Read Online Hooked for Life by Mary Beth Temple - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mary Beth Temple
Ads: Link
fact, I know several crocheters who like to make baby items between larger projects, even when no new baby they know is on the horizon! Baby clothes can always be stored until their time of need, and they will always fit someone, so you can make whatever baby pattern appeals to you, resting easy that it will be used in time.
Although a lot of crocheters prefer blankets and home decor items to garments because blankets don’t need to fit, garment sizing is a no-brainer for a baby as long as you don’t make something infinitesimal. Babies grow really quickly, so if that adorable jacket doesn’t fit Baby now, it will eventually and probably sooner rather than later. Any too-large gauge issues can be played off by telling the mother, “I know it’s a little big now, but I thought you would get plenty of things in newborn size and that this would give Junior something to grow into.” Not only will you not hear crap about your gauge issues, but you will also be commended for your thoughtfulness and preplanning abilities.
Blankets seem like the easiest thing to make, but believe it or not, you can really foul up a blanket with an incorrect gauge. When mysister was anticipating the birth of her first grandchild, she fell into the “I must crochet something for the baby” mode of thinking almost immediately. She chose a pattern for a set with matching blanket, jacket, and booties—there might have been a hat as well. She ran off to the store, got a soft, multicolored acrylic yarn, and started crocheting away on the blanket. She crocheted and crocheted and crocheted—and ran out of yarn, even though she had bought what the pattern said would be enough for the entire set. And she crocheted and crocheted and crocheted until the blanket was crib size. Finally, she ended it off and put on a delicate edging. She was so proud of all of her hard work as well as how quickly it was finished. She would be able to give it to her daughter well before the baby was born, even if she wound up giving her the garments later.
So, smiling and happy, Grandma-to-be presented her gift at the shower. First, the attendees wondered what could possibly be in the box because it was so darned heavy. I mean, this thing weighed a ton. We were thinking that it might be furniture that needed to be assembled, or baby books. My niece tore into the wrapping and pulled out the blanket—it really was beautiful, and we started to tell my sister what a great job she had done. But then someone (it might have been me) unsuccessfully stifled a laugh and said, “Well, as heavy as this is, you won’t have to worry about the baby rolling off the couch if this is on top of her—she won’t be able to move!” That got the rest of my family going (hey, I didn’t get my snarky attitude from strangers). “Oh noooooooo, not the lead blanket. Mommy, I’ll be good I promise!” came from one of my nieces. “Help… can’t… move… arms…” came from another, and I am sad to report it went downhill from there. We had tears running down our cheeks from laughing so hard at the madness, and even my sister cracked a smile after getting over the shock of the first verbal assault (she, too, is a member of my family, so it couldn’t have been a very big shock).
And a valuable lesson was learned by all, that gauge affects fabric density as well as size. To my sister’s credit she went on to finish the garments, going up a couple of hook sizes now that she knew what the problem was. And the baby (now college age) got lots of use out of that set. After all, a blanket that densely constructed is extremely durable; it would probably survive a nuclear attack (which now that I think about it, someone pointed out, between snorts of laughter, at the shower). But I don’t remember her making any more crocheted items for the rest of her grandkids—I don’t know that she could have taken the abuse!
Did we kill the joy of crochet in my sister? Not really. What she did
Although a lot of crocheters prefer blankets and home decor items to garments because blankets don’t need to fit, garment sizing is a no-brainer for a baby as long as you don’t make something infinitesimal. Babies grow really quickly, so if that adorable jacket doesn’t fit Baby now, it will eventually and probably sooner rather than later. Any too-large gauge issues can be played off by telling the mother, “I know it’s a little big now, but I thought you would get plenty of things in newborn size and that this would give Junior something to grow into.” Not only will you not hear crap about your gauge issues, but you will also be commended for your thoughtfulness and preplanning abilities.
Blankets seem like the easiest thing to make, but believe it or not, you can really foul up a blanket with an incorrect gauge. When mysister was anticipating the birth of her first grandchild, she fell into the “I must crochet something for the baby” mode of thinking almost immediately. She chose a pattern for a set with matching blanket, jacket, and booties—there might have been a hat as well. She ran off to the store, got a soft, multicolored acrylic yarn, and started crocheting away on the blanket. She crocheted and crocheted and crocheted—and ran out of yarn, even though she had bought what the pattern said would be enough for the entire set. And she crocheted and crocheted and crocheted until the blanket was crib size. Finally, she ended it off and put on a delicate edging. She was so proud of all of her hard work as well as how quickly it was finished. She would be able to give it to her daughter well before the baby was born, even if she wound up giving her the garments later.
So, smiling and happy, Grandma-to-be presented her gift at the shower. First, the attendees wondered what could possibly be in the box because it was so darned heavy. I mean, this thing weighed a ton. We were thinking that it might be furniture that needed to be assembled, or baby books. My niece tore into the wrapping and pulled out the blanket—it really was beautiful, and we started to tell my sister what a great job she had done. But then someone (it might have been me) unsuccessfully stifled a laugh and said, “Well, as heavy as this is, you won’t have to worry about the baby rolling off the couch if this is on top of her—she won’t be able to move!” That got the rest of my family going (hey, I didn’t get my snarky attitude from strangers). “Oh noooooooo, not the lead blanket. Mommy, I’ll be good I promise!” came from one of my nieces. “Help… can’t… move… arms…” came from another, and I am sad to report it went downhill from there. We had tears running down our cheeks from laughing so hard at the madness, and even my sister cracked a smile after getting over the shock of the first verbal assault (she, too, is a member of my family, so it couldn’t have been a very big shock).
And a valuable lesson was learned by all, that gauge affects fabric density as well as size. To my sister’s credit she went on to finish the garments, going up a couple of hook sizes now that she knew what the problem was. And the baby (now college age) got lots of use out of that set. After all, a blanket that densely constructed is extremely durable; it would probably survive a nuclear attack (which now that I think about it, someone pointed out, between snorts of laughter, at the shower). But I don’t remember her making any more crocheted items for the rest of her grandkids—I don’t know that she could have taken the abuse!
Did we kill the joy of crochet in my sister? Not really. What she did
Similar Books
