A Crib Blanket

 

 

 

I never did any knitting until I retired to NC.  And then only because I was invited to join a neighborhood knitting group.  "You don't need to know how to knit," I was told.  "We mostly talk and eat."  I decided that just as I wouldn't join a book club without reading the book neither would I join a knitting group without learning to knit.  And so I did.

 

I find knitting to be very relaxing.  Some patterns are so simple they can be done while listening to audiobooks or watching TV.  Other patterns are so complicated one can only count out loud and move the "lifeline" as often as necessary, hoping against hope that it won't be needed.

 

A "perfect storm" of events led me to my last project.  Our local knit shop was going out of business.  Prior to the closing, special customers were allowed to come in for an appreciation sale before the markdowns began for others.  Near the time of the sale, my neighbor told me her son and pregnant d-i-l had just told her their anticipated first baby is a boy.  She had three sons and one of the sons already had three sons so she was really hoping for a girl this time.  She lamented that she didn't knit well enough to make something for the baby.  In fact, she had started three blankets only to rip them out again.

 

As I walked through the yarn shop, a bright royal blue caught my eye.  A machine-washable blend of acrylic and wool, it would be perfect for a boy baby born in October.  I did not tell my neighbor what I was doing so I felt no real pressure to complete the project.

 

And here's the finished product:

 

 

 

 

 

You can appreciate the size when it is lying on a queen-sized bed.

Not only will this serve as a blanket for the crib, I think it might become a comforter for a toddler during cuddle time or naptime.

My friend cried when I gave it to her.  She had just visited her son and d-i-l and said they had painted a chest in the baby's room that very color of blue.  She can't wait to give them the blanket when she goes up after the baby is born.

The pattern was easy.  The knitting was fun.  Doing something surprising for a friend?  PRICELESS