Two words of advice: chunky yarn |
Things like hand-knit blankets represent the kind of childhood I didn't have. I grew up very quickly since my mom died when I was four and my dad did his best to raise me and my younger brother by himself until he remarried when I was 12. I don't have sweet memories of favorite blankies. Instead, I have memories of waking up to my own alarm clock when I was five and constantly getting into trouble for losing my house keys starting at at least age 7. It's OK; my circumstances helped make me independent. But, I want to give my son a happy and safe childhood. I have the luxury of doing that.
My son was going to have a hand-knit blanket, gosh darn it. I realized no one else was going to knit him one, so I was like, I'll do it! It should be from me anyway! How hard can it be?
The thing is I don't knit. Well, I first learned to knit when I was 11 and I knitted a potholder with tons of mistakes in it. About five years ago, I knit a scarf and quickly forgot how to knit shortly thereafter. Then I picked up the knitting needles again two years ago and knit a scarf for my husband. I have to relearn how to knit each time and it takes me so long to knit something that I say I'm never going to do it again. Famous last words!
You know you're not a real knitter when...
-You have to youtube search "how to cast on," "how to knit" and "how to bind off"
-You pray you don't make any mistakes because you don't know how to fix them
-You look for the thickest yarn you can buy because otherwise a blanket could take a year to knit
-You know how to do one type of stitch and that's knit (and you're not sure if it's called a stitch)
-You can make versions of a square or rectangle and that's it
Why did I have to knit my baby's blanket in two days? I'll tell you after the jump! Also, more pictures!
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Blanket under construction |
I ended up ordering the yarn from Yarn.com, and the price per ball was actually less expensive ($12 per ball instead of $15 because you get a discount the more you buy) and so it costed less than the other site, even though I had to pay for shipping. The thing is, the order ended up taking a week to ship and they sent the wrong needles, so I only had 2 days to knit the blanket. Sheesh.
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Greyson got a sneak peek and taste of the blanket |
The only mistake I made was that hole above...how'd that even happen? |
Call me sentimental, but I was very happy that I could make something for my baby. It makes me smile envisioning him as an adult and having fond memories of the blanket.
I finished the blanket at 9 am on Christmas morning, about 10 minutes before this picture was taken |
Tips for knitting if you don't knit:
- Get the chunkiest yarn you can find (it's satisfying to see the rows build quickly and it's harder to make mistakes with big yarn)
- Give yourself a deadline
- Youtube the information you need
- 5 balls of Rowan Big Wool yarn
- Circular knitting needles in size 15 to 19, measuring 29" or more
- Two days or about six hours
- How to cast on (forms the first edge and base of your entire project)
- How to knit (the only stitch I know...just repeat until done...row after row)
- How to bind off (finish off the edge when you're done with your project)
I was very satisfied with Rowan's Big Wool Yarn in Oxidised |
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