8 January
Done! I finished sewing on the fabric this afternoon. Any time I ‘saved’ by not having to make a neat, reversible blanket was consumed adding the backing, phew, it’s taken days! I attached the backing fabric at the edges with mattress stitch, then added a line of running stitch a little way in from the edge to stop it rolling and peeking out.

Fingers crossed Brydie finds this an acceptable companion to her existing blankie :)

27 December
The knitting part is finished! The white yarn softened up a LOT more after a machine wash, so I have no remaining qualms about the texture of the blanket. It’s gorgeous and squishy, I’m not a huge fan of garter stitch aesthetically but it feels great.

25 December
Tucked in some knitting time on Christmas Day and I’m nearly finished this blanket - I just need to knit a few rows of white for the border, wash and block, then buy an appropriately sized piece of fabric for the backing and sew it on. (Don’t worry, it wasn’t intended to be a Christmas present!)

This has been a very relaxing knit, perfect for the holidays. Not having to make a tidy reverse meant I could carry the yarn across each stripe at the side, and tuck those floats to the back when I picked up for the next section, which saved lots of weaving in ends :) And rectangles of garter stitch are ideal for picking up for a row at a time between other tasks.

16 December
My niece Brydie received a hand-knitted charity blanket during a long hospital stay, and has become so attached her parents struggle to get it washed, so they’ve asked me to make a similar one for her - of course I’m only too happy to help!

The blanket is all garter stitch in pink and white, with a piece of soft t-shirt fabric sewn on the back. The original has a variety of irregularly striped panels of different shapes and sizes, plus a white border. I’m going to create a similar effect with a free-form log cabin layout.

I’m trying out the new Urban yarn from Skeinz as it’s machine washable - the blanket was a perfect excuse to order some. The pink is deliciously soft, but the white was rough and ‘crunchy’. I unwound the balls and gave them a good (hand) wash, which has improved the texture enough to keep using it, but I’d avoid buying that shade again. Fingers crossed it’ll soften up more with additional washing.