L & B Yarn Co. | The Spin

Mitered Crosses Blanket

Published in the Mason-Dixon Knitting Blog the Mitered Crosses Blanket by Kay Gardiner was designed for all proceeds to go to Mercy Corps.  In 2011 these donations will be designated for the Japan earthquake/tsunami relief, and thereafter to support Mercy Corps’ relief work.  Not only will you be supporting a wonderful cause by purchasing this pattern but you end up with an absolutely breathtaking finished product.

Inspired by the Modern Crosses quilt featured in Modern Log Cabin Quilting: 25 Simple Quilts and Patchwork Projects, by Susan Beal,  This blanket combines two techniques-mitering and log cabin- to make a knitted interpretation of a log cabin quilt variation.  Knitted out of Noro Silk Garden each mitered cross is individual to the blanket which makes the project addictive because you can’t wait to see how the next square is going to look.  If you have a large silk garden stash this is a great way to put it to good use.

The main color (cream) is a discontinued silk garden colorway, but some other suggestions might be using Plymouth Yarn’s Mushishi, Cascade 220 or 220 Superwash, holding 2 together of Imperial Yarn Tracie, really the options are endless.  Each seamless block starts with 4 miters that are knitted onto each other to form a cross shape.  Ms. Marjie’s blanket that we have pictured is a little different from the original.  The original has 10 squares and is framed with 4 log cabin strips and Marjie’s has 20 squares without any log cabin strips.

I absolutely love the finishing on this particular project.  The blocks are joined together without sewing, using the 3-needle bind off method, and the blanket is finished with an applied i-cord edging that resembles the binding of a quilt.  Thanks Marjie for bringing in your work for us to photograph, the project is simply awesome! -B