'A labor of love:' West Allis woman crochets temperature blanket to show city's weather in 2023

 

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Living in the Midwest, we all know just how quickly the weather can change.

But one West Allis woman has figured out a warm and cozy way to keep track of the forecast.

Leah Boshart spent countless hours crocheting a brightly colored masterpiece she calls her "temperature blanket."

It's 361 squares with four rows as the border, representing the 365 days in a year.

The square's colors correspond with a homemade rubric that designates specific degrees with certain shades.

“The inside color is the low temperature then the second color is the high temperature and then the gray was what I just used to combine them," Boshart told CBS 58's Ellie Nakamoto-White.

The squares with white in the middle signify the first day of each month.

“Some people do one temperature for the day, the average, and lines for the blanket," Boshart said. "I wanted to capture the high and the low because especially in Wisconsin you can get a wide range of temperatures.”

Boshart said she would crochet during "me time" after her husband, child, and dogs went to bed.

“I’d get really excited when I could use a new color like, oh yay, it’s higher today so I get to use a new color!" Boshart recalled. “It only hit 100 degrees in West Allis once, so the hot pink only got to be used once, but other than that it was really fun to see the progress through the year.”

While she is planning to focus on other crafts rather than making another for 2024, Boshart said she is definitely considering creating another in future years.

“What I love is that it brings attention to the art form and to the craft. I think sometimes crocheting can be an old lady craft that people think," Boshart said. "This feels like a work of art, and I’ve never considered myself an artist so it’s kind of fun to see that kind of thing.”

Stay tuned for an upcoming segment on CBS 58's Sunday Morning show to learn more about Boshart, how she taught herself to crochet, and what other projects she makes!