Wrapped Up in Stitches

Suffocated in Stitches

Consumed by Stitches

Any of those titles would be appropriate.  Back in June when we found out Grace would be having surgery this fall to remove her hemangioma (the one on her back, not her jaw), I decided that I MUST knit her a blanket.

She picked the pattern, and knowing I wouldn't get the yarn from the US quick enough, I picked up some Garnstudio Drops at my local yarn store.

Knitting one colour a week seemed like a manageable task.  But I started knitting other items in conjunction.. and pretty soon it was September and I wasn't even halfway done.

For reference, there are 288 stitches per row, and 32 rows per colour.  It is 40" wide, and will require 14 colours in order to be long enough to justify the width.

As of last week I still had just under 70 000 stitches to knit. (Perhaps I shouldn't have calculated that out, but I was curious). 

My deadline is October 15th.  We leave on holidays for three weeks to the US on September 23rd.  We told Grace's surgeon we'd be returning on the 15th.  Which means her surgery could happen at any point after that.

I've realized that the blanket is already too large to pack with us, so it must get knit before we leave.

Everywhere I go, the blanket goes.  I knit on it constantly.  Even at friends homes who do not knit.  The blanket and I are one.  My girlfriend last night suggested I wear my baby sling and I could knit the blanket on the move.  She was joking, but I think she is onto something.

My view from here.

Despite how all consuming this project is, it doesn't feel like work, and I don't feel tired of it.  And I know that's because it feels like it holds such an important job, and is for such an important little girl.  My Mom's friend commented to me that it's pretty special that as the blanket grows, it also serves a second purpose of preparing Grace for the upcoming hospital stay.   She calls it her "hospital blanket" and as I knit it she will often asks me questions as to what will happen during the surgery.  It's a good discussion piece to help prepare her.

Each and everyone of these stitches holds so much love.  I can't wait to wrap it up for her :)