Scarves For Special Olympics….

Warm the hearts and fuel the spirit of the Special Olympics athletes competing in the 2010 Idaho State Winter Games!

In 2009, the Special Olympics World Winter Games invited knitters and crocheters from around the USA and the world to create a special gift for the athletes of the World Games. The response was overwhelming with more than 55,000 hand knit scarves, and in the end created an incredible sense of welcome and well-wishes for the Special Olympics athletes, where the response and generosity is still spoken about today.
With the 2010 Special Olympics Idaho Winter Games approaching in just five weeks, we are hoping to welcome the athletes here in our great state with a personal gift that inspires them to strive for their best in competition while sharing the spirit, kindness and respect of all communities.
Let’s bring the scarves back! Our goal is to provide the gift of a hand knit or crochet scarf to each of the 650 athletes competing in the Idaho Winter Games as they arrive during the Opening Ceremony on March 12, 2010.
Anyone is welcome to knit or crochet a scarf for the 2010 Special Olympics Idaho Winter Games, we just ask that you follow a few simple guidelines to help maintain consistency and uniformity across these gifts for the athletes.

Design: Any design or pattern is welcome.
Colors: Red Heart Super Saver Cherry Red and Red Heart Grey Heather
Length: Approximately 55 inches long
Width: Approximately 5 inches long

All scarves must arrive by Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

Please deliver or ship to:
Special Olympics Idaho
Attn: Scarf Project
199 East 52nd Street
Garden City, ID 83714

Questions? Please contact Heather Hill at HeatherHill33@mac.com or 208.860.5353.

Updates and details on the 2010 Special Olympics Idaho Scarf Project can also be found here:

Facebook – Scarves For Special Olympics
Twitter.com/OlympicScarves
http://scarvesforspecialolympics.wordpress.com/

Next Pattern:

Knitwear designers can get inspiration from almost anything when it comes to re-creating a color scheme, an image or a texture in stitches. Sometimes the inspiration isn’t always obvious in the finished project, but sometimes it’s more literal.

That’s the way it is with the Tin Ceiling Blanket from Purl Soho. Not just because the inspiration is in the name, but if you’ve ever seen one of these old ceilings you can see that the design of the blanket is quite similar to the pattern of the tin tiles.

This is also a good example of the idea that you don’t have to use fancy stitch patterns or lots of color to make a big impact with your knits. This single-color blanket (designed by Gianna Mueller and inspired by a washcloth and towel set designed by Sandi Rosner) is made completely with knits and purls, other than slipped stitches at the beginning of rows to make neater edges.

The pattern is written out row by row, but there’s also a chart, which means this project is a great opportunity to practice reading a chart where you can check your work against the written pattern if you need to.

It comes in two sizes, a crib blanket and a throw. The yarn used in the sample is an organic cotton sold by the cone, which is a great way to get a large quantity of yarn and have fewer ends to weave in. In fact, you can knit either size of the blanket with just one cone of yarn, which isn’t inexpensive but makes you a great, sturdy, heirloom quality but still washable blanket you’ll use for years to come. (Of course you can use any sport weight yarn you like to make this blanket.)

Check out all the details and grab the free pattern from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

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