Jigsaw Afghan - Gathering Yarns

Beginning next Wednesday I'm going to start making a lap blanket based on a quilt pattern by Janet Wickell.  You can find her free quilt pattern here.

(c) Janet Wickell

I'll post my knitting directions.  It's going to be knit in mitered squares.  I have quite a bit of fingering-weight yarn in all types, including sock yarns, baby yarns, shetland...  I'm not sure which ones I'll use and I might pick up a couple of new colors between now and the start date.  You can use any yarn:  solid colors, variegated, some of each, brights, earth tones, pastels.  The possibilities are endless.  It's a great way to use up small amounts from your stash.

My afghan is going to be a small lap robe.  Each block will be about 2-1/4 inches square (5.7 cm).  If the blocks turn out to be a wee bit larger or smaller, that's okay.  With this block size the lap robe will be 32.5 inches wide and 49.5 inches long (82.6 x 125.7 cm).  Add to this the border, about 1 inch per side (2.5 cm), adjustable of course.

The graph is adapted from the picture, above, just a little fewer blocks.  There will be 20 incomplete puzzle pieces and 15 complete ones for a total of 35 pieces.  Knowing this will help you decide on colors.  You can choose as many or as few as you like.  You might want to include some black pieces that represent jigsaw pieces that haven't yet been placed into the puzzle.

I'm going to use size 2.5mm/US 1-1/2 needles.  If you use a different yarn weight you'll need to adjust the needle size accordingly.  More on that next week.  On Wednesday we'll start with a swatch.  Don't worry, it's a small one! 

<----  If you're going to join me, here's a button for your blog. 

Why not email me or leave a comment with your website address so that I can come and visit your blog and see your afghan.  No two will be the same so it would be fun to check out yours!