Handmade Treasures: Blanket Complete!

(Disclaimer: It's another knitting post...  Apologies to all you non-knitters out there!  If you ever wanted to learn how to knit though, read on!)

Stripes, stripes everywhere.

I finished my baby blanket!  Well, it's not mine anymore, technically.  Now it belongs to my baby.  But he's not here yet so I guess it's still habit to say "my."  I'll transfer over the possessive once he arrives.  Sure, there were some hiccups along the way and one point when I cried from frustration but that just makes it better, right?  I started this project at the end of September and worked on it mostly in the evenings watching Survivor or on the weekends while watching football.  Here are a few things I learned that are most definitely common sense to experienced knitters...but were not so much to me:

- Gauge is important.  I wasn't entirely sure what gauge was.  And I'm still not totally clear on it.  From what I gather from this article, it basically means how many stitches are needed to get the desired amount of inches in your pattern. All yarns are not created equal.  This is what I do know:  I do know that I knitted a blanket out of seven different yarns.  These yarns varied in color, brand name and...gauge.  So when I casted on the 130 stitches that the pattern called for with the first color, I continued to knit that many stitches for all of the colors.  As a result, the white and the light blue portions of the blanket look smaller than the rest of the blanket...as you can see.  Like I suddenly decided to nip things in a bit.  My blanket isn't so much a rectangle as it is a rippling wave or hourglass-shaped.  Had I known how important gauge is I would have chosen all seven yarns accordingly.  Instead I chose them based on their color and how they felt.  And the blanket is, ahem, clearly homemade as a result.

- Don't knit while watching Florida vs Florida State games.  The two times I made significant boo-boos happened as a result of knitting while being emotionally invested in what I was watching on TV.  Here's the thing:  I had been taking advantage of this football-season-time of year by knitting.  I got the most done on Saturdays and Sundays when football dominated the airwaves in our house.  And I had done plenty of knitting during plenty of Gator games.  It was great!  I'm not the biggest of football fans but I enjoy it enough to half-watch while knitting!  However, none of the games seem as important as the UF/FSU game because we are state rivals.  Like major rivals.  To give you an example, FSU has a "Florida Hate Week" leading up to our game.  Keep it classy, FSU.  I was watching and suddenly the stitches slipped off my needle and I couldn't figure out how to get them all back into place!  I panicked.  After crying from frustration and practicing my lamaze breathing, I got back on track somehow and now there is just a little area that looks a little gnarled.  And the Gators won, so it was all good.  Then I was watching a UF/FSU basketball game and the same thing happened again.  This time I laughed instead of crying but still... Wider lesson for everyone?  Don't knit when you know you might be emotionally distracted.  Knit when the knitting has a little more of your focus. 

- Circular Knitting Needles are awesome.  I was intimidated by them when I first got them.  I was frustrated by them when I couldn't figure out how to cast on and had to redo 130 stitches four times when I first started the project.  But once I got the hang of it, I loved them.  The needles hang out together, you don't have to worry about one falling in between the couch cushions as you switch sides, and now that I'm finishing up a scarf that I started on regular straight needles, I realize that the circular ones are just...better. 

- It's ok if you mess up.  This is probably my biggest take-away.  Knitting a blanket is the biggest knitting project I've taken on yet.  And, as discussed, I messed up along the way.  But am I proud of this blanket?  Heck yes!  Do I think it will keep my baby warm as he's all snuggled up in his stroller for walks around the neighborhood?  Absolutely.  Will my baby care that the blanket is a little 'wavy' and not exactly perfect?  He might make fun of me when he's older but, for now, no way!  He's going to have a misshapen blanket that his mama made for him with love.  And it's something that I hope he can use one day for his own children.  

In fact, true story: My husband's mom crocheted him a blanket when he was born.  She shipped it to us so we can use it for our first baby.  It's lasted thirty-plus years and is such an incredible gift to pass on.  Handmade treasures are unique and perfect in their own way...no matter how many hiccups happen along the way.

If you want to knit your own baby blanket, here is my original post about doing so.  It has links to the pattern, tips from one beginner to another and other knitting resources online that can help!