Updated 2/10 to add FO pix
Sometimes it’s soooooooooo hard to sit on a secret.
Ask more than 100 knitters to sit on a secret and, well, somebody’s sure to spill the beans, right?
NOPE.
With the recent arrival of HappyStasher’s darling twins, now, it can be told.
Secret Square No. 1
It started on a Thursday night in November with this.
A square of garter stitch. Actually, two of them. Executed by the two fastest garter knitters I know, Jane and Bullwinkle. They cast on with the first course, and by the time the guest speaker was finished, so were the base squares. Let’s call them Secret Squares, shall we?
It looks kind of like a tangled mess of needles on the table, no?
Yep.
But there is a method to the madness.
Follow those fingers!
Four skeins of yarn, four circular needles, four knitters and a boatload of good wishes. It makes for a lot of intimacy with your fellow knitters at the beginning, loads of laughs, some occasional tangles, weird kinks in the back, and more fun than a game of
In slow motion ...
Twister! (I think I just dated myself. Oops.)
Okay, slowing it all down … each knitter has one circular needle and only knits the same row ~ but four skeins of yarn (Briar Rose Fourth of July) travel around the square. So instead of the knitters moving, the yarn moves in a spiral around the base square.
Secret Square courtesy Amarula
After a weekend of knitting, each blanket has been touched by roughly one hundred aunties and an uncle, some new knitters, some very wise and experienced, still others Knitting Royalty. A stitch might be twisted here or there, but every stitch carries the love of someone who was wishing our dear HappyStasher well, and missing her at the Knitters Review Retreat.
FO photo courtesy Amarula
The box carrying them arrived at its destination a few days ago.
It’s time she knew the story, and how much she is loved by those who sent her two blue-green woolen baby blankets as our long-distance hugs for her darling bebes.
Tags: babyblanket, briarrose, bullwinkle, happystasher, jane, KRRetreat
Owlways Knitting 
February 8, 2012 at 3:49 am |
Great recap. First time knitting in tandem for me. Glad to have worked on the blankets and congratulations to the parents.
February 10, 2012 at 10:06 am |
I see my hands! I glad I could be part of such a wonderful project. Best of wishes to Lou and her 2 little guys.
February 12, 2012 at 6:04 pm |
It was fun to be part of such a great project 🙂 And I like how that turned out – very Starry Starry Night-ish.
Lovely recap (and very lovely twins). All the best to Lou, Husband, and the boys.
February 13, 2012 at 4:10 pm |
I’m so glad she has the blankets in hand. What a lovely process to be a part of.