S and wee one get blankies
(oh and B wants one too!)

 



Block-Striped Afghan from Sarah Dallas Knitting in Lamb's Pride
Three-Textured Afghan from Sarah Dallas Knitting in Cascade 220 and Ella Rae Worsted
and Half and Half Afghan from Sarah Dallas Knitting in Cascade 220 Superwash

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We were awakened by the crying. It would seem that S dangled his blankie over the side of the bunk bed and when B gave it a little tug, off went the favorite corner.

And the rest of the blankie ain't looking much better.

Since S has been up on the top bunk, the blankie's been pretty much disintegrating unseen. (Which is really how I preferred it.) Each morning though I'd find a little scrap on the floor and toss it. But yesterday was the big one.

We rushed out after school to pick out more yarn for a new blankie. S picked this Lamb's Pride because he said, "it is the softest." (Insert Nanny McPhee "hmm" here.) I wonder if he'd notice if I switched it for some Cascade 220? He says he wants red and blue stripes in the same yo/k2tog pattern that I did his original blankie in. I have a feeling that he's thinking vertical (read, intarsia!) stripes. We'll see if I can maybe talk him out of that too.

But lucky for me, he is convinced that "it takes 90 days to yarn a blankie," meaning I've probably got until late April to get this done. In the meantime, Daddy looped the favorite corner through a large hole in the blanket and knotted it on so S can continue to run his fingers along the edge like he likes to do.

And S promises not to dangle it over the side of the bed anymore.

After I finished the big sweater design project that was hanging over my head, I started trying to think of a simple and easy project to start knitting to relax: a fun pinafore for baby maybe; a little matinee coat; one of those post-pregnancy sweaters for myself.... Then that evening while I was putting him to bed, S asked me, with a sad little look on his face, if I could start knitting his blanket that night. Okay, project picked.

S had previously insisted that the blankie look exactly like his old one and now he was focused it being red and blue and having "a pattern". He would talk about a blue stripe then a red stripe then a blue stripe and I was worried that he wanted me to do the lace pattern in intarsia with blue and red stripes. Aaack! But then when he explained it again that night, I realized he was talking about patterns like they do in kindergarten: as a color sequence - just red, blue, red, blue, red, blue. He didn't want any of the lace he said; it just had to have stripes. He told me I could look through my books and find something with that pattern and that would be fine. So I did.

I found this cool afghan pattern in Sarah Dallas Knitting. It's called "Block-striped Afghan" and is miles long and uses a bunch of colors S didn't want, but I'm paring it down. S has approved one long red strip and a second strip with a blue, red, blue, red, blue, red pattern. I picked out more Lamb's Pride (yes, he stayed adamant that it be knit out of Lamb's Pride) and he's so excited to see it started!

It's not anywhere as long as his first blankie, but at 36", it'll be plenty big. And best of all, it's got the long garter stitch edge that S loves to run through his fingers so much.

Oh and while I was leafing through that book finding the blankie pattern for S, I found one for wee one too. She'll be getting a version of this lovely "Three-textured Afghan" with subtle checkerboard patterns. I picked out Cascade 220 and Ella Rae worsted wool for it in colors as close to the original as I could find. I'll adjust the size like I'm doing for S's blankie - absolutely no bigger than 36" square.

But it's going to be so pretty!

PS - Many of you have asked in the comments how I care for the wool blankies. The boys' original blankies are also 100% wool and not superwash. I just wash them in the bathtub in lukewarm water when they need it. I like to use a wool wash like Soak that you don't have to rinse out to prevent the temperature change and squeezing that often happens when rinsing and can cause a little felting. But even when I used regular old Eucalan, I didn't have any problems with the blankets. I roll them up in a towel or two to blot out excess water and then lay them out to dry on a couple of bathmats. Give 'em a day to dry thoroughly and they're ready to return to their messy little owners. Yes, Virgina, you can wash wool - just not in the washing machine!

Happy Valentine's day!

