Busy Blue Stork Deliveries

The stork has had his work cut out for him recently! On Christmas Eve he dropped off a bundle to someone I used to work with, then on 4th January BFF’s number 3 daughter had an early delivery and today a friend’s sister in law received her bundle of bony baby.

Back in October during an evening of general chit chat I showed my friend the cute booties and bonnet my BFF had crocheted and knitted (to amuse her hands) and she asked if she could buy them and ask if I felt like I could make a cot blanket.  I was in two minds, I can only stitch at most on a good day for an hour, and knew time would be tight before baby due date with Christmas inbetween, but I gave it a go. We decided on a pattern, yarn type and after creating a sample square (yarn always looks different when made up than when rolled into its ball) the mission was on.

The pattern was essentially an every growing granny square. The pattern was a cross-stitch double crochet stitch (skip a stitch, DC in next, DC in skipped stitch, repeat, 2dc chain2 2dc at the corners, fiddly bit including a turn at the joining part) round back and forth, add another ball. I deliberately did not measure the blanket as I knew this would just add unnecessary pressure and maybe fuel the negative thoughts that I won’t have time. Having a project, a new stitch, was great, it was purposeful and had meaning. But it also worried me, it had to be perfect as this was a commission piece, and I never feel my work is accurate enough.

By December the blanket had grown considerably, I was not completing all four sides within my hour slot and seemed to be adding another ball of yarn after three completed rounds. I relented and dug out the tape measure. WooHoo, I was already at thirty inches, and each completed round was adding an inch, the target measurement was thirty-six inches.  To properly finish off the piece I did the last round in plain double crochet’s and it edged it nicely.  Now the next scary bit, washing it. After tucking and snipping the ends (most hated job) I bundled it into the washing machine and added the soft care detergent, selected the cycle, hit the button and waited nervously. As it swished and swashed my mind had visions of it disintegrating like tissue paper, as the spin cycle wound itself up I had visions of a forgotten end getting caught and the item unraveling, all irrational and needless. 

Wash, dried, folded, it was ready for presentation. I will admit I had something of a ‘moment’ when thinking about the piece. I didn’t want it to be perfect, to be held in such reverence to be treated with care, kept for special days, I wanted the blanket to be used, thrown up on,  dragged around the home, shut in the car door, thrown in the washing machine, the thing that is grabbed when baby is falling asleep on the sofa, or as a toddler wants to snuggle with when feeling off colour., something used and trusted and loved. I had a lovely note from the recipient and look forward to seeing her bundle making use of the items.