All My Virus Projects

I really wanted to write and post this yesterday. I could have done if I’d written some of this in advance but I was feeling rather superstitious about doing that as I was working on finishing the last project. 

When the lockdowns first started and we weren’t able to meet in person, myself and my two knitting friends decided we needed a knitalong project, especially one that was appropriate to the situation. This is how we came across a crochet pattern named virus. I think it is an old crochet pattern that someone had written notes for, it was hard to follow at first but once you worked out it was a four row repeat, the crochet went easier. I used entirely yarn that I was given from someone else’s stash that came to me via one of the aforementioned friends.

I had no plans at outset what yarn I was going to use but it turned out very well and a decent size.

 

 

The pattern is Virus Shawl and the yarns are all Sunday Knits Nirvana3-ply. The yarn is labeled 90% merino. 10% cashmere but it did not feel like that when I was working with it but does feel nice in the finished project.

While this CAL was going on I came across another project related to the virus. Designers Arne and Carlos produced a square design each day starting in the middle of March although I didn’t start until near the end of the month. But more on this project later as it was the last one I finished.

After I finished the virus shawl, I had a hankering to make something else COVID/Pandemic/virus related. I chose a hat pattern which featured the virus shape. The pattern had originally been published as a MKAL and as I am not consciously searching for knitalongs anymore I had not noticed its release. I used leftover yarns – some old Red Heart Soft to start the hat and then Plymouth Encore in white and light green for the pattern. 

 

All three projects used yarn either from my leftovers or from the yarn I had been given from someone else's stash. the blanket was a great stash buster in that respect.

Back to the squares. I do not know if Arne and Carlos had a plan when they started publishing the patterns. It was labeled as a MKAL and they did not state how many squares would be published. Also during this time they both became sick from COVID, especially Carlos and I do not know if this made a difference to their plans. They stopped producing patterns after 27 and then showed how to sew them into nine-patch cushion covers. I did not want cushion covers but 27 squares would not fit into any sort of realistic shape for a blanket. At the end of May they produced three more square patterns for a total of 30. A much better number which could be sewn into a 5x6 rectangle. There was still a problem with this, I did not feel like sewing the squares together and it still wasn’t very big. I finished the last square on 21 August and did not pick them up again until 29 October. I am glad I waited all that time because I am very happy with the end result. I decided to place the squares in the order that the patterns were published to save angst of arranging and rearranging the squares into an order that everyone could agree on. I picked up stitches along the side of each square (except the outside edges), worked garter stitch for four ridges and then joined to the next square by picking up stitches and binding off. The strips were then joined in the same way. And then I picked up stitches all around to work a border. I had enough of the blue to work two garter ridges, after that I worked four garter ridges. When it came to bind off, I wanted something decorative but not picot.  A quick Google search came up with the knotted K2tog bind off. It was perfect. No angst about a too tight or sloppy bind off. The opposite really as it is a loose finish which doesn’t show on the blanket but if I was going to do it again, I would work the proceeding row in a size smaller needle.

I really wanted to finish this by the end of the year and I achieved that yesterday morning. I had sewn in the ends and blocked each square when I finished it so I was left with sewing in the ends from the borders when I had not been able to weave them in as I went.

I made a change to just one square. The square that says All Together, was designed as Alone Together. Although that was a popular sentiment at outset I did not want that in perpetuity.

This is a photo of it finished but also a photo of the border in progress with the cat claiming it as her own.