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.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is located on the Big Island of Hawaii, and officially became designated as a National Park in 1916. Further recognition came in 1980 when UNESCO named it an International Biosphere Reserve and in 1987, a World Heritage Site. Kilauea volcano has been erupting continuously since 1983, and its caldera is very easily accessible within the park. It is probably the only place in the world where anyone can stand, literally, at the edge of an active volcano, safely, and be able to grasp the scale of its enormity. The designer visited this park in 2010 while in Hawaii for the National Great Teachers Conference. So enamored by the caldera, the designer ran a trail on its edge every day while in Hawaii; rain or shine. The most spectacular of all was enjoying the Perseid meteor shower at the caldera rim, and that is what is depicted with this square: red lava, black volcano, black night sky, shooting stars.

This Pattern:

If you purchase this pattern, you will receive only the pattern for the Hawaii Volcanoes 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.