The First Square or My Big Wool Obsession

So, with Halloween only one sleep away and September's unseasonal heatwave but a distant memory, the night's are getting darker and the weather colder. The chill in the air that teases your extremities is just begging for the smell of a bonfire and the smoke of recently expired fireworks. And the thought of curling up in front of an open fire in your biggest jumper, with a mug of hot chocolate becomes your preferred mode of self-indulgence. It's usually at this time that the urge to knit wakes from it's summer slumber.

This year it was roused by a trip to Hobbycraft where I rediscovered my obsession with Rowan Big Wool. Maybe it's because it knits up so quick, or because of the range of subdued, earthy yet sophisticated colour tones, or because it's 100% merino wool, but at the moment this is the only wool I can think about using.

So it was with great delight that I found this colour, Heather, on sale (£3.49, instead of £8.99, a ball). But what to do with it now I had it? Obviously this wool would make a rather amazing big chunky jumper, for aforementioned cold nights in front of the fire etc. But the thought of trying to find a pattern that I actually like fills me with dread. For some reason I can never find anything that I totally like, a collar here, a sleeve there, but never the total package altogether.

So, until my knitting skills advance and I can start to develop my own patterns I decided to do the next best thing and transform my Big Wool into a big, fluffy, knitted, patchwork blanket. I had wanted to do something similar last year, but for whatever reason never actually got around to it. But this year there shall be no excuses, and as proof here it is, my first square.

I started nice and simple with a checkerboard design, and got very lucky in that my estimated square size (40st x 45rows) was just about perfect for the amount of wool in a ball.

So far so good. I'm one patch down, but, seeing as if I'm doing this I want to do it properly (read make a really big blanket) I've got another 24 patches to do before my Big Wool obsession will be complete. My plan at the moment is to do some more checkerboard designs for the outer squares and then get my cable on in the middle ones. But who knows, we'll see where the mood takes me, and some time soon, if not this winter, then hopefully the next, I'll be sat wrapped up warm in my completed super cosy Big Wool blanket.

N