I'm up early unable to sleep after a long day of kid dentist appointments, new car shopping and buying decisions, and teaching. I didn't have a single moment yesterday to sit down until late evening and then what I really needed was some blankie knitting warm fuzzies.

Thanks to my knit fix, the second strip of S's blankie is now well underway with the blue, red, blue... stripe pattern coming out nicely. S saw the red strip blocking and has already asked if I'm going to end up sewing the two together. So smart! He says he likes it and it's just how he wanted it, but I'll have to wait and see if it really captures his heart the way his first blankie did.

Get this: when I picked the boys up from school yesterday to bring them to the car dealership to help pick out a new car, S said we had to go home real quick for him to get something. I thought he wanted a quick treat or drink - or the inevitable poorly timed bathroom stop - but instead he rushed in and grabbed the little version of his old blankie and brought that with him to the dealership. Surprising, strange (since he never uses that small blankie), but nice.

I couldn't resist starting wee one's blanket! S's isn't done yet, but since I'm still well under the "90 day yarning" deadline, I let all that pretty pink tempt me and cast on.

This is actually the start of the second strip. The purple wasn't calling to me quite as loudly as the pink, so I'm starting with pink and block pattern number two. There will be three different block patterns - one for each color section - and let me just say, doing a little pattern is turning out to be much slower than knitting all that stockinette on S's blankie!

Luckily wee one doesn't know about the 90 day rule!

S has been ready for his new blankie for days. He could see that the second strip was almost done and would ask me every night if I was going to sew it together. He'd tell me that if I finish it while he's sleeping, I should slip it in his bed and take his old blankie out. What a big boy! I was so proud of him, I made sure to spend some time over the weekend to finish it up.

The crochet seam was easy and fast. I had to redo it a couple of times to deal with the two strips not being exaaaactly the same length, but it was still a breeze. Sarah Dallas really has me sold on these strip-style blankets - so much more pleasant to knit and piece together than an afghan made with dozens of squares! And voila, finished blankie...

S loves it! He wanted to cuddle with it right away on the sofa and try out the edging.

Then he got his old blankie and brought it down to give to me for safekeeping. He talked to it as he carried it down: "I have a new blankie and you are tearing apart. I'm bringing you to mommy." I'll be wrapping it up as a keepsake from his childhood.

So that's one blankie down and one very satisfied customer.

Right, I didn't even get the whole question out before B asked for a new blankie of his own. I saw him sitting on his bed the other day snuggling with his blankie and I went up to him, gave him a hug and asked if he still loved his blankie. He said, "yes... (pause)... I was just going to ask if I could have a new blankie." And I said, "of course." Well, it's only fair, right?

B described what he sort of wanted and it was very similar to what S has and wee one is getting, so I went back to Sarah Dallas for another afghan pattern to use. B only wants two strips, two colors, so I'll be using one of these Half and Half Afghan patterns from the Sarah Dallas Knitting book.

(I've got to tell you, I NEVER imagined that I'd knit so many things out of this book! And never so many blankets. It was a pretty book, and, I'll admit it, sort of an impulse buy and once I had it, I wasn't really quite sure why I'd gotten it. I leafed through it again a couple of weeks ago though when I reorganized my knitting books and that's when all the blanket patterns caught my eye. And since I was in the market to knit a couple of new blankets, it was really serendipitous.)

So off we went to the yarn store for yarn. B wanted yellow (of course) and since I've always wanted to use it, I pushed him a little towards the Cascade 220 Superwash and the fabulously fun bright blue. He insisted on white for the contrast edging and there we have it, another blankie ready to be made.

I asked S to remind B of just how long it takes to yarn a blankie. Know what he said? "Uhhh... one day?" Thanks for the help, bud.

I'm on to the next texture pattern and the next pink of wee one's blankie. I'm loving how this strip is coming out.

The first pink pattern needs to be blocked (it shouldn't have that ribby look after blocking), but the second one is just perfect, so sweet and simple.

