Last night I put the finishing touches on Chloe's purple blanket. It was a labor of love that took 2 and 1/2 years to make. Back when I had all the time in the world with only 1 child, I made Isaac a blanket for the momentous occasion of when he moved into a big boy bed. He loves that blanket to this day, make with bright rainbow colors. I will have to post pictures of that someday. Anyway, I was determined that what I did for one child, I would need to do for the next child.

So, when Chloe was about to move into her big girl bed, I decided to make her a blanket. I asked her what color she wanted and I picked out the pattern. It was going to be so pretty. I bought 3 skeins of yarn to start with, thinking that I couldn't afford all of it at once, or didn't want 6 or 7 sitting around the house. I don't know. It was a mistake though. I should have bought all of them at once, and you'll understand why in a moment.

I began the long process of crocheting. This pattern is mostly done in single crochet, and if you know anything about crocheting, you know this is the smallest stitch. If you use bigger stitches, your project will naturally work up quicker. Smaller stitches take much longer. It started off great, as most of my projects do. I was making great progress, but somewhere along the way it seemed as if I wasn't making any progress at all. I ended up putting the un-finished blanket in a drawer until I had more time to work on it. Besides, Chloe had already moved into her big girl bed. I had missed the deadline. Soon, I was PG with Jeremy and you know how much time you have with a newborn around.

Somewhere along the way, I bought more yarn to continue working on it. Now, if you knit or crochet, you know you had better buy all your yarn from the same dye lot. This is to ensure your colors are consistent. I thought I was pretty safe in this area since this yarn doesn't have a dye lot. I figured it was all the same. So I picked up 3 or 4 more skeins and continued on in my work. It didn't take long to realize this was NOT the same shade. It was close, but it wasn't right. I was really sad about that, thinking if I had never put the blanket in the drawer, I could have made it all one shade and it would have been even more pretty.

Then we moved. While I was packing the blanket and extra yarn, I was sad to think I hadn't worked on it in months and it was probably only a third done. The single crochet was taking forever. I had crocheted many projects while I had put this aside. Baby blankets, dish rags, pot holders, toys, etc. had flown through my fingers at an amazing rate. I soon understood I was dreading working on this blanket because of it's slowness. It seemed tedious and I thought I would never get done. Every once in awhile, Chloe would ask me, "Mommy, are you done with my purple blanket yet?"

Once we were settled in the new house, I was determined to take the blanket and finish it. I measured it on Chloe's bed and was discouraged to see it wasn't even half way done. But, I determinedly put it in my crochet basket so I would be reminded of it every day until it was done. Being pregnant did 2 things for me. Number 1, it gave me more time to sit and work on such things. Some days I would crochet for an hour while Jeremy was napping and the older 2 were watching a show. The second thing it did for me was get me to stop procrastinating. Seriously, who has time to crochet with a newborn? It became my new goal to have Chloe's blanket DONE before the baby was born. And so I worked feverishly.

I enjoyed working this pattern, it was very easy and fun to do. It was just slow. But, little by little, skein by skein, it was making progress. Every once in awhile I would measure it to Chloe's bed to determine how long to make it. And finally, I was on my last skein and decided to put the last row of hearts on it to finish it off. The purple yarn sat at my feet and was dwindling much to fast...I knew I wouldn't have enough to finish the last little bit. I was almost angry when I realized I should have gone just a little shorter and I could have finished it that night. UGH! Chloe and I went shopping for one more skein of yarn, and I finished it last night.

Chloe wanted to be surprised with it, and this was her plan: that I would put her to bed like normal, she would fall asleep, I would put the finished blanket on her so that when she woke up in the night, she would be surprised. haha! It worked out as she planned, and this morning, she came to me right away. She gave me a sleepy kiss on the cheek, and whispered, "Thanks Mom." Yes, it was all worth it, and yes I am glad I finished it. I am hoping it sets an example to Chloe that we should always finish what we start. She has spent the morning spreading it out, playing with the tassels, and snuggling with it. :)

This picture is a close up so you can see the heart pattern. The color is all messed up though, the above picture with Chloe is the right color.

Oh, by the way. Jeremy has been in his big boy bed for a year now and I haven't even thought of making him a blanket. Until now. Oy! One day....one day. For now, I am reveling in a sense of accomplishment and my hands are looking for something else to keep busy. Maybe that pile of dishes.....NAH!