Tuesday, September 22, 2015

After and before.........

I know it is supposed to be before and after but who wants to wait?  Here is my finished Berroco Modern Cotton Baby Ripple.


I finished it today on a very unexpected day off.  I have been having some pretty bad headaches lately and when number four migraine in 48 hours came roaring in while I was at work last night I knew work was not possible today.


I had planned on finishing the last three rows of this last night, but as you can imagine once I got home I went right to bed and stayed in my very dark room.  I am very lucky Mr. 18 was home, he took care of Little Buddy all on his own, even taking care of a poopy diaper.  However when I talked to my husband this morning he told me the diaper had been put on backwards which made me laugh, well it was a little chuckle because my head was still hurting. 


Here is the before, all rumply and tiny.  I had hoped that a good blocking would be perfect for this blanket because once again I could have gone with one pattern repeat more.  This is your basic 14 stitch ripple, you  can find the pattern everywhere.  Before blocking it was 24 x 39 inches, after it was 28 x 42.  I think that is a nice baby size.  The blanket is soft and even though this yarn calls for a H hook, I used an I and maybe could have gone up to a J.  It would have been more drapey if I had.  Is drapey a word?


This will be shipped out to the new baby who will soon be in our family.  I love that my nieces and nephews on both sides of the family are having families of their own now.  If you are in my family, and are having a baby, you get a baby blanket from me whether you want one or not.  It is the rule!


Of course when I am home with a hurting head and do not want much noise or light I have this going on right outside my front door, they are repaving the street.  Let me just say that trucks of all shapes and sizes have been here making a LOT of noise today.  I finally put my earphones on and listened to soft music to drown them out. 


I am glad that even in a darkened room, with gentle music on I could finish this baby blanket.  For the next few hours I will not have a thing in progress, absolutely nothing on the hook or needles.  I think I might make some Queen Anne's Lace Scarves with matching ends by Sue Perez, for therapist and teacher presents for Little Buddy for Christmas.  Remember all the dishcloths that were made last year?  Well I do and I remember that everyone thought they were trivets even though I had them packaged up with a nice bar of beautiful soap.  I think a scarf might be better.  I vowed to give only Starbucks gift cards, but you know me I have to make something.

Hope you are having a great day.

46 comments:

Pammy Sue said...

Beautiful, beautiful, calming blanket! I love it and so will the baby and momma. Handmade gifts are THE best! Sorry you have been having headaches lately. I hope you are feeling better soon!

Wainwright and Wright.Co said...

Sorry to hear you have been suffering headaches over the last couple of days - hope you are feeling better. How lucky to have you Mr 18 at home to help! Beautiful blanket, I do love the soft colours.
Best wishes
Caz xx

Elizabeth said...

I agree homemade gifts are wonderful! The scarfs sound beautiful! Hope your headache is gone! You do have great help, even if they do put the diaper on backwards!

CJ said...

Poor you, I do hope your head is all better soon. And well done Mr 18, that's impressive work, he's a good boy I think, a credit to you. The blanket is gorgeous, they are lucky babies and nephew/nieces in your family to get such a lovely gift with so many hours of work in it and such beautiful stitches. I bet Little Buddy is loving all of those trucks and rollers and things right outside of his house. Little boy heaven I think! You are such a sweetie making gifts for everyone. Take it easy for a bit though, migraines are nasty. Hugs, CJ xx

Unknown said...

I am sure your dishcloths made very nice trivets, lol.
Those diapers can be tricky...I have to study my granddaughters pull ups every time to decide which is the front. Have you seen a Dr about your migraines...perhaps it would be a good idea since they have been so frequent. Take care.

Helen said...

I hope you are feeling much better soon with your migraine. The baby blanket is absolutely beautiful - I bet it will be much loved and cherished. Go Mr 18 - what a responsible young man!! xox

mamasmercantile said...

Hope you are soon on the mend, maybe you should get checked out having them so frequently. The baby blanket is beautiful, the perfect gift made with love. I struggle with the pull ups too, I can never work out which way round they are.

Anonymous said...

The baby blanket is beautiful. You used such soft, pretty colors.

Hope you are feeling better today.

WildflowerWool said...

I hope the headache has passed. I think drapey is a word. Your family is lucky to receive handmade blankets from you. This ripple one is wonderful!

ellen said...