I really think this is a great idea for a baby blanket, mixing a few bold colors and textural patterns for lots of visual and tactile interest. I sure hope wee one likes her blankie the way that the boys have loved theirs.

I know he said he just wanted a long yellow strip and a long blue strip and "no pattern", but I was too bored doing the stockinette. Sooooo, I took "no pattern" to mean "no color stripes" (like in S's blanket) and made an executive creative decision to add a texture pattern to B's blankie.

I really felt like this blankie needed some texture. The yellow and the blue B picked out were looking a little too baby-ish to me, and I got the idea that one of the fabulous texture patterns that Sarah Dallas uses in her book might make the yellow look more mature and also maybe boy it up a little. I think the long vertical lines will be very striking. And I'm happy to be doing some seed stitch after all those garter stitch edges from S's and wee one's blankies. I'm not sure yet if I'll add any texture to the blue strip. It might be alright on it's own, like S's long red strip, but we'll see.

B says he likes it, so it's all good so far.

How ready are we?

I've even finished wee one's blankie, that's how ready we are!

Here's a close up of the panels of her three-textured blankie. The purple came out really nice. I like the all over checkerboard pattern in contrast to the subtler patterns of the other panels and the dark color and with the lighter pinks. And the red - I can't say enough about how perfect I think that red is. And just the right amount of it. If she doesn't love this blankie, I'd be thrilled to keep it for myself!

And now I really can't think of another thing that she could possibly be waiting on.

The ticker says it's time.... but until things get going, work at the blankie factory continues.

The yellow strip of B's blankie is complete. Boy, did that take longer than the others! It was that seed stitch rib pattern, but I think it was worth it. I like the look of it, although I still haven't quite overcome my dislike of the yellow. It's just not the prettiest yellow in the crayon box, you know. But B is very excited about it and that's what really matters.

Meanwhile, S is loving his new blankie. He regularly feigns tiredness so he can grab some cuddle time with it on the sofa each day.

And wee one's blankie waits...

Wee one gets her blankie.

Wee one wears her LMKG hat.

Wee one wears cutie patootie tiny little booties from fellow Knitsmith, Dana.

Now this strip of B's blankie, I really like! The blue Cascade 220 Superwash is totally cool and the pattern of simple squares is very neat and crisp looking.

The stitch pattern, like the rib and seed pattern of the yellow strip, is from a pillow design in Sarah Dallas Knitting. It's enjoyable to knit, with each row of squares being a little goal for me to work towards each time I pick up the needles. Since baby L sleeps at night and screams during the day (which, I have to say, is vastly preferable to the alternative!), that means I don't get to pick up the needles that often. But still, I'm making progress, one row at a time. And B and I are both getting excited for this to be done!

Okay, maybe not a-whole-nother blanket. But there are still more stitch patterns and color blocks in that Sarah Dallas Knitting book that I want to try out.

For example, I adore this little diamond pattern. In the book it's on a beautiful (and white!) laundry bag. But I'm not sure about a knitted laundry bag. What do you all think? Wee one does need a hamper. And I do have a lot of stash yarn (this is some Tahki cotton classic from my stash). Should I do it?

B, number one son, Thing One, and the one who always wants to be first, is being so patient as I slowly finish up his blankie. The two strips of his blankie are both finally done and all that's left is the seaming.

But I haven't been able to get to it for days. I'm not sure how long his patience will last though - I found a long strand of yarn from his old blankie on the floor this morning, so it would seem that the situation is starting to get critical. I'll have to find a way to convince baby L to let me get that seam done soon!

And S, whose heart is even bigger than his dimpled cheeks and who I can tell already is going to be an awesome big brother, wanted to help wee one stop crying the other day so he grabbed the little version of his original blankie and laid it over her. "She can keep my little blankie," he said.

He even offered to bring her his new blankie too if it would help. What a sweetie!

