Knitting and Crochet Blanket Projects: Sampler Squares, Barn Raising Quilt, and Log Cabin Afghan

I am what many may call a monogamous knitter and crocheter. I try to have only one project of each craft going at a time, well, except for blankets. Currently I have four blankets in progress.

The one pictured above is a crochet Log Cabin Blanket that I am making for my oldest. I am using the Log Cabin Afghan pattern from Lion Brand. This one is a fun recycled yarn project. I pulled apart a thrift store afghan, balled up the yarn, and turned it into something new.

For this blanket I am using a 5.0 mm (H) hook and a total of 378 yards. The yarn mix includes:

Kmart Sayelle in Cornflower, 82 yards
Red Heart Super Saver in Dark Blue, 85 yards
Red Heart Super Saver in Grey Blue, 85 yards
Red Heart Super Saver in Medium Blue, 76 yards
Red Heart Super Saver in Midnight Blue, 50 yards

This is currently a small 20 x 20 inch blanket but will continue to grow as I add more sections.

As far as knitting blankets, I am working on three.

The first is my Acrylic Sampler Stitch Blanket. For this one I am using Caron Simply Soft yarn, which I was lucky enough to find all summer for under $2 a skein. My goal is a machine-washable, durable blanket that also helps me grow my knitting skills.

I am pulling stitches from the book Knit and Purl, The Harmony Guides 250 Stitches to Knit. It is packed full of stitch patterns and has been such a great learning tool.

Each square is cast on with 60 stitches.

One of the squares I am working on is the Loop Stitch square. This one is knit on US 8 (5.0 mm) needles and used 118.6 yards of Caron Simply Soft in Pistachio. It finished at about 11 x 11 inches. I did mess up one row in the middle and decided to leave it as part of the learning process instead of frogging it.

Another square is the Basket Weave square. This one was knit on US 7 (4.5 mm) needles and used 105.6 yards of Caron Simply Soft in Orchid. It also finishes at about 11 x 11 inches. This stitch was easy to remember but wow, this yarn really grabs wooden needles. Metal needles definitely help.

Once I have enough squares, I will seam them together into a sturdy blanket that can survive my kids.

The second knitted blanket is my Barn Raising Quilt Blanket. For this one I am using leftover sock yarn from pairs I knit, along with donated and thrifted sock yarn.

Each square is knit using the Barn Raising Quilt pattern by Shelley Mackie and Larissa Brown on US 2 (2.75 mm) needles. After blocking, each square comes out to about 7 inches.

One square so far used 56.8 yards of Wisdom Yarns Marathon Socks in the Balsam Fir colorway.

This is definitely a long-term project, but I love the idea of each sock leaving a memory in the blanket.

The third knitted blanket is the Love of Knitting Block Blanket.

Each month, the Love of Knitting website releases a free square pattern and suggests a yarn to go with it. I was incredibly blessed to win a skein of January’s yarn, Cascade Avalon, and completely fell in love with it. For only $5.99 a skein, it is a great yarn.

February’s block called for Lion Brand Heartland, and I grabbed a skein in Glacier Bay.

If you would like to see my squares as I complete them, you can always find them on my Ravelry page. I even have a tab set up just for blanket squares.

I would love to see what blankets you are working on or have finished, so feel free to share links in the comments.

Happy Yarning!