People around the world are now sharing pictures of their temperature blankets or scarves online. (@porridgebrain, @jodiwilldare/Twitter) A British woman’s New Year resolution for 2020 to knit everyday – using different coloured threads to indicate varying temperature – led to a unique community project worldwide, inspiring many others to do the same. Now, as the year ended, those who had participated in the project are showing off their woollen weaves online.
As many joined her to do the same during the long lockdown period last year, photos of temperature-themed knitted items have flooded the social media with hashtags #TemperatureBlanket, #TemperatureScarf. Around the world, many wrapped up the year with a temperature scarf — or blanket — documenting how weather varied each day for all of 2020.
“Well here it is: 2020’s weather. 3m, 732 rows (2 rows=1 day), 70,368 stitches, 1kg of wool,” Twitter user Josie George (@porridgebrain) whose resolution started the initiative wrote online while sharing the picture of the very long apparel.
Well here it is: 2020’s weather. 3m, 732 rows (2 rows=1 day), 70,368 stitches, 1kg of wool. My small world and I have sat together every day; I witnessed its dramas and joys and it witnessed mine. Now I get to see this cycle play out all over again, all new. What a gift that is. pic.twitter.com/rxKEYxvKVU
— Josie George (@porridgebrain) January 1, 2021
It all started in February, when she posted a picture of a woollen scarf she knitted throughout January, along with a card indicating different colours for different temperature. “I decided that this year, every day, I would knit a row on a scarf to mark the corresponding daily temperature/weather of my town. It felt like a good way to engage with the changing climate and with the changing year,” she had said.
I decided that this year, every day, I would knit a row on a scarf to mark the corresponding daily temperature/weather of my town. It felt like a good way to engage with the changing climate and with the changing year. A way to notice and not look away. Here’s January then. pic.twitter.com/XQ9scIMX5c
— Josie George (@porridgebrain) February 2, 2020
The idea had clicked with many on the micro-blogging site at the time and inspired them to start a similar knitting process to capture temperature change for the place they reside. Check out some of the popular entries here, and how people loved doing it . Many said it helped them relax during such trying times.
I finished my 2020 temperature blanket with an hour to spare. pic.twitter.com/GMCbv2hyEX
— Jodi Chromey (@jodiwilldare) January 1, 2021
The scarf of 2020 is finished! It is ridiculously long! It is multicoloured! But it records the temperature every day this year and that is very satisfying. pic.twitter.com/qoc9NwMQ8O
— Vicki (@outspreadwings) January 1, 2021
Happy new year everyone 🥳 last night saw the end of the 2020 temperature blanket showing the low and high for every day. Now onto the next project ☺️ pic.twitter.com/ii5ESLr0nP
— Jade Eyles (@Seismic_Jade) January 1, 2021
Well, it’s finally finished. My ridiculously long and impractical 2020 temperature blanket (January at the top, yesterday at the bottom). You can’t really see the difference between the blue and the purple rows in the photo, but there’s been a lot of purple recently. pic.twitter.com/YClX1NU5hL
— Geraldine Rowe (@GeraldineRowe) January 1, 2021
2020 may have been an absolute shit year but i just finished my temperature blanket i’ve been working on this whole year #Bye2020 #knitting #handmade pic.twitter.com/p3jXcIRdEe
— cleopet | bIm 💖💜💙 (@_cleopet) December 31, 2020
And for your New Year’s entertainment- my #temperature scarf with our birthdates labeled. I loved doing it this year and I’m going to make another, starting tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Ac3j825ewE
— Jennifer Fairbanks (@JenFairbanks8) December 31, 2020
2020 in yarn – a #temperaturescarf with stripe with the max temperature in Dundee on each day. Not the year I anticipated when starting it last year but at least it more accurately reflects where I spent most of my time! many thanks to @gjbarton for data from @dundeeweatherUK pic.twitter.com/GElkazFWpA
— Amy Gilligan (@seismo_amy) January 1, 2021
Attempting to photograph the enormity of the #TemperatureBlanket.
We need a bigger house 😂 pic.twitter.com/qF7uriHVcd
— LouiseTilbrook (@LouiseTilbrook1) December 31, 2020
2020 is over. Hard to believe such a terrible year has created such a beautiful blanket #crochet #temperatureblanket pic.twitter.com/IpDnIfYUdr
— Meryl R (@Merylandyarn) January 1, 2021
It started with a sister road trip searching for the perfect skeins of yarn that would over the course of 366 days became a colourful blanket dictated by Mother Nature! My 2020 #temperatureblanket is complete. @weathernetwork @AndreaMulder2 #crochet #83600SCstitches #onwx 🧶🌡📆 pic.twitter.com/VmsdrYcJHG
— MichelleVK 🇳🇱🇨🇦 (@michellevk1964) January 1, 2021
