AFRICA

Looking in.

The Mystery Blanket Stitch-Along reaches as far as the continent of Africa.  Today one of my returning customers, Robin, from South Africa came into Stitch Therapy. Robin is in Brooklyn, NY visiting her daughter for a few weeks, she will begin with Volume One using the Shulana Merino Cotton 135.  This is a smaller yarn than the pattern calls for so to make it larger an extra panel may have to be added. This is an opportunity to duplicate some of your favorite stitches.  She is getting about five stitches to one inch in the Merino/Cotton 135.

STILL KNITTING

This weeks forcast in NYC is rain, rain, rain -- curl up with a good Mystery.., Crawl into your yarn stash and explore one of the sixteen stitches from the four volume Mystery Blanket Stitch Along from Stitch Therapy -- Free download!

THE MYSTERY STITCHES ALONG

Wollack from Ravelry.com

Kaffekaren from Ravelry.com

Lovely photo!

The Mystery is still growing while a number of blankets are being complete.  This stitch-along will continue throughout the summer and beyond. The true stitch names are still a mystery so join in.

ALL GOOD THINGS!

From Volume One

Always ongoing, this Stitch-Along is meant to teach you, the knitter, how much you know about knitting. As you pick your projects and read the stitch instructions, a little voice inside your head will say, "I can do that."

For your pleasure — Volume 4!

IT'S ALL IN THE KNITTING

Eight squares down, and eight more to go.

Congratulations to those of you who have finished the first eight squares.

This stitch-along is a true test of your pattern reading skills. Thanks for your patience.

Enjoy Volume 3!

If you are experiencing difficulty downloading the patterns, please make sure you are using an up-to-date browser such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. You can download them for free here:

Google Chrome

Mozilla Firefox

VOLUME TWO: IN DEMAND

This stitch-along has reached as far as Australia and is a virtual success. So far I have heard from teams of friendly knitters making the blanket as a baby shower gift and solo knitters using their subway time wisely. No matter how far the Mystery reaches the hookup is taking place online through Ravelry.com, Facebook.com and the right here.

As a stash buster this project is right on time - in NYC Ultra Alpaca is currently ahead but this afternoon Karabella's Aurora 8 in a pale gray was the yarn of choice.

Here is the link to the next set of stitches — one stitch more intriguing than the other.

Take the time to figure out how to count the stitches in the row repeat. For example if the instruction reads " *k2, yo, k1, k2tog. twice, k1, yo, k2; repeat from * to end." the count would be 10 stitches. The numbers add up as follows: 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2 accordingly. The "yo" and the "k2tog" count as one each. Now, you do need two stitches to do a "k2tog" , however, once the "k2tog" has been done the results add up to one stitch. Secondly, the "yo" replaces the stitch that was decreased by knitting a "k2tog".

Please post your progress on Ravelry or use the badge to tag the project.

FYI, the front cover is the same for each volume being released, it does not represent the order in which you knit, but it is a map for sewing the blanket together. Unless you decide to map the squares out in your own way.

These images are from a few knitters that completed Volume One. As you know the stitches have come to you under the name of some of the worlds most prolific mystery writers - the true name of the stitches will be revealed at the end of the Mystery Blanket Stitch-Along.

Thanks for knitting along!

Here's A Clue — Mystery Blanket Stitch-Along

Mystery Blanket

The 16 squares that make up this blanket are issued four at a time, and named for famous mystery authors instead of their stitch name. You won’t know which block you’re knitting until you complete the first row repeat. Once you have completed all sixteen squares, the real names of the stitches will be revealed along with their images, so you can match your knitted swatch with the square accompanying the author and their famous works. You’ll learn complex pattern instruction while building up your stitch repertoire — from simple knit and purl to backwards knit, cables, cross stitches, knit/purl, chevron, and even lace. Stitch your 16 completed blocks together to make a multi-textured baby blanket.

For some added fun I have named each square for a mystery writer of some fame or another and details will include their life span and a title of one of their well known works - it could be book, screenplays or television. You may refer to each square by the mystery name until you have completed the first row repeat of the square. The real name of the square will be revealed on the fifth and final download. Some of the favorite authors you have mentioned are Raymond Chandler, Walter Mosley, Edgar Allen Poe, Donna Leon and P. D. James.

Click here to download the free pattern. You can choose any worsted weight yarn - Karabella - Aurora 8 is machine washable and you can knit a Square and a half out of one ball. Or you can use Berocco's Ultra alpaca which will yield you approximately three squares per hank. Knit it in one color or as many as you like and make the blanket.

Feel free to drop into the store on Wednesdays between the hours of 4:00 - 6:30pm if you need help and you have purchased the yarn from Stitch Therapy.