Tag: baby blanket

A blanket for baby

~ Maggie ~ 5 Comments

After struggling a bit (a lot actually) last week, trying to be positive, but actually having deleted a lot of whining about how slow I was going, something shifted. It’s as if accepting that it would take a while to finish this blanket, made me more motivated to pick it up.

There was a whole lot of knitting in the weekend and on Monday morning I cast off and started weaving in ends. I finished it on Monday evening. On Wednesday I worked up the courage to try and soften the scratchy (acrylic) yarn and that worked quite well. It’s a lot softer now, though the dark blue (that was the scratchiest), could use another round. Maybe I’ll wash everything one more time before we go to the Netherlands.

I basically followed every step in this blog post, except for the dryer, since I don’t have one. Oh, and she mentions “ice cold water”, but I just used what came out of the tap (that’s almost lukewarm here).

Anyway, I’m really happy with how it turned out. I think I will try this pattern (or something similar) again (but with better yarn). It’s perfect for this baby’s parents, who like simple and basic, but also things that are slightly different. It’s big enough to cover the bottom of a standard playpen, so of course also plenty big to wrap a baby in, or to cover him while he’s sleeping. I hope it will be used a lot.

Now I’m thinking hard about what else to knit. I’m not really done with the baby knitting yet, but we had to switch airlines (KLM canceled our flight – the third time this year) and TUI allows only one piece of hand luggage. That means I have limited space to take stuff with me. So I cast on for an adult sized hat last night. That also needs to come with me (no need for a hat here), but isn’t as time sensitive as itty-bitty baby clothes. I guess knitting bigger baby clothes would be a solution. Or finally work up the courage to try knitting (or crocheting) toys.

Endless possibilities…. I think that’s why I love knitting (and crochet and sewing) so much.

Progress

~ Maggie ~ 5 Comments

Last week I was working on the second row of the lighter blue, so I’m definitely getting closer to the end. I only need one more repeat of every color to get the desired size (big enough to cover the bottom of a standard playpen).

It’s going slow, but it’s actually really nice to take my time, add a few rows every day and see it grow over time. It makes me feel connected to it, and the people I’m making it for.

Keep knitting

~ Maggie ~ 15 Comments

This post almost was never written. Not that I had issues with it, on the contrary. I had been thinking about what pictures to take and what to write, but I got so distracted with other things that I forgot to actually take those pictures and type those words. Go figure. Serious case of brain fog (I’ve been sick with who knows what (tested negative for C.), still very tired, but feeling better).

I’m knitting away on the baby blanket, though it’s not going as fast as I’d like and I’m not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. The pattern is great, there’s nothing wrong with that. Easy to remember, but not too boring.

It’s the yarn. I thought I was buying a “real brand”(Red Heart), instead of the vague Italian (?) stuff I bought at the other shop, but it’s so scratchy and squeaky, that it’s just not fun to work with and quite hard on my slightly arthritic hands. I found out you can soften it up with hair conditioner and laundry softener. I am going to do that when I’m done knitting, but I’m not brave enough to wash a skein of yarn. Seems to me that it will become a tangled mess, even in a laundry bag. Maybe I’ll try with the brighter blue I bought, but decided to dismiss for the blanket.

(for those wondering why I’m using acrylic yarn: 1. both parents of the baby are allergic to wool, 2. it’s the only yarn available on the island, 3. budget)

Anyway. I do love how it’s turning out. Each color change makes it look better. In the end, it’s going to be a great (and soft) baby blanket.