Our
grandson Silas, visiting us at Christmastime, came running to me talking about the
“pattern blanket.”
“Will you make me a pattern blanket,” he asked.
“What’s
a pattern blanket,” I asked, to which his mother responded that he meant the
striped afghan we put on the bed we made for him in Mike’s office. In recent
years I’ve made several striped scrap afghans – color stripes alternating with
gray. I made the first one – the one Silas was talking about – for myself. Son Murray
admired it, so last year I made one for him.
Of course, I assured Silas, I would make one for him. Hallie was dubious, implying that this was a thing of the moment and that he would forget about it. This may well be true, but I know from experience that all too soon the children stop asking for the simple things I do. Moreover, that stash of leftover yarn is still available – and I would love to buy more. And besides, how could I ever say no to such an earnest request from one of my favorite people?! I was on it in a flash!
The
thing with a scrap afghan is that it doesn’t truly work unless you buy more
yarn. I figure each scrap afghan costs $40. And then you have leftover yarn
again, and this just continues to feed on itself. With the finish of each scrap
afghan, the stash of leftover yarn has grown but some colors have to be
replenished. It’s really rather fascinating how that works.
“And,” said Hallie, “he isn’t going to care what you do.”
Sure
he cares, I think to myself. He wants a “pattern blanket” that Grandma made just
for him, and a pattern blanket he shall have. Maybe Hallie just doesn’t
understand how easy it is to make my “pattern blankets.” It’s a stitch, not a
written pattern. Or, maybe she meant that I don’t need to overthink the color
combinations.
I must have restarted Silas’ “pattern blanket” four times, but this is necessary. To start rightly is to end rightly. I practiced with hook sizes, holding the yarn tighter, and measuring my beginning row. At last, I was satisfied and it began to grow.
How
long will it take to finish it? Let’s just say that I hope to finish it while
Silas still remembers he asked me to make it.
