blue blanket beginnings
About a month ago, my brother's girlfriend was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. It came as a shock - doesn't it always? - because she is young and healthy. No one expects to get cancer when they are 27, after all. The encouraging news is that it's a treatable cancer in early stages, so there is every reason to be hopeful that she will recover and be just fine.
The next six months will be rough, though. There's no way around that. She starts chemo today, and she'll get it every other week through the summer.
I started a blanket for her:
The yarn is Cascade 109 in a lovely sky blue, a color I find cheerful but not obnoxious. I began with a chunky lace pattern, shamelessly copycatting Brooklyn Tweed's Chunky Merino Throw. It was going so fast that I tried to convince myself I liked it. When I was about 1/3 of the way through, my mom came to visit (for Daniel's birthday), and I asked her what she thought. She hesitated, probably deciding whether she should be nice or be honest. She went with honest. "You know what I think?" she said. "It looks like bad crochet?" I replied. Indeed, it did, and the blanket was off to the frog pond.
For the record, I still like the chunky throw. I think maybe this yarn wasn't chunky enough, or maybe my needles were too big. In any case, it just wasn't working.
So I've gone with a simple basketweave pattern, and I like it much better:
I wish I could have had this finished in time to send it off before she started treatment, but I'd rather she have a nice blanket than an ugly one. Fortunately, bulky yarn knits up quickly no matter what. I am halfway through 10 skeins, and I can knit about a skein a day, so maybe she'll get this before the next round of chemo starts.
The next six months will be rough, though. There's no way around that. She starts chemo today, and she'll get it every other week through the summer.
I started a blanket for her:
The yarn is Cascade 109 in a lovely sky blue, a color I find cheerful but not obnoxious. I began with a chunky lace pattern, shamelessly copycatting Brooklyn Tweed's Chunky Merino Throw. It was going so fast that I tried to convince myself I liked it. When I was about 1/3 of the way through, my mom came to visit (for Daniel's birthday), and I asked her what she thought. She hesitated, probably deciding whether she should be nice or be honest. She went with honest. "You know what I think?" she said. "It looks like bad crochet?" I replied. Indeed, it did, and the blanket was off to the frog pond.
For the record, I still like the chunky throw. I think maybe this yarn wasn't chunky enough, or maybe my needles were too big. In any case, it just wasn't working.
So I've gone with a simple basketweave pattern, and I like it much better:
I wish I could have had this finished in time to send it off before she started treatment, but I'd rather she have a nice blanket than an ugly one. Fortunately, bulky yarn knits up quickly no matter what. I am halfway through 10 skeins, and I can knit about a skein a day, so maybe she'll get this before the next round of chemo starts.
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Dee Anna