MOD STRIPED BABY SWADDLING BLANKET PATTERN

MOD Striped Baby Swaddling Blanket

I designed and started working on my simple stitch baby blankets while my husband was in and out of the hospitals November thru December 2018 before his spirt stepped off this planet and entered into eternal Shabbat Rest and life with Yeshua: I chose this simple design because while I needed to keep my hands busy; my mind was too occupied with my husband and his immediate needs and starting a complicated fancy design was totally out of the question. As far as I know this pattern has never been done before … at least to my knowledge. I designed and worked my simple baby blanket pattern after the simple knitted dishcloth – minus the openwork edging.

I started the red striped blanket at St. John’s Peace Health hospital and carried it with me to OHSU in Oregon where I worked on it and I never left my husband’s side except for brief 4 hour periods when I had to come back home to WA State and take care of business that had to be done in person.

I finished the red striped blanket; and then started the blue striped blanket at OHSU (my home away from home) and worked on it between Hub’s testing’s, scans, and eventual death … I finished the blue striped blanket at home Thursday evening. 

My simple pattern makes a baby swaddling blanket and is worked entirely in garter stitch measuring about 36” square before washing/drying; I use Red Heart worsted, which shrinks very little and is reliable to hold shape.

Working on these blankets while my husband was fighting for his life – and eventually losing it despite all that was being done medically with the best medical specialty staff in the best medical facility in the PNW that caters to the most medically complex patients (OHSU ranks among the best hospitals in America in 7 specialties; my husband’s condition being one of those specialties) – kept me from going crazy during the most trying period of my life.

The instructions are very simple and straight-forward. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and I will be happy to help you move forward :-D

MOD STRIPED BABY SWADDLING BLANKET PATTERN

MATERIALS: 1 pair EA #6 knitting needles – straight & round; Needle Point Stoppers; Red Heart knitting worsted; Scissors, Tapestry needle

PATTERN: CO 2 sts; knit 1 st, inc.

Row 2: K 2, inc, k to end

Row 3: K 2, inc, k to end – repeat this row until you have 180 sts on the straight needle, then change to the round needle on following row. Continue Row 3 until you have 240 sts on needle.

This blanket started at St. John’s Peace Health in our hometown and carried with me to OHSU grew too big to keep on the straight needles; so on the first brief 4 hour trip back home to WA State, I switched all the stitches to a round needle and packed it in a large plastic bag inside the duffle I hauled back and forth.

DECREASE ROW: On this row you will begin the decreasing part of the pattern which will make the blanket evenly squared; K 2, dec by knitting the next 2 sts together, k to end.

Next Row: K 2, dec, k to end – repeat this row until you have 180 sts in round needle, then change to the straight needles and continue dec’s. Continue dec’ing until you have 3 sts on needle. EO and weave in loose ends.

I like the way these blankets look and I hope you will too ;-)

DREADS, JUSTICE, and CUTTING TIES

This morning I took the car into the Toyota dealership we bought it from last year for a much overdue maintenance check – it was supposed to go in before my husband ended up in the hospital for 4 months straight; but this morning I had the time, and it was time, so in it went. While in their lounge waiting for the shuttle to take me back home, I saw the most interesting dog:

Hungarian Puli dog

It was covered with dreads! So I struck up a convo with her owner because the dog really interested me … I don’t want one, but I was curious. The woman said she acquired the dog 6 years ago while her army unit was stationed in Germany; the dog was brought across the Hungarian border and was 1 of a litter of 6. It is and ancient breed and was a female, and her name is Huffy. I asked her if it was easy to keep clean, and she said, “Oh yes. The hair self-cleans because it is not oily hair and the dirt and debris just falls off; any loose hair just winds itself into the dreads. And under all the dreaded hair, Huffy only weighs 25 pounds – she just looks large because her hair is so bulky.” So I told her about the 1/2 Timber/1/2 Gray wolf I was blessed to have as a furry companion before I had to put her down due to spreading foot cancer: Precious was self-cleaning too because her outer coat hair was hallow and the dirt and debris just fell off – it also dried very quickly. But unlike the Puli, Precious did shed her insulating undercoat and her neck ruff in the Spring, leaving a trail of “cotton” hunks everywhere she went.

And when I got home and checked the mail I saw a letter from Candy; so I opened it and then called to thank her … it appears she did actually read my letter (https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2018/12/that-woman.html) and took the necessary steps:

We didn't “dispute” anything ... we had the property line SURVEYED … the colored markings are still on the rock; had Candy actually come to LOOK she would clearly see that Ron is an unrepentant liar. The bricks are unimportant to me … it’s the principle of the issue that matters. And the quip about wandering veggies – never a problem from MY side because I always made sure my veggies did not wander beyond the boundary line. Ron, on the other hand cannot truthfully claim the same.

I believe in karma, and Ron will eventually have to face reality because karma will slap him in his smug lying face faster than I can. But, for now, as long as that pathological narcissistic killer leaves me alone and stays out of my way … I will be content.

Justice is a fine thing.

Ramona called me again this evening and I was very cold to her, having very little to say UNTIL she said, “What are you doing tomorrow for your birthday? David thought he might drive me down …” And then I said, “No. No; I don’t want either of you here tomorrow: or ever. My husband, on his death bed in ICU in September stated that now it was time to stop the familial bullshit and start being a family – and the 2 of you verbally agreed. But you didn’t stop, did you? No, you didn’t. You stabbed us in the back in October, less than a month later. You LIED to a DYING MAN to his FACE in his own home. You LOOKED at him and lied, knowing neither of you ever had any intention of doing what you were mouthing. I don’t want either of you here tomorrow. I don’t want you here ever again.” And I hung up when she went into a defense laced with more unadulterated bullshit. Of all the nerve! I never want to hear her voice again and I will continue to hang up on her every time she calls using a new number. I should have cut these ties years ago: she was always a liar, and her husband has always been a self-serving jerk. They are both judgmental and overbearing. I don’t want to deal with it anymore … I don't take time to make time for it anymore.