My wrists are killing me. Not from knitting - I wish! - no, from holding the baby's head. All the time. While she's sleeping on my shoulder, while she's nursing, while bathing her, while rocking her... ow! And so baby wrist has put a serious crimp on my knitting. Of course, never putting baby down except to sleep at night is putting a serious crimp on everything else I might need or want to do. But what else do I really need to do, right? Well...

After saying nothing for four days - what a good kid! - B finally asked me last night when I was going to finish his blankie. Okay, you're right, it's been long enough.

the very last unfinished picture of B's blankie

I started the seaming last night (the second hour of Amazing Race gave me a reason to stay up beyond my normal mother-of-a-newborn bedtime of 9pm). I tried the same single crochet seam that the other Sarah Dallas blankets call for, but I just didn't like it on this blanket. Maybe it was the patterning or the white yarn (B's choice, not mine), but it wasn't working for me. I took it out and decided to do the same seam but on the wrong side. The other blankets have it visible on the right side, so it offers more of a contrast to the big panels of color and matches the contrast edgings. What you get on the wrong side is little horizontal stitches every quarter inch or so. Really a nice look actually. So why not put that on the front? It's a clean look for this blanket. It doesn't interfere with those cool patterns and tones down the whitey white whiteness of the seaming yarn. Me likey.

I'm to finish the blankie and put it in B's bed by the time he gets home from school. Hang in there wrists!

He loves it!

In fact, he loves it so much, he wanted us to take more pictures of it. He laid it out himself and pointed out all its features: "this part looks like tire tracks!"

Then he flipped it over so we can all see how cool it looks on the back.

Finally, he brought it upstairs and put it into bed with his old blankie. Now remember, his blankie was not as ripped and shredded as his brother's. He didn't NEED a new blankie; he WANTED one. So, he snuggles into bed, cuddles with both blankies for a second and then says, "I think my old blankie is better." Then he says, "No, I think this one is better than my old blankie." Then S said it wasn't fair that B gets to have both of his blankies when he had to give up his old one. Then mom swore off blankie knitting forever!

Nah, we settled it all (B can keep both blankies for now, S understands that his blankie is too fragile to sleep with anymore and I will knit again) and everyone is happy.

I haven't even mentioned the most amazing part of the whole knitting-new-blankies for everyone saga! Let's take a look again at S with his new blankie:

And a picture of S with his old blankie back in the days when it was whole:

What's different? That thumb! Yes, S's new blankie has helped him completely stop sucking his thumb.

We had tried almost everything to put an end to his nighttime thumb-sucking - threats from the doctor and the dentist, rewards for no thumb-sucking nights, bandages and wraps over the thumb - and nothing worked. But now it's been at least a month without any thumb-sucking. (The proof? We haven't once seen thumb near mouth when we check on the boys at night and, furthermore, S's one thumbnail is now perfectly grown in instead of always being shorter and softer than the other.)

Here's what happened. At the same time he switched blankies, we started having him wear gloves to bed. And rather than take them off, like he did with the bandages and wraps we'd tried, he kept them on. I think that once the blankie, which was such a huge part of his nighttime ritual, was removed, he didn't feel compelled to suck his thumb. He loves his new blankie, but he doesn't need to cuddle with it the exact same way that he did with his old blankie. We tossed the gloves after about two weeks. And now he can't wait for his yearly checkup to tell the doctor! He's so proud of himself.

Ahhh, the power of knitting.

So, exactly one day after we arrive in Germany - exactly one day after we travel thousands of miles away from my yarn stash - wee one holds up the edge of her blankie and declares, "here's a rip". I've got the red yarn at home to mend the tear in the worn edging. Heck, at home I could crochet an entire new edge on! But all I have here is some orangey-red scrap yarn I keep stashed in my notions bag. I hadn't planned on doing too much knitting here, but thankfully I did bring the bare necessities! I pulled out my scrap yarn and crochet hook and did my best to work some single crochet over the worn bit of edging.

She couldn't care less that it doesn't match. She quickly felt her way along the edge, was satisfied that there was "no more rip" and toddled off happily with her blankie. Phew.