I’ve got an easy-peasy super fun project in Mason-Dixon Knitting’s Field Guide No. 1: Stripes.
You got it – stripes – Stripes are what I always knit before I knew how to do stranded knitting. You might say stripes drove me to stranded knitting, because I eventually got tired of knitting them and branched out. I enjoyed knitting many many projects featuring stripes though and I’ve come back around to them. There are so very many variations you can do, endless joy and experimentation with color, proportion and texture.
When I was little my grandparents lived across the Sound at a place in the woods called Harper. It was dreamy land, a little cordwood house tucked in the wilds (you can see a picture of it on my Pinterest). Of course their car was a Woody. Kids and dogs would pile in the back and we’d bounce down to the beach and spend the day. On our return, with hair full of sand, salty skin smeared with seaweed, we’d bundle in the back swathed in colorful camp blankets that lived in the car – pure comfort and shimmering stripes.
When Kay and Ann asked me to design a blanket, I thought of those endless beachy days and those blankets. I wanted the making of the blanket to be as carefree as the memories. I’d just fallen in love with stripes all over again after working on my new book (yes!) Geo Knits. Squishy 3-D garter stitch stripes are my current favorite, I love the wrong-side-is-as pretty-as-the-right-side aspect. I made a decision for the strips to be joined from the wrong side, making Station Wagon Blanket even more reversible – now each side has a “wrong side” element. Choosing the colors and experimenting with the stripe patterns was really fun, I hope you like them. There’s lots of room for your own color choices and flourishes for a custom Station Wagon Blanket.
Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guides are just my thing. I love a sweet little book, like a cozy blanket they bring comfort and a feeling of security. Honesty. I’m going to collect them all.
Field Guide No. 1 has other really great projects you’ll want to make too.
Left: Breton Cowl, Antonia Shankland Right: Squad Mitts, Ann Weaver
Leave a Reply