That Mr. 18 is definitely a keeper. Your blanket is perfect and I think the colors are so calming.
I am so sorry to hear about your battle with migraines. Is it at all possible to slow down and take some time off of work? You have a killer of a work load. I have no clue how you do it.
Sending love and healing wishes.
Ellen xoxo

Willow said...

I'm having a nice and quiet day--it's hot here but I have the AC on.
Nothing on the needles and nothing on the warp? Wow. Right now, I have three projects on needles and two projects percolating in the brain. I'll send you one :)
I hope your headaches are better and gone SOON.

Amy at love made my home said...

So sorry to hear about your migraines, I do hope that you are all better now. Take care of yourself my dear. Beautiful blanket and I am sure that it will be very well received and used and loved! xx

Crafty in the Med said...

Gorgeous blanket and I can see it is super soft! Mother and baby will surely adore it.
I so know about migrane so I feel for you!! I am whispering or writing in whispers because I've had a long streak of good luck lately and haven't had migrane for awhile. It makes me feel so bad and I can't work either and I hate to let my students down. I think the earphones are a good idea I will try that if there is another time :-)

Take care

Amanda :-)

kathy b said...

What a precious baby blanket. Gray and white is perfect. Im so sorry you have nasty migraines. That must be awful especially with your schedule.
Rest, quiet, dark, ...prayers for you my friend

Linda @ A La Carte said...

What a pretty blanket! I love the colors and the pattern. Your family is lucky to have these handmade blankets. Now rest and get rid of those headaches. They really do mess with our life! My daughter had a diaper put on her backwards once when her uncle kept her, cracked me up, but he changed a diaper!
hugs,
Linda

Teresa Kasner said...

Dang, I wish you didn't have those headaches. Pain sucks. Your blanket turned out spectacular! So pretty. That baby and momma will love it I know. I wish I could get finished with my ripple.. it's taking forever. I want to move on to the next thing! Have a pain-free week. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Karen said...

I'm so glad you were able to find some peace and quiet to rest from your headache. The blanket is beautiful, the new parents will be so pleased. I love the Queen Anne scarf. I bought one from Claudia's etsy shop a long time ago. I couldn't imagine making one myself, but now that I'm learning to knit, perhaps I could give it a try!

Hugs to you, Meredith.

Toni said...

Oh no! I hope you're feeling better!!!!

Ana BC said...

Lovely blanket! It has such a classic look

Betsy said...

Oh my poor Meredith. I'm so sorry you're having such bad migraines. I can't imagine how you must feel, especially with all those trucks working outside. The baby blanket is absolutely beautiful. I agree with you. Everybody in the family that has a baby gets a blanket from me too, whether they want one or not. :-) So great of Mr. 18 to be able to take such good care of his little brother. What a wonderful thing for you to have such good help. I hope the headaches are over and that you feel much better when you wake up tomorrow.
Blessings,
Betsy

Janet said...

I'm glad you had an expected day off from work, even if it was for a horrible reason. At least you had some time to care for yourself.
The Queen Anne Lace scarves with make lovely presents, they're so pretty.

Christina said...

You made a beautiful blanket Meredith. I do hope that you will be able to manage your headaches, it sounds really bad. Thinking of you. xx

Claudia said...

I don't think I could make another Queen Anne's Lace Scarf----after making over 100 of them, I'm all scarfed out. I need a new pattern.

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Sorry to hear about the migraines. Zack stayed home from school one day last week because of one. He didn't move for most of the day. The baby blanket is lovely. I've never blocked anything. Amazing the difference it makes in size. Drapey is definitely a word in my vocabulary. Hope you are much better now. Take care, Tammy

Andrea Ostapovitch said...

That is a lovely blanket. So sorry about that nasty headache though, and of course, old Murphy's law brings in the trucks on what otherwise looks to be a very quiet street. I hope you're feeling better.

Caffeine Girl said...

If "drapey" isn't a word, it should be!

I am so sorry about your migraines. I thought I had migraines for years, but it turned out that the headaches are the result of my jaw being crushed during my forceps birth. That explained why none of the migraine meds worked! The frustrating this is that it took 53 years to get the right diagnosis!

I have the same problem with gifts. I like to make them!

Summer said...

