are really looking forward to giving this handknitted work to charity. :)

22 Knitters Have Created a Beautiful Blanket!

2008-01-06T20:35:00.001-05:00

Our 22 knitters have done a BEAUTIFUL job on the 1st Oddball Blanket for charity.

Today, Howdovely and Shandeh met at Starbucks to handoff the blanket.

Our Oddball Blanket is Almost Finished!

2007-12-27T08:52:00.000-05:00

Our Oddball Blanket has had a very interesting life, travelling all over the United States. Now, it's back in North Carolina, and is almost complete. :)

Beekaync is currently adding her knitting to the blanket. Soon, it will be back in Shandeh's hands!

Misha rf Finished Her Knitting!

2007-12-15T22:29:00.000-05:00

Misha rf had fun doing her part of the Oddball Blanket. She used "Classic Worsted Tapestry" by Universal Yarns, and did a Bamboo Stitch pattern.

Here's a close-up of her stitching:

On the Way Back Home to North Carolina!

2007-11-25T13:56:00.001-05:00

Wow! Our blanket has had a LONG journey throughout the United States, and it is now on its way back home to North Carolina.

Cristy in Georgia was our last knitter, and she has just mailed the blanket to misha rf. Now, the blanket will be worked on by two other Carolina knitters before heading home to Shandeh!

Woo Hoo!

HollyP's Knitting

2007-11-04T22:54:00.000-05:00

HollyP has not been feeling well this week, so she hasn't mailed the blanket to Cristy yet. She plans on sending it out tomorrow though, so we're still on schedule! Get better, Holly! :D

Here is the latest photo of our blanket, posed on a queen size bed. It's almost long enough to make a perfect full-size blanket! Yay!

And here's a closer view of HollyP's knitting:

She used Caron Simply Soft yarn in the color Autumn Red. Her stitch design was the "Loop Pattern" from the "365 stitches" calender on the Dec 14th page.

On the way to Georgia - Getting Closer to Home!

2007-10-31T11:10:00.001-05:00

Wow! Our blanket is getting closer to home every day!

It's now on its way to Cristy in Georgia - only 3 more knitters left!!

Travelling to Virginia! Only 4 Knitters Left!!

2007-10-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

Our first Oddball Blanket is on the home stretch now, with only 4 knitters left before it goes back to Shandeh in North Carolina! Our blanket started as just an idea in February of 2007, and has almost reached completion in less than a year. Great job everyone!

How cool to see it grow into a beautiful blanket, handknit with love by wonderful people in the Knitting Help Forum!

Right now, the blanket is beginning another journey through the postal system to HollyP in the state of Virginia.

HamaLee's Knitting on our Blanket!

2007-10-18T08:21:00.000-05:00

HamaLee did an interesting stitch pattern for her portion on our blanket. It has bobbles!

Here's a view of our blanket now!

Latest view of our beautiful blanket!

2007-10-15T02:21:00.001-05:00

Successful Journey to Massachusetts!

2007-10-09T16:06:00.000-05:00

Our blanket has arrived in Massachusetts!
Now, it's HamaLee's turn!

Ready for Montana!

2007-09-10T12:43:00.000-05:00

Our blanket is ready to go on the road again.

This time to Montana!

Ready to Travel Again!

2007-09-07T20:32:00.000-05:00

Oddball Blanket #1 just had a nice visit with newamy in Oregon, and has a new look!

Our Blanket is Ready to Travel to Oregon!

2007-08-28T20:49:00.000-05:00

Our blanket had such a wonderful sunny vacation in California, and now it's time for another state to be toured. On to beautiful Oregon now!

Letah75 did a slip-stitch pattern for her part of the blanket, using two different colors of yarn.

Our blanket looks cool, invading her workspace. Just captures another day in the life of our charity blanket!

Letah75 is Knitting in California

2007-08-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

Letah75 has been working on our Oddball Blanket in her home in California. Now, all we have to do is wait a little longer, and the blanket will FINALLY travel to a new state!

