Pattern Inspiration:

This year, 2016, is the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. Smart Knits - a knitting group out of Logan, Utah - thought that a great way to celebrate the National Park Service and the sublime lands that it protects was to design a National Parks blanket. The blanket is made up of 60 blanket squares - one to celebrate each of the 59 National Parks and one square to celebrate the National Park Service itself.

Located in Northern Arizona, Grand Canyon is a world-renowned National Park. It was established in 1919 and named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 (the year the designer was born!). The designer is a geologist who worked in the Colorado Plateau, including Grand Canyon, for her PhD examining the strength of the rocks forming the steep cliffs that make this canyon so grand. This square represents the first look at these steep cliffs from a rafting perspective: in Marble Canyon. The square is worked sideways, which not only makes the colorwork easier to manage, but also creates an illusion of horizontal stratigraphy in the rocks with sideways stockinette.

This Pattern:

If you purchase this pattern, you will receive only the pattern for the Grand Canyon National Park blanket square. If you would like to purchase a subscription to all of the blanket squares please buy the eBook.

All proceeds from this pattern will be donated to the National Park Foundation in celebration of the National Park Service Centennial.