A year ago my friend had a baby boy. Her husband took many pictures throughout her labor, many of them featuring a blanket. This blanket was on her lap, on the bed beside her, in her arms as they wheeled her in for an emergency c-section, and finally draped over the new baby. I loved this idea. Whenever a loved one goes through something special I want to give her something that will provide comfort and support. When another dear friend announced she was pregnant I knew immediately that I would get all her crafty friends together to make a blanket with the powers to comfort the new family anytime they need it.
Contact your friends and ask if they’d like to participate and what sort of blanket piece each would like to make.
Choose a yarn type or color scheme or other unifying theme for the blankie. We chose Blue Sky Alpaca's Dyed Cotton in colors to compliment the baby's room.
Contact all those participating and give them the lowdown on your plan.
I chose the chaos approach. My only rule besides the yarn we chose was that all pieces had to have right angles. No hexagons or circles!
Covert Ops: I slipped yarn into purses and such right under the nose of the mama-to-be at her own baby shower. Later, finished pieces were slipped into my bag just as covertly.
Throw a Party: Get everyone together, maybe even Mama-to-Be too! It would be possible to complete all of the pieces necessary to make the blanket in one day.
Accept ahead of time that this blanket will likely be chaotic. Many minds working on one small blanket could hardly be less than chaotic. Embrace this fact right away. I chose the yarn and the colors. I requested that no one worry about size or shape or number of pieces they made and I set a deadline. From there it was up to the other 5 girlfriends involved to choose which of the colors to use and what to make.
Half the pieces are knit and half are crochet. I would have loved it if someone in our group had been able to make a quilted, woven, or embroidered piece. I think the more variety, the merrier!
As the pieces began to trickle in I found myself impressed by how much of themselves everyone put into their pieces. One friend learned to knit for the project. Her very first knitted swatch makes for a beautiful and vulnerable addition. Another friend went wild inventing her own granny squares while on a road trip. There's even a knitted square with a skull and crossbones!
I set out the pieces and arranged and re-arranged until they all seemed happy with their placement. I stuck scotch tape notes on each one, labeling where they belong so the world won't end if they get jumbled.
Now ALL I have to do is make filler pieces and attach them!
Of course, crocheters plan and the forces-that-be laugh. Wacky schedules and a busy season foiled plans to get the project finished in the planned timely manner. Everyone did a great job with their contributions, however I fell behind and haven't been able to finish the blanket… yet.
Last week, Owen was born. He's beautiful. His mom is still waiting for her wealth of beautiful pieces to be joined by yours truly… I'm going out on a limb here to promise she'll receive it by the time he's 1 month old.
Check back for a photo of the finished blankie!
Great Big Thanks go to: Liz, Sue, Maiteeny, Tania, and Bridgid for your beautiful work!
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