Beautiful blanket, love teddy that goes with it :) Migraines are awful! hope you're feeling better soon.

linda said...

I'm sorry you are having so many migraines Meredith it must be so debilitating, hopefully that was the last of them for a long while. The blanket is beautiful and it looks drapey enough to me it's just perfect in fact. Take care :) xxx

Unknown said...

The blanket turned out great, just as expected! Love it! : ) Hope you feel better now, so sorry to read you happen to have migraines so often, they're the worst...
Oh, and about the Xmas gifts: I had the very same thought about a friend last year, and guess what? Yesterday I bought some wool to make her another birthday present... I think we crafty gals are all the same...

Jill at emeraldcottage said...

I'm seriously in love with your baby blanket colours, so restful :) My friends are expecting - imminently - gosh I hope they have a boy cos I really want to copy your colours!!!
My full sympathy re the headaches, I had a migraine for nearly a week last week, terrible for 2 days and just plain annoying and dark room inducing for another 4 or so. Hope you get some respite soon.
Jillxo

Babajeza said...

Dear Meredith, take care! These migrains are an indicator that you shold work less! Hugs, Regula

Between Me and You said...

Those headaches must be such a nuisance. Glad you get to have some much-needed R&R though. The blanket is beautiful. I've been knitting up a storm for my Niece's new baby, due in January (that'll make 4 birthdays in January, including mine, hope she lasts until beginning of February!). Good on your Big Boy for taking care of Little Boy. Have a good rest, Meredith.x

Unknown said...

Did Little Buddy get to see all that equipment? Your blanket is beautiful. With all those great patterns that one often wins my heart! I hope you feel better.
Eileen

handmade by amalia said...

Gorgeous blanket!
Sending you a virtual cup of lemon-ginger tea, my cure for everything.
Amalia
xo

Gracie Saylor said...

Migraines! Yuk! So sorry! I am glad that you got some rest, and love seeing the beautiful baby blanket you created. I put the coasters you crocheted for me on my fall tablecloth yesterday. They look sweet and at home and are a wonderful reminder of you and our friendship. Wishing you well!!! xx

Jo said...

That is a stunning blanket with such soft colours. Aagh! noisey workers.Love Jo x

Ali said...

Beautiful finish on the baby blanket and I hope the recipients are grateful after the work put into it :0) hope your feeling better now x

Gillian said...

Sorry to hear about you having such a bad migraine. I suffer from them too and it's horrible. The baby blanket is really gorgeous. It has always been in a rule in our family that babies get a hand made baby blanket. Whether it's wanted or not! You made me laugh about the dishcloths from last year. I remember you making them (and I also made some wash cloths as gifts to be given with a nice bar of soap) - it's hard to know why someone would think the dishcloth was a trivet. I suppose they used them - that's something, anyway!

elns said...

I love your baby blanket rule. hehe. I'm still plugging away at mine, but I do not think I'll be able to get it done in time before my co-worker goes on leave. She has promised to give me her mailing address. :)

I'm so sorry about your headaches and migraines. They are the worst. You can't do anything, so I'm so impressed you were able to do work on the blanket along with all the street chaos (by the way I thought that picture was super cool).

Wishing you some rest and all the best.

eclectichomelife said...

Sorry to hear about your headaches that's not nice at all. Your baby blanket is beautiful and I'm sure they will love it. I think the word 'drapey' is brilliant and shall use it myself

gigi knits said...

What a nice gift. Handmade gifts are the best .with each one we are making happy memories .
Love your color. Migraines are the worst !!

Mylittlepieceofengland said...

Migraines are awful, I know it's easier said than done, but you need to slow down and rest your body. Beautiful blanket, I love the 'drapiness' xx

Sweet Posy Dreams said...

Sorry about your head. The blanket turned out beautifully!

Gillian Roe said...

That is such a beautiful, stylish and calming blanket. I love it. I'm sorry to hear about your headaches, they sound nasty. I hope they pass soon. x

Vicki Boster said...

Meredith- I'm so sorry you have to deal with migraines-- I just know how miserable and exhausting that can be. I do hope you don't have any more for a long while...

The blanket is gorgeous- you did a magnificent job on this one-- the blocking made it perfect, it will be a lovely gift for the new babe.,
Love
Vicki

deb said...

such a gorgeous blanket & gift! how thoughtful ♥