Jillle is finished!

2007-08-03T22:26:00.001-05:00

Jillle said that she enjoyed working on the Oddball Blanket, and she did a good job!

Her green yarn looks nice next to Zip's teal. :)

Zip has Zipped Up Her Portion of the Blanket!

2007-07-12T01:01:00.000-05:00

Woo Hoo! Zip was FAST! And her knitting has added another touch of beauty to our blanket.

Whoever gets this blanket is a LUCKY person. It's GORGEOUS!

Zip used a vintage Phildar yarn she bought in a yarn shop about 20 years ago. It's a good yarn, isn't it? She used the stitch pattern from the textured cuff section of Knitty's "Knucks".
http://www.knitty.com/issuesummer06/PATTknucks.html

Blanket Connects Sisters Across the US!

2007-07-04T00:47:00.000-05:00

I've just GOT to make a post about this, because it is SO COOL.

Zip is our current knitter in California, and she is MY SISTER!
I live in North Carolina, so we are on opposite ends of the nation.

Isn't it cool that our blanket has travelled all the way across the continent, and will have knitting from both of us sisters?

I think it's AMAZING!

STILL Basking in the California Sun!

2007-07-03T09:11:00.000-05:00

Our blanket is having such a WONDERFUL time in California, that it doesn't want to leave!

KathyinCali just finished her section, and has mailed the blanket on to Zip!
(photos to come!)

Oddball Blanket #1 - Basking in the California Sun

2007-06-19T22:20:00.001-05:00

Jan in CA added her knitting, and ended with a flourish by taking an EXCELLENT photo of our blanket!

Time for some Lovin' from our California Oddball Knitters!

2007-06-13T23:43:00.000-05:00

Jan in CA received our Oddball Blanket at her doorstep today, and was THRILLED with the beauty of the blanket, as well as all the GOODIES that SabrinaJL sent to her!

New Mexico Knitting is GORGEOUS!

2007-06-12T00:08:00.000-05:00

SabrinaJL in New Mexico added such a beautiful textured portion to our Oddball Blanket.

Now, the blanket will be heading to California to visit with 5 different knitters from the Knitting Help Forum!

Our Blanket Quietly Traveled to New Mexico!

2007-06-06T19:30:00.000-05:00

Like a thief in the night, our Oddball Blanket travelled unseen through the city streets, arriving at its destination in New Mexico without ANY fanfare at all!

I just got a message from SabrinaJL that she has already FINISHED knitting her section!

Hopefully, we'll get a photo. But if not, we'll get one out of Jan in CA for SURE! She LOVES to take photos. :)

Jeanius80 is almost finished knitting!

2007-05-31T22:23:00.000-05:00

Jeanius80 has been working on her part of the blanket, and plans on mailing it to the next knitter in the next couple days.

Here is her portion so far. She's using Caron Simply Soft.

A Person-to-Person Oddball Blanket Handoff

2007-05-18T02:01:00.001-05:00

Our Oddball Blanket was hand-delivered today to the next knitter in Washington state. Jeanius80 is just starting her two week visit with the blanket. I hope she has fun!

Our last knitter, jhelanee just shared some photos of her knitting, and the blanket looks great!

She wanted to see how large the blanket really is, so she spread out the stitches on two circular needles, and placed the blanket on her queen-size bed. Neat! Now, we have an even BETTER idea of how large our blanket really is!

The Blanket is now in WASHINGTON!

2007-05-07T21:31:00.000-05:00

Our blanket has survived several trips through the US Postal Service now. Today, jhelanee in Seattle, Washington received the blanket in good shape.

She also got some goodies from the knitter before her, so she is a happy girl today. :)

The Oddball Blanket is getting FANCY!

2007-05-01T14:42:00.000-05:00

Lucy Fan in Michigan has given our Oddball Blanket a touch of CLASS!

