… for a new sweetheart.
Soon I will be seeing him, little Francis Xavier. Then just you wait for all the photos you will get!
Right now I will tell you a little about the blanket.
I just had to make him something…
You know, wedding planning is like a kind of alternate reality. You have to live through it to know what I mean.
You can get sucked into it and live everything in your life towards one purpose — getting ready for the wedding. I don't know about you, but my mouth goes dry; I wake up thinking about it; I go to bed thinking about it; and in the end, I find that I'm just not functioning at all.
This time I decided that I had to resist the thought that I can't do anything other than what amounts to just fretting.
In a way, approaching the wedding with the idea that you are sweeping everything else off the board makes you less productive. (Not that it's something you really choose to do — it happens to you, much the way stepping through the wardrobe or finding yourself on a spaceship would. You are so not in control of your destiny. It's really crazy.)
But I did try to do some other things, like garden a little, and knit.
So little Francis was coming, only we didn't know it was he. But there had to be something to greet him! Something handmade, cosy, a little warm but not too warm (because Hong Kong these days is plenty warm enough)….
I decided on a white blanket, made of a washable wool. I remember thinking, with Will (#6), that it would be nice to have a white blanket for the christening, instead of whatever cute pastel number happened to be closest at hand — warm, but not really appropriate, you know?
I remember I answered my MIL's query of “Is there anything I can get you?” with “Could I have a white blanket?” And she got me two. Wasn't that nice? She helped me feel like a mother who had not completely flubbed the event, despite not feeling very well, having a recently unemployed husband, and having five other children to care for.
I purposely chose a quick pattern. This one is great — you don't even cast on all the stitches — you start with one and just keep adding — it grows from the tip out, into a diamond (a square on its side, but don't worry, when you rotate it slightly it ends up square :).
I used my downtime in the evenings, after running around for weddings during the day, to just rest and knit. It didn't take long — not even that lace that goes around the perimeter, although I did have to use one of my (many and frequent) trips to JoAnn's to get the right sized bamboo needles, since the metal ones I got from my stash were making me crazy — the lace is slippery and only a maximum of twelve stitches, and just basically wants to slide off the needles at every turn. Literally.
Pippo helped.
I chose to add an eyelet to the basic (very easy) design so that the blanket would be more breathable in that hot climate, but still provide protection against AC chills.
Oh, and as I was thinking about the eyelet, I read some comments to the effect that perhaps lace is not suitable for infants. I thought about it and I decided that babies like to feel their fingers going in and out of the little holes! He won't get stuck in it, because the yarn isn't super thin, and the holes are small. As I remember, Will's white blanket, which became quite the favorite (as in, he started sucking on the trim of it the way kittens nurse on chenille, even when he had had a mouthful of Oreo — yuck! he made a mess of that thing; wish I could find a picture), had little lacy holes in it and that was part of the appeal. I'm good with the lace.
You can read about the details of this one on my Ravelry page. I have read some reviews of this wool and hope that it will stay nice after it's washed, because it's really, really nice now. It's soft and springy and just the right color to go with a christening gown if that's what the parents would like.
The pattern calls for a garter stitch for the main body, and the way you add eyelet is just to pop it in. Eyelet (or a buttonhole) is “yarn over, knit two together” = yo K2tog. That way you are adding and subtracting a stitch at the same time. I think I did something like K2, yo, K2tog, repeat to the end of the row. It was very loosey-goosey, whatever it was. Then just knit back the next row.
{The wonderful baby photos are by Nick and Natasha's friend, Becky Benians.}
Breanna says
He's beautiful, and so is his blanket!
As for babies and lace–I can remember being very small and laying on my grandmother's bed, poking my fingers in and out of the lace afghan when I was supposed to be napping. Thinking back to which house that was, I couldn't have been much more than four. I've watched all my kids have the same reaction to a lace afghan from their great-great-aunt.
So glad you get to snuggle that baby soon, and looking forward to pictures!
Lori @ IMK, IML says
I did that with my grandmother's chenille bedspreads when I was small. Then I got a little older and thought they were awfully old-fashioned, then I got old enough to love them all over again. Now I wish I had my grandmother once again, lying beside me on the soft chenille, taking a rest together in the afternoon.
