Here are two pictures of the baby blanket I knit four years ago in anticipation of the arrival of my granddaughter F.
I used a Norwegian pattern and Dale’s “Baby Ull” (50g/165m), knitting 32 stitches over 4 inches/10 centimeters.
I knit the same blanket a few years earlier for my grandson O, though the color of his was a strong apple green. (My daughter did not want the traditional pastel colors, and Dale makes some beautiful, rich colors in Baby Ull.)
To the right is a picture showing what my grandson O (nearly 7 years old) did to the blanket with a pair of scissors.
At first O tried to blame their dog. My daughter knew a dog didn’t do it, so as granddaughter F reluctantly pointed her finger at her big brother, grandson O confessed.
Throughout this, I sat in the corner of their living room, stunned and, uncharacteristically, at a total loss for words, tears silently running down my cheeks. (The blanket had been a time-consuming labor of love.)
I don’t know which upset grandson O more: his punishment or knowing he made me cry. (I think the latter.) My punishment was that he would have unstack and drag out every bin of my stash (and I have many), and carefully go through each one until he found the leftover skein of the yarn.
A few days later he came over, positive and ready to work hard until he found it. (He also suggested I fold up the cut blanket and put it in a zip lock bag so he could keep it near him as he matched colors. Then, he explained, he could unzip it and feel the wool to compare the skeins he found in a similar color.) In the seventh bin, he found it. He was overjoyed (as was I).
I repaired the blanket. The repair is invisible from the right side, though less invisible on the wrong side. (I wanted to be sure I secured the cut ends so it will withstand many years of love – and washings.)
Now everyone is happy again.
Note to new fiber artists: I always buy enough yarn for a project so that I have about 1/4 to 1/2 skein left for future repairs. When I have enough, I have also been known to later cut the cuffs off a child sweater, pick up the stitches and then use the saved yarn to knit a couple of more inches before reattaching to the sleeve. This is great for the child who gains height but stays slim. (You may have to work a new pattern into the sleeve to cover any change in the color due to fading.)
Oh no. Sorry about the blanket. It’s beautiful. I often use Baby Ull. It’s a great yarn.
I have used it only for baby clothes – have you used it for anything else? How did you like it?
I knit hats and mittens with two strands of this yarn. I like that the yarn is soft and warm.
Thanks – I will knit up an adult hat out of it!
Sent from my iPad
Q – I remember the sad blog when he cut it. I’m so happy you were able to repair it! So beautiful!
Me too … Though Thor thought I should have posted a pic of the repair job. I wish I could have made the back of the repair as pretty as the front but I wanted to really secure it.
Oh goodness. He must’ve felt awful. What an upsetting thing for everyone! So pleased you were able to fix it. And yes, a brilliant idea actually to save yarn for repairs. Phew. A lovely blanket, now with a story to tell.
We were so surprised too – he had never done anything like that before. Perhaps never again?!
Nana saves the day! I would have been in tears too.
I couldn’t even help the tears – they just started flowing down my cheeks!
So glad you were able to repair the blanket. A nice little lesson for thorns son though. He probably will y very hard never to do anything to make you cry again.
We’ll have to see his response to the sweater I made him for Christmas. Technically it is perfect, but my daughter asked me to make it in brown, and I think it is pretty boring. He may just reach for the scissors.
Your story made me remember that when I was about 5, I found a scissors in our playroom, and just decided to cut into the middle of one of the curtains! (Fortunately, not hand made!) I was not usually a mischievous or curious child so I don’t know why I did it. I can still remember the little click I felt in my brain as I realized, “It’s not like the cartoons, things don’t fix themselves!” I felt guilty and finally woke my mom up in the middle of the night to confess.
I think you handled the situation so well, in teaching him to own up to mistakes and work to fix them.
I guess those sorts of things (curtain and blanket cuttings!) are learning experiences for both adults and child!
Oh, sweet baby! They get so distraught when they make someone cry. together, Grandmother and Grandson made a bad situation all better…I love it!
Yes, though now the reverse side of the blanket no longer looks perfect! Oh we’ll, at least it is loved!
I remember reading a long time that, after finishing a sweater for a child, is good to knit a simple square and sew it inside in the back. So when you need to make the sleeves longer, the wool not only will be there, but fade like the garment!
I have never use the advice since I live in central Brazil, so not much sweater knitting here ;D
Solange
What a great idea! It is the first I heard of it – and certainly would help me avoid increasing my stash!
ohhh what a pain to see that , children do stupid things sometimes, they’ve got so much to learn, but I really like how he acted after understanding the effects of his behavior. The blanket is not perfect now certainly, but the story and the love in it are much more valuables.
Yes, in the long run it is a good lesson. In the short run it hurt me to see that clean slash and him to know he made me cry.
. (He hasn’t cut any knit items since!)
It’s a beautiful blanket
I’m glad everything got sorted out & it’s all good now.
Yes … and I hope he has learned his lesson! (I’m pretty sure he has.)
It sounds like jealousy got the best of little O! But I am glad it all worked out in the end. In my experience, organic cotton blankets usually prove to be strong and resilient, especially against mischievous young ones.
If not jealousy, something mischievous got into him … But I think he acted without thinking about what he was doing. I haven’t knit a cotton blanket, though I have woven a couple! I once wove a 50/50 cotton/wool which is a great blend for winters in places like the California coast.
This just made me weep. I love the image of him working hard to make the wrong right and you express your relationship with him beautifully. I have just been writing about my Grandmother, so perhaps this caught me at a particularly thoughtful time, but nonetheless, lovely. So glad it all worked out.
Thanks also for your kind words of support on my blog when I first started out a good few posts ago. I found it hard to fit writing into my life for a while, but it has become a way of celebrating or musing on my latest project. The blog is almost inseparable from the knitting now!
I am glad you are enjoying your blog (and of course you’re welcome for my earlier words of encouragement). Yes, the blanket cutting fiasco was very sad for everyone, but Grandson O worked hard to find the remaining half skein. It was fixable and the repair invisible from the top side. I don’t think he’ll again take scissors to anything I’ve knit!
Gorgeous blanket. Sorry about the wound but glad you were able to repair!