She chose to knit an INTERESTING knit stitch on her portion of the Oddball Blanket! She chose to do this stitch cache.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/faq-search.cgi?store=/stores/... because it looked like a very simple pattern repeat. She said it was a really easy stitch to do.

Take a look at our Oddball Blanket NOW!

Our Oddball Blanket is Now in Michigan!!

2007-04-17T19:34:00.000-05:00

Yippee! Our blanket survived another trip through the US Postal Service into the hands of Lucy Fan in Michigan!

She got lots of goodies along with the blanket, so she should be a HAPPY knitter now!

Our Oddball Blanket is on the road to MICHIGAN!

2007-04-12T21:01:00.000-05:00

Missy in Florida just completed knitting her section of our Oddball Blanket, using a bright sunny yellow yarn to represent the Florida sunshine! :)

I would venture to say that our blanket is getting more beautiful every day!

Now, the blanket will be sent off in the hands of our trusty US Postal Service to visit the state of Michigan!

The Oddball Blanket is Basking in the Florida Sun!

2007-03-30T05:51:00.000-05:00

Our Oddball Blanket has survived another trip through the US Postal Service, and is now having a fun vacation in sunny Florida!

feminine_earth will be enjoying her time with the blanket, as well as all the goodies she received from Genny Lynn!

The Kentucky Tour is OVER!

2007-03-22T12:24:00.000-05:00

Our Oddball Charity Blanket had a fun visit in Kentucky, in the home of GennyLynn. She treated the blanket well, adding a pretty blue section. Nice!

Here is the blanket progress after 4 knitters got their hands on it!

And here's a closer view:

Now, the blanket is ready to get packed up, and shipped out to experience the beautiful sunny skies of Florida!

Knitter #3

2007-03-12T04:44:00.000-05:00

The blanket is moving along very well now! Our third knitter - Larissa in North Carolina, just finished making some lovely cables with a nice soft yarn in a pretty sage green.

Great work, Larissa!

Here is a closer view of the cables:

The Oddball Charity Blanket - Knitter #2

2007-03-05T00:21:00.000-05:00

The second knitter on the Oddball Charity Blanket was Melissa, from North Carolina. She used a lovely, soft, dark red yarn for her rows of knitting.

Here's a photo of the blanket so far:

And here's the blanket in the hands of Melissa's sweet baby girl:

Oddball Charity Blanket Knit Along

2007-02-25T21:07:00.000-05:00

I've been a member of the Knitting Help Forum for the past year, and I've made LOTS of great friends. I just LOVE that place!!!

You should check it out sometime.
www.knittinghelp.com (click FORUM to see our group of friendly knitters)

Anyway, I had an idea one day that it would be lots of fun to work on a big blanket together for charity. So, I typed a post in the forum about my idea, and it took off. Lots of knitters agreed to take part in the project. Now, we have 25 knitters signed up to knit. Each of us will knit some rows on the blanket, then pass it on to the next knitter on the list.

The blanket will travel through several states, including North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Michigan, Washington, New Mexico, California, Oregon, Montana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, and finally back to North Carolina.

The coolest part is that we will all be able to see each other's knitting, and work together on something important to us. Even if we can't ever meet in person, we are doing something together and bonding. I'm so excited!

We will each be knitting about 3 inches on rows that are 300 stitches long, using a washable worsted weight yarn. At the end, the blanket should measure about 60 inches by 80 inches, after a border has been added.

To make things more fun, we'll be writing about ourselves and our involvement in the project in a small notebook which will be traveling with the blanket. We'll also be adding some photos if we want. (Some of the photos will be posted in this blog.) I think it would also be nice if we put a sticker representing each of our states in the notebook as well.

We haven't chosen a definite charity yet, but we have plenty of time to decide. Right now, we are considering the Salvation Army Homeless Shelters, Warm the World, or a battered women's shelter.

I have finished knitting the first portion of the blanket, and written a message in the notebook. Now it's ready to go to the next person on the list!