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Saturday September 18th 2010, 9:43 pm
Filed under: Knit

So: January baby. Cold climate. Needs warmth. Right? I keep thinking of the Afghans for Afghans campaign, where they specifically say, We need animal fibers for warmth and we need the patterns solid, no yarnover holes.

Nice and solid first baby blanket attempt: I think you could have arranged it in a circle and had it stand upright like a box.  A little too earnest in the endeavor–not to mention, using 20g to get less than an inch, um, we’re not trying to create bulletproof here and there isn’t *that* much Rios Solis. R i i i p that hour and a half’s work.

Then, frog four rows because I changed my mind again.

Now it’s back to about 45×4″ so far, and I keep dithering. It’s the background pattern to this blog, with the M1s turned into YOs.

It’s lace. Not a very open lace, but still, there are holes. And after 23 years of living in California, having fled 75″ of snow in 17 days, my memories of Cold with a capital C might be a tad warped. Should I start over again? Should I go up one needle size even more to let the fabric relax a bit more (the yarn would say oh thank you thank you very much) and just think of it as an indoor blanket?  I’d get a bigger blanket if I did.

I keep thinking, oh just wind another ball and start again on the 9s and don’t tell the 8s you’re doing that till it’s too late and the 9s are going hahatoldjaso and the 8s are screaming noFAIR but they lose.

Or something.

You know, if I’d actually swatched *any* of these ideas…

Hey! How about that Lisa yarn over there?

I finally put the Rios down to just let ideas simmer a bit while I went and read. I needed to relax about this and not try to knit thirty things at once. This is a baby blanket.  This is not (name your favorite major political crisis.)  This is just a few skeins of good wool. And when it’s all knitted up, honest, there will be more.

I know, because the more is sitting there drumming its fingers over there wondering why it didn’t get to go first and trying to tell me shhhh, Lisa’s!


13 Comments so far
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seed stitch border. boring center. Or go to Mary Walker and choose some of her wonderful knit/purl textures.

But keep it solid. Seriously. You want it to be appreciated, lovely and useful.

(and this is one of those times where instructions are important. Kind of like substituting salt for sugar and wondering why no one will eat your muffins….

-H

Comment by Holly 09.19.10 @ 4:07 am

I so know the feeling. I have a handspun jacket sulking in a basket under the end table for about 3 years now. I take it out and look at it and put it back. Eventualy The frog will get it. The color on your blanket is beautiful. Pat

Comment by pat flores 09.19.10 @ 4:45 am

You know, yarnovers make nice insulating air pockets when a second light woven blanket gets wrapped around it. Do you want to start the wee one off with the message that even if something really doesn’t feel right, you should do it? Especially when we all know how well things go when you, in particular, follow your intuition!

Comment by twinsetellen 09.19.10 @ 6:21 am

ohhhh, that color! I love it!!

Comment by Mary 09.19.10 @ 6:50 am

Relax and let the process work. You have this gift of making just the right thing for just the right person… let it happen.

Comment by Channon 09.19.10 @ 7:19 am

One thing I was very neurotic about was my baby getting a finger or toe stuck in one of the holes that ALL the receiving blankets that were available in the UK seemed to have. It took ages to find solid cotton and so when an American friend gave birth a few years after me, I made sure she got solid cotton blankets, and she was very grateful.

That said, your Eskimo baby is going to need a few layers so a pretty handknit of any design over a light easy-to-wash cotton will make artistic photos!

Comment by LynnM 09.19.10 @ 7:20 am

My very favorite baby afghan is a solid basket-weave, but with my seventh great-grandchild on the way, I’m a little tired of it. A plain garter stitch zig-zag (maybe with stripes?) is good, too.

Comment by Abby 09.19.10 @ 7:37 am

Such a pretty yarn. Maybe a ripple afghan?

Comment by Sherry in Idaho 09.19.10 @ 8:10 am

the color is wonderful — I just gave my daughter two baby afghans that were made for her — each of them crocheted in a pretty shell pattern — just a few small openings — I used those a lot for her, and she was happy to have them to use for Asher — relax, let the yarn speak to you — this is not the only blanket the child will have — think of it as something they can use when they take him to church and everyone will admire the beauty — and he’ll be warm enough too!

Comment by Bev 09.19.10 @ 8:13 am

You say your memory of the Cold might be a bit warped. That reminds me of the time, many years ago, when my boss had me drive a friend of his over to the Oakland Airport. He was just back from the South Pacific, and he said to me that every time he returns to the east coast, he thinks the weather can’t really be as bad as he remembered it, but it is!

Comment by Don Meyer 09.19.10 @ 9:51 am

The color is lovely! Do keep it solid so the little one won’t get fingers and toes caught in the YO’s and it will be easier for the new mom to take care of. I have found over the years that dk to worsted weight yarns work best for baby blankets. Sport weight is fine for a light weight blanket. But do use the 9’s on the dk and worsted weight. 🙂 I knit a little loosely so I use the 8’s – tell the 8’s that they are loved. 🙂

Comment by LDSVenus 09.19.10 @ 12:37 pm

This won’t be the only blanket the baby has. This won’t be the only grandbaby you make a blanket for. But you do need to teach your yarn to take turns politely to set a good example for this grandchild.

Comment by LauraN 09.19.10 @ 5:16 pm

I remember the first sweater thing I made for Sean. Very much bullet-proof!

Comment by Diana Troldahl 09.19.10 @ 5:49 pm



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