So the other night I’m talking to best friend… we were talking about baby blankets (pregnant cousin) and she goes “I WANT A BLANKET!!! WILL YOU MAKE ME A HOUSE WARMING BLANKET” half of it was sarcasm but I know inside, this will mean more to her than any ‘house warming’ present she can buy from a store.
I present to you, best friends wedding blanket.
For 10 months this blanket got dragged around.
It started out with no real plan in mind except that it had to match a beach and have their name in it. There were moments where I fiddled with adding the date, and moments where I decided I was insane.
I finally settled on Valley Yarns North Hampton in the Natural colorway. The stitch pattern was simple, knit one, yarn in front, slip one, yarn in back all the way across… purl back… knit 1, knit 1 yarn in front, slip one, all the way across… purl back. three inches of that, then I would put the names in.
The names were done using a book that was my grandmothers from 1945. It is literally torn to shreds it’s been passed down and used for various things. It didn’t matter… it was exactly what this blanket is looking for.
The names took time as they required focus and I was working on it in a time of my life where focus wasn’t there… I was going through losing my grandfather and needed something easy to knit.. not the blanket. So a row or two a week was knit, but nothing that caused the blanket to grow very fast.
Once the names were complete, it was 50 inches of the pattern… all the way to the end. There were days I swear the blanket never grew, despite hours and hours of knitting.
That blanket went to two family funerals, family birthdays, thanksgiving, Christmas with two sides of the family, a loving relationship, and a breakup. It literally was cried on, slept under (as I knit), and cuddled with in the last 4 months.
Binding off I was going to add a border. A full weekend of knitting on a border before I realized it wasn’t going to work… with frustration the border was ripped out, and it was decided that no border was needed. It was as it should be.
The blanket was washed…(clearly it had been taken many places)
and blocked…
And in a month and a half (May 23rd) I will be able to present best friend with a new family heirloom. It’s not a blanket to necessarily use every day. Granted no kid will be allowed to touch it until they are 18. It is to be washed by hand, not in a washing machine… But in between the washes it is to provide comfort in sad times, memories in happy times, and to remind them of the love they have to share with their family.
This blanket was exactly what I needed to focus on in the last few months. It kept me distracted in the bad times, gave me constant reminders that the wedding is coming up and I better work on the bachelorette party, and something to cuddle up with when all I wanted to do was cry. Now it’s time to pass it on to someone who can understand that stitch by stitch a relationship is built… not all stitches are perfect… but in the end they all work together to make something great,.
Best friend… if you ever read this… Now do you understand why I refuse to follow your wedding registry!? I love you!
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!! You don’t know how much that blanket means to me and it is the best gift we got by far. I am the luckiest person in the world to have you as my best friend and sister! I know how much work you put into that, and not only is it a blanket for my new family, but a reminder of the strong knit (see i am funny) bond you and I have. I will treasure it forever and I promise you can sleep with it in your room when you come to visit:)