Big Sky Blanket Club 2026: Making an American Heirloom

It began on a drive. We were winding through wide-open Montana country, the kind of drive where the sky stretches out forever and the land rolls gently beneath your tires. On one sun-washed barn, left alone in the golden light, a giant quilt block was painted in bold color. We paused. We looked. In that quiet moment the idea arrived.

Those painted blocks weren’t just decoration—they felt like markers of meaning. Stories of homesteads, of labor, of family and craft, quietly etched across the landscape. They reminded us that craft isn’t separate from life. It’s part of the land, the hands, the generations.

Later, as we explored the idea further, we found the National Park Service’s Quilt Discovery Experience—mapping quilt-heritage across these same open spaces. We realized that those barn quilts we’d admired were part of a much larger tradition of American makers: people who turned simple materials into something lasting, stories into blankets, community into pattern. That discovery anchored our theme for this year: Making an American Heirloom.

Why Now?

In times of uncertainty we often sense what’s missing: connection, steadiness, craft. As we all search for something real and rooted, crafting becomes more than a hobby, it becomes an act of remembering. To make is to reconnect: to our hands, our community, our past. so we can face our future.

Here at Stix, we believe the act of making is a statement. It says: “I am part of something bigger than myself. I honor what came before. I build what will endure.” That belief is the foundation of this year’s Blanket Club.

The Yarn We Chose.

This year’s yarn isn’t an afterthought—it is part of the story. Each skein is grown, spun, and dyed amidst the mountains of Montana and Wyoming. These producers aren’t outside the craft, they are the craft. They carry the work of generations. They link sheep to skein, land to mill, fiber to form.

When you join Big Sky Blanket Club 2026, you’re choosing more than a project. You’re choosing to affirm the work of American fiber producers who keep these traditions alive. You’re supporting small ranches, local mills, dyers whose hands know what care means. One skein, one square, one stitch—they all become part of a bigger tapestry.

Behind the Scenes.

Every discussion about this year’s club turned into something joyful: conversations about patchwork motifs, about yarns that reflect mountain light, about how to honor both tradition and innovation. It brought the joy we were so desperately looking for. We looked at color in a different way this year—taking our cues from barns, from quilts, from the land. We asked ourselves: what does it mean to make something that will last? And how can we ensure it carries meaning beyond the finished piece?

As the boxes came together, so did the stories: of the rancher who raised the wool, of the dyer who painted the skeins, of the people whose patchwork became a blanket. We felt that the making was as important as the finished blanket itself.

“Making an American Heirloom” is about more than aesthetics. It’s about legacy. Resilience. The way small pieces—diverse, distinct—come together to make something stronger and lasting. Like a quilt, America is a patchwork of stories and hands and colors. Making the blanket becomes a way of acknowledging that strength.

Building Community.

We didn’t make this year’s club expecting you to go it alone. Craft is always richer when shared. We invite you to bring a friend, to share the yarn, to talk about your squares, to knit or crochet side by side—even if you’re miles apart. Because community is part of the making.

When we pick up our needles or hooks, we carry the thread of American craft into tomorrow. In January this journey begins: one box, one installment, one square at a time.

We hope you'll join us on this special adventure.

Warmly,

The Stix Chx

P.s. Registration opens October 31 and closes November 7.

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