Mild. That’s what I would call 2020 so far in terms of weather. We’ve had very little snow, temperatures above normal, and even some sunshine—unheard of in January in Western PA.

Having finished my 2019 Temperature Blanket (Split-Square Temperature Blanket) a week ago, it seemed time to finally begin my 2020 project. Tonight, I caught up on the first half of January.

This is my third temperature blanket since I started. The first (Temperature Blanket Squared), was beautiful, though a bit complicated. I tracked precipitation, low temperature, and high temperature—all in a blanket! Last year, I dialed it back a little bit and only tracked the highs and lows. This year I have gone even simpler. I’m only tracking the highs!

The Colors

I decided to go a different route from the typical rainbow color palette. Herrschner’s had ombré packs of Worsted 8 for a good deal. I picked up a pack in Corals, Purples, and Jades and then sat down to assign the temperatures.

The Pattern

Yarn: Any worsted weight yarn

Hook: I-hook (5.5 mm)

This pattern is a simple corner-to-corner (C2C blanket). There are many tutorials online, but I cover it briefly in this post. This pattern assumes a basic understanding of the process.

In order to cover 366 days (it’s a leap year, y’all!) and end up with a blanket that is a good-size, I decided on a blanket that is 44 squares by 50 squares. I figure each square to be about an inch making the finished throw 44 x 50”. A border can be added to make the size bigger.

To make the blanket this size, each day will get 6 squares. There will be four squares left over that can either be used for birthdays or anniversaries or, as I chose to do, make the solstices and equinoxes (because there were four and I needed four squares).

I have made a graph to help plan out the days and it can be downloaded here. Sometimes it’s helpful to be able to see the big picture at the beginning.

Day One started out with a height of 38 degrees. In the C2C pattern the first six stitches look like the picture above.

In the last stitch, change to the next color for Day 2 (or continue with the same color if the temperature requires it).

Days 3 and 4 were the same color, so I got to do 12 squares in a row in a bright green.

Day 5 brought me back to the light purple again. Six squares per color change does not have even lines, but it makes for an interesting pattern. It will be really neat to see how the colors play out.

So far I have used all of my greens and one purple. I might end up with a very green blanket.

I went ahead and wove in the ends. I want to keep it clean instead of waiting for the last minute to finish it like last year.

I’d love to hear what you think of this year’s simple temperature blanket. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.