BrightCopperKettles says
These pictures are so sweet! I can almost smell that “new baby” smell. And Leila, the blanket is truly lovely (so well-thought out with regards to climate and a baby's tendencies). They're so lucky to have you!
shin ae says
Very beautiful in every way, especially the baby. Do you mind sharing which yarn you used? I'm always on the lookout for a baby-friendly wool.
_Leila says
Shin ae, it's Cascade superwash 220. Do click on that link to my Ravelry page for the details!
Kelsey says
This is lovely! What a precious child and beautiful family! My great-grandmother used to make us all blankets, and I agree with you about the holes – they aren't dangerous, and such a delight for little fingers to feel around.
I really love your characterization of wedding planning as being an alternate reality. It truly, truly is. I'm no expert on wedding traditions of the world, but it seems to me that weddings used to be either fairly simple and homespun, or they were outlandish, lasted a week and involved several villages. I think that today's attempt to fit the scale of the latter into the time frame of the former – because families tend to live far apart from each other these days, and you can't really expect long-distance relatives to show up for coffee cake on the church lawn, but then again, everyone has to be back to work on Monday – is part of what makes it so maddening!
_Leila says
Kelsey, well said. It's ridiculous!
Susan (DE) says
I so agree. Have gone through 3 weddings of kiddoes here — one daughter and two sons. SO thankful not to be TOO involved with the sons' — it was just SO EXHAUSTING. I don't think our own wedding was nearly so complex! Yet, I thought it was very nice.
Lisa G. says
I guess you *are* good with lace! How beautiful. And how sensible you are to try and focus on something else during that busy time.
Jennifer says
I just had to comment: a dear friend made us a blanket for our first son that our second son (7 years later) now loves! The “lace” of it is the best! He loves his “blankie”, putting it over his head and seeing through, poking his fingers in and out… We've never had a safety issue at all; it's the best blanket ever!
priest's wife says
…it is so hard to be far from family- something handmade from grandma makes it a bit easier (grandma #1 is 1000 miles away, grandma #2 is 10,000+ miles away…)
Suzanne says
Beautiful, I used hand knit and crochet for all my babies….its gorgeous, hand made is lovely….he has the look of Pippo about him I think when I first looked…..x
sarah says
What a gorgeous baby boy and a gorgeous blanket. So glad you will get to shower him in kisses and cuddles soon.
Margaret says
Does this mean you're headed to Hong Kong soon? How exciting!
Cathy says
I think Francis Xavier looks like Pippo. That blanket is lovely!
Hollace says
Beautiful baby boy! Lovely blanket to treasure. I think FX looks like Pippo, too.
camillegabel says
Beautiful — both of them! Cascade 220 Superwash does wash up beautifully! It's one of my favorite yarns to knit with. Put the blanket on my to do list!
Anne says
Oh it came out so pretty! I especially like the border/trim!
Susan (DE) says
Precious! The baby. The blanket is really pretty, too!
Enjoy seeing him! So, so, SO much fun at that age.
Nancy says
You have inspired me to make gifts instead of
Going to the megababy store to purchase.
Thanks for sharing your creations!
Sarah says
How odd that people suggested lace was inappropriate. I distinctly remember being told lace was ideal for a baby blanket (by a public health nurse) because the baby could breath even if he pulled the blanket over his head while sleeping.
Anyway, beautiful blanket, and so easy to do. I was working on a lace blanket for my second child (due in February) which proclaimed to be simple and perfect for TV knitting. Apparently for me, it is not simple enough. I will cast on your pattern (similar to my regular TV knitting of dishcloths) and happily knit away.
I always enjoy your blog, it's been a huge help to me.
glendachilders says
What a lovely gift to mail off to Hong Kong.
Fondly,
Glenda
Woman of the House says
What an adorable baby! I think I see some Pippo in him, especially in the first picture. 🙂 Your blanket is gorgeous and will be a treasure, I'm sure!
claire says
Lovely. Thanks for sharing. We all love you and